Vedanta Aluminium has commissioned India’s largest electric fleet of 27 forklifts, powered by lithium-ion batteries in partnership with GEAR (Gemini Equipment and Rentals Private Limited) India.
This sets the ball rolling on Vedanta Aluminium’s plans to decarbonise its industrial vehicle fleet. All 27 forklifts arrived last month and are being operationalized at the company’s aluminium smelter at Jharsuguda, in Odisha, which is the world’s largest single-location aluminium smelter, ex-China.
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Further, as testimony to its endeavours towards increasing gender diversity in core manufacturing operations, Vedanta Aluminium is recruiting and training women to operate these top-of-the-line forklifts. The company has previously hired transgender employees as forklift operators in its aluminium operations at BALCO in Chhattisgarh.
These electric forklifts make use of the cutting-edge ‘Smart Fleet Management’ system to help ensure the highest levels of safety at site.
The Smart Fleet Management system uses IOT (Internet of Things) technology to integrate the data collected by intelligent terminals and provide Vedanta Aluminium insights on a real-time basis with respect to forklift speed, access to operate, collision avoidance, optimization analysis for operational efficiency and equipment maintenance, among others.
Further, these electric forklifts are equipped with forward and reverse cameras, ensuring complete visibility to the operators, red-zone light and blue spotlights that create a safe operating zone around the forklift, as well as automatic deceleration mechanism while turning, for enhanced safety.