Proximity Warning Systems for Forklifts in New Zealand: How SonaSafe Is Saving Lives and Productivity

The Hidden Risk Behind Every Forklift Move

Across New Zealand’s warehouses and freight terminals, forklifts are essential to productivity and a leading cause of serious harm. According to ACC, work-related injury claims cost the country more than NZ $1.26 billion in 2024, with Forklifts and other mobile plant accounting for a major share of those injuries. In addition to the personal safety risk, increased Forklift usage also creates greater liability potential for business directors with WorkSafe issuing multiple penalties over the past few years, including NZ $240 000 for a single forklift brake failure that left a worker with critical injuries.² The regulator warns that unsafe machinery has already cost Kiwi businesses more than half a million dollars in fines and lost time.³

Traditional proximity systems were designed to prevent these accidents, but their rigid settings and constant false alerts often frustrated operators, leading to systems being ignored or turned off.

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Smarter Exclusion Zones That Work With the Real World

SonaSafe Lite+ has been specifically designed to solve these problems, with our intelligent dynamic exclusion zones. During setup, bubble shapes and safe zones are configured to reflect the risk of each site environment including detection of obscured people around racks and pallets. Reducing false positives, and providing quality data you can act on.

With SonaSafe Lite+, safety managers can:

• Configure exclusion zones that adjust to specific site layouts.
• Define safe zones for areas protected by barriers, bollards, or other engineered controls.
• Detect both pedestrians and vehicles and alert each in real time to prevent collisions.

Based on your site configuration, SonaSafe Lite⁺ delivers real-time alerts to the driver and pedestrian when the warning or stop exclusion zones are breached. Real time alerts enable both drivers and pedestrians to avoid collisions, providing instant feedback to support positive behaviour change. Learn more about The Impact of False Alerts in Proximity Warning Systems: Understanding White Noise, the "Crying Wolf" Effect, and Cognitive Desensitization

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Plug-and-Play Safety for Forklifts

Installation is simple. SonaSafe Lite+ connects directly to 12 V, 24 V, 48 V, or 80 V forklift systems and can be installed within hours. Training is equally quick. With forklift driver turnover among the highest in the industrial sector, short, intuitive onboarding sessions ensure every operator understands the system’s purpose and operation.

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Data That Drives Behavioural Change

Prevention is only the beginning. SonaSafe’s cloud platform dashboard helps safety teams track performance and shift behaviour across every site and shift. Devices are monitored 24/7 to support your team around the clock. Fully accessible to you anytime, anywhere via our cloud integrations and SonaSafe incident management dashboard.

• Live heatmaps showing high-risk areas.
• Behavioural reports that highlight repeat hazards.
• Trend analysis to measure how safety culture evolves over time.
  

This visibility turns raw data into continuous improvement, reducing near-miss incidents and reinforcing positive habits.

"We established a temporary site without activating SonaSafe. Remarkably, the team - comprising staff previously accustomed to SonaSafe enabled environments continued to observe exclusion zones diligently. This experience underscores the enduring influence of SonaSafe on our workforce's safety practices, highlighting that safety consciousness has become an ingrained aspect of our daily operations."

- Rob McMillan, KiwiRail Manager of Container Terminals for the North Island

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Building a Safer, Smarter Future for Kiwi Workplaces

Under New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act (2015), companies must separate people and mobile plant “so far as reasonably practicable.” Configurable proximity technology is now one of the clearest ways to meet that obligation. By reducing false alerts, simplifying training, and empowering behavioural change, SonaSafe Lite+ is helping New Zealand’s industrial sector move toward zero harm while maintaining efficiency.

➡️ See how SonaSafe helped KiwiRail cut near misses by 90 percent. Book a demo or talk to our team.

Sources:

¹ ACC NZ Work Injury Stats 2024 ² WorkSafe NZ Forklift Brake Failure Case ³ WorkSafe NZ Unsafe Machinery Report