The problem was more complicated than the barrier not being fit for purpose. First, consider basic physics. When a heavy moving object (in this case, a forklift truck) comes into contact with a heavy rigid lump (in this case, a steel barrier) those collision forces need to travel somewhere (in this case, straight down into the steel barrier’s fixtures and fittings, ripping up the concrete floor and uprooting the barrier). Worse, the barrier itself would collapse and need replacing and damage to the forklift itself would be inevitable.

What was needed to deal with these problems was a material that was able to absorb, control and dissipate the impacts. Consideration also had to be given to the potential energy carried by the forklift, the angle of impact the vehicle was making on the barrier and the actual height of impact. Only after these factors were properly understood could a barrier be implemented that was fit for purpose.

Some people aren’t immediately convinced of the suitability and resilience of plastic barriers over steel, as Stewart Leary, safety technician at the Flint site, explained: “We were approached by A-Safe and I have to admit we were extremely sceptical, but we were willing to offer them a trial.”

So sceptical was Leary that he made a £10 bet with an A-Safe director that the new barrier would be ‘ripped up by the forklift in a week’.

Leary continued: “We didn’t make A-Safe’s life easy, providing a trial section in a high traffic area. The gantry that we wanted protecting was a problem area and constantly being damaged by forklift trucks. This was a very vulnerable area and I don’t think anyone believed that A-Safe would stand up to the test or fare any better than the system we had in place previously.”

Nevertheless, when A-Safe revisited the Flint site some five months later, staff were delighted to find the barrier still intact. Battered and bruised, maybe – but still functioning. The cost savings for Kimberly-Clark were immediately obvious.

“It more than did the job,” admitted Leary, “and was the catalyst to review the site and start replacing all steel barriers with A-SAFE ones.”

Word spread. Health and safety chiefs from Kimberly-Clark’s head office in America saw the A-Safe barriers in-situ and the success they were achieving and set about recommending A-Safe as the approved barrier supplier across its sites going forward, with similar results being achieved in all areas.

Miguel Perez, safety environmental manager at Kimberly-Clark’s plant in Spain, explained how the company-wide recommendation lead to enhancing safety systems across its 5000m2 diaper production hall. Pedestrian segregation barriers were installed to help coordinate the busy factory. Better segregation was required to improve pedestrian flow around the plant and to separate forklift truck aisles from pedestrian corridors. Plus, A-Safe protected hi-tech electrical units, which were vulnerable to vehicle impacts.

Miguel said: “A-Safe has proved the most cost-efficient solution for our safety barriers – however, this is just a bonus, as the most essential point is that they provide the highest standard of safety so that our team feel much safer in their working environment. The highly visible yellow barriers have a smart, attractive appearance and have proved to have excellent durability.”

Kimberly-Clark sites across America now have A-Safe barriers installed, including Everett Mill in Washington. Scott Basom, facilities engineer at the Mill had seen A-Safe traffic barriers used effectively at other parts of the mill and decided to introduce them to areas for which he had responsibility.

He says: “I wasn’t actively looking for a new barrier system, but had come across A-Safe at other parts of the site, and colleagues had shown me how they were benefiting from using A-Safe across some of their applications. I was aware that it was used across the corporation and was a recommended supplier. Using a few smaller projects I was able to test the benefits myself, which lead to us incorporating A-Safe wherever possible.

“It’s so easy to use and install and it looks pretty nice in the warehouse. Safety is obviously a top priority and with more than 1000 employees on-site we need to eliminate risk at all levels. Metal bollards have to be welded to be repaired and this in turn poses a fire danger. A-Safe automatically negates this. Due to the resilience of the material and its ability to deflect and bend under loads, damage to the driver or pedestrian is reduced as is the need for constant repair.”