When operating electric forklifts in dense warehouse rack areas, visibility blind spots caused by high stacked cargo, rack columns, body structural barriers and other factors are common hidden risks that may interfere with normal operation rhythm. Mastering standardized handling methods for such blind spot scenarios can effectively reduce unnecessary safety accidents and improve the stability of daily material handling work.

Before entering the rack working area, operators need to complete full pre-checks to reduce the probability of blind spot risks in advance. First, adjust the seat position and all rearview mirrors to the optimal observation angle before starting the machine, to ensure that the situation on both sides of the body and the rear aisle can be clearly observed without dead angles. Then confirm the operation route in the rack area, mark the sections with extra high stacked cargo that may block the line of sight in advance, and avoid taking unfamiliar narrow aisles without pre-investigation. You can also regularly check the supporting auxiliary visibility components of the vehicle to ensure that they are in normal working condition, to provide more observation dimensions for subsequent operation.

When driving in the rack aisle, once you encounter a situation where the front line of sight is completely blocked by stacked cargo or rack structures, you should first slow down to the lowest safe speed, and tap the warning horn several times to remind nearby passing personnel and other operation teams that there is a vehicle passing through the blind spot section. If you still cannot get effective visibility of the road condition ahead after decelerating, you need to stop the vehicle completely at the side of the aisle that does not block the passage, lean out of the window slightly to confirm the actual situation ahead, and then continue to move forward after confirming that there is no obstacle or hidden danger. Do not try to move forward by experience estimation, which may easily cause unnecessary collision with racks or passing personnel.

When carrying out cargo picking and placing operations at high positions of racks, the lifted cargo itself may form a large blind spot to block the operator’s front view. At this time, do not force the forklift to move forward or adjust the fork position rapidly. You can fine-tune the lifting height and tilt angle of the fork slightly, to find an observation gap that can see the insertion position of the rack beam. If the line of sight is completely blocked, you can ask the on-site guiding personnel to assist in command, and complete the subsequent alignment and access actions under the clear gesture indication of the ground staff. Do not extend your arms or body out of the forklift guard unnecessarily to avoid scratch by protruding rack structures.

After completing each shift of rack area operation, operators can make a simple summary of the blind spot scenarios encountered in the current shift, share relevant handling experiences with other team members, and help the whole operation team improve their awareness of blind spot risk prevention.