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Workplace safety

Workplace safety alerts for forklifts, danger zones and lone workers

Noccela is an alerting and awareness system. Badges, signalling flashes and text messages warn pedestrians, drivers and supervisors in time to act, and muster lists show who is safe after an evacuation.

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Noccela ID Badge on a black Noccela lanyard

Why sites invest in safety alerts

Vehicles and people sharing a floor remain one of the most common causes of serious accidents at work.

  1. Forklifts and people share the floor

    In Germany, 18,035 reportable accidents involved industrial trucks in 2024. In 41 % of them, the person was struck, crushed or run over by the truck.

    Source: DGUV, Statistik Arbeitsunfallgeschehen 2024

  2. Moving vehicles kill workers every year

    In Great Britain, being struck by a moving vehicle killed on average 22 workers a year over the last five years: 17 % of all worker deaths.

    Source: HSE, Work-related fatal injuries in Great Britain, 2026

  3. People alone, people unaccounted for

    A lone worker needs a way to summon help. After an evacuation, someone has to account for everyone, and a clipboard at the muster point cannot say where a missing person was last seen.

What the system does

Seven capabilities on one infrastructure. Start with the one that matters most on your site.

Forklift–pedestrian warnings

Driver and pedestrian badges are told apart. When a person comes closer to an operating forklift than the distance you set, both are warned by the badge’s 84 dB buzzer and LED. Badges and vehicle tags measure their distance to each other directly, so warnings also work where no base stations (UWB anchors) are installed.

Crane and machine zones

Define zones around crane working areas, machines and robot cells. People entering get a badge alert, and a Signalling Flash makes the zone visible to everyone nearby. Limiting and stopping functions stay with the crane’s or machine’s own control system.

High-voltage test benches

Put a tag on the bench, and badges warn when someone comes too close. A Mobile Anchor with Flash creates a temporary zone wherever you set it down.

Restricted areas

For each zone, the platform knows which badges are authorised. Anyone else triggers a badge alert and a text message to the person responsible for the area.

Lone workers

If a danger zone has a head count of one, the supervisor gets a text message. The badge’s call button lets anyone ask for help, with their location.

Evacuation roll-call

At the muster points the list fills itself: who has arrived, and the last known zone of anyone who is missing.

Safety KPIs

Alerts, zone entries and busy crossings become data for risk assessments, safety walks and audits, so danger zones can be defined on facts.

What it does, and what it does not do

Safety buyers ask whether the system can stop a machine. The honest answer depends on who designs and certifies each function.

Safety function tiers and who provides them
FunctionWhat happensWho provides it
Visibility and analytics Noccela Positions, zones, heatmaps, alert and near-miss statistics, incident replayNoccela
Warning and alerting Noccela Badge buzzer and LED, Signalling Flash, text messages, head counts, lone-worker and restricted-zone alertsNoccela, as part of your safe system of work
Speed limiting A vehicle slows down in a zone or near a person, through its own control systemThe truck or machine manufacturer, or the integrator. Noccela can supply zone and proximity events
Protective stop The machine stops before contact without anyone actingThe machine builder or integrator, with safety-rated functions under ISO 13849-1 or IEC 62061. Not supplied by Noccela

Noccela’s safety features are an alerting and awareness system. Badges, flashes and messages warn people and supervisors in time to act. They complement, and never replace, physical separation of pedestrians and vehicles, speed rules, operator training and the machine’s own safety functions.

Noccela devices are not placed on the market as safety components within the meaning of the EU Machinery Regulation, and we do not claim a Performance Level or Safety Integrity Level for them. Where a customer wants a vehicle or crane to slow down or stop automatically, that function is implemented, validated and certified by the machine manufacturer or the system integrator in accordance with ISO 13849-1 or IEC 62061; Noccela supplies the position and zone data they need.

How it works

From badge to supervisor in four steps. Alert distances, zone shapes and escalation are set per area.

  1. Badges and tags

    People wear ID Badges. Forklifts, test benches and other hazards carry tags, and base stations (UWB anchors) cover the zones.

  2. Zones and rules

    In the Location Intelligence Platform, you draw zones and set alert distances, who is authorised where, and who gets which message.

  3. Alert

    The badge beeps and flashes, a Signalling Flash lights up at the zone, and a text message goes to the supervisor when needed.

  4. Escalate and review

    Escalation from badge to flash to supervisor is configurable per area. Events are logged, so you can review hot spots and adjust zones.

Privacy and employee co-operation

Tracking people for safety is technical monitoring of employees. Plan it with your employees from the start.

In Finland, the purpose, introduction and methods of technical monitoring go through the workplace co-operation procedure (Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life 759/2004, section 21). According to the Data Protection Ombudsman, location data should not, as a rule, be used to monitor working hours.

In Germany, the works council co-determines systems that can monitor behaviour or performance. Across the EU, systematic monitoring of employees normally needs a data protection impact assessment (DPIA).

This is general information, not legal advice.

Hosting, security and data protection

  • Purpose limitation

    The safety purpose is defined in advance. Safety data is not used to monitor working hours or performance unless that is agreed separately.

  • Safety-only mode

    Proximity alerts, zone alerts and head counts can run without storing movement trails; only events such as alert type, zone and time are kept.

  • Pseudonymised badges

    Badges can be mapped to roles, such as driver, visitor or maintenance, instead of names. Only the people who need it can look up who wore a badge.

  • Short retention

    Events are kept only as long as your impact assessment sets. Heatmaps for analysis can be aggregated so they show no individual.

  • Clear scope

    Agree where tracking applies. Break rooms, changing rooms and offices can be left out of the zones.

  • Employee consultation

    Describe to employees what is and is not recorded, start with a voluntary pilot, and run the system on-premise if data must stay on site.

Products for workplace safety

Badges for people, tags for vehicles and hazards, and signals that everyone nearby can see and hear.

Noccela ID Badge on a black Noccela lanyard

ID Badge

Wearable personnel badge with a call button, LED and buzzer.

Details
Noccela Industrial Tag with a transparent IP65 housing and magnetic feet

Industrial Tag

IP65 tag for vehicles, machines and harsh conditions.

Details
Noccela Signalling Flash controller box with a red signal light

Signalling Flash

Location-triggered light and tone for zone warnings and andon status.

Details
Noccela Mobile Anchor briefcase kit with a red signalling flash

Mobile Anchor with Flash

A base station, signalling flash, battery and LTE router in one rugged case.

Details
Noccela ID Badge Charging Dock with 48 charging slots

ID Badge Charging Dock

48-slot charger for ID Badges at shift change and clock-in gates.

Details
Noccela Beacon 3 base station in black and white with its mounting plate

Beacon 3

Compact PoE base station for indoor sites, installed like a security camera.

Details

Case study

Konecranes Hyvinkää: alerts on the shop floor

A pilot with four scenarios: forklift proximity, high-voltage test benches, lone workers in danger zones and restricted areas.

Konecranes · Manufacturing

Forklift proximity alerts, danger zones and lone-worker messages in a safety pilot

Hyvinkää, Finland

Project phase
Pilot
Alert scenarios
4
Warnings on the badge
Buzzer and LED
Supervisor alerts
Text message
Read the case study

The pilot used the site’s existing Noccela infrastructure. Badges beeped and flashed at set distances, and supervisors received text messages about lone workers and unauthorised entries.

Guide: forklift collision avoidance, warnings and machine safety

Send safety events to your systems

Zone and proximity events can go to your safety, alarm and building systems. Any speed reduction or stop is engineered and certified by the machine builder or integrator.

Events and webhooks

Alerts, zone entries and head counts pushed to your safety platform, alarm system or PLC integration.
Push API

Text messages

Lone-worker and restricted-zone alerts sent to the supervisor or the person responsible for the area.

Signals at the zone

Location-triggered light and tone at crossings, test benches and restricted doors.
Signalling Flash

Also for tunnels, underground logistics and sites without GPS

UWB does not need satellite signals, so proximity warnings, zone alerts and evacuation roll-call also work in tunnels, underground logistics areas and the workshops of mining sites. Noccela devices are not certified for explosive atmospheres; where certified equipment is required, talk to us first. Integrators of tunnel and mining safety systems are welcome to contact us.

Frequently asked questions

Does Noccela’s forklift safety system stop the truck?
No. It is an alerting and awareness system that warns drivers and pedestrians. Automatic speed reduction or stopping is a machine safety function that the truck manufacturer or an integrator implements and validates under ISO 13849-1 or IEC 62061.
Which safety standards does it comply with?
The devices are radio equipment with the markings listed on each product page and on the compliance page. No Performance Level (PL) or Safety Integrity Level (SIL) is claimed, because those ratings apply to machine safety functions, not to warning devices.
Is it ISO 3691-4 compliant?
ISO 3691-4 covers driverless industrial trucks and requires their own personnel-detection and braking functions to reach performance level d. Noccela can supply zone and position data to an AGV or AMR fleet, but it does not replace the vehicle’s safety-rated sensors.
What is the difference between a warning system and collision avoidance?
A warning system gives people time to react. Collision avoidance in the sense of the standards means the machine slows down or stops automatically, which must be engineered as a safety function. Even then, ISO 21815-1 states that such systems only assist the operator, and responsibility for safe operation remains with the operator. Read more in our forklift collision avoidance guide.
Can it be connected to a forklift to slow it down?
Zone and proximity events are available through our APIs, so an integrator can pass them to the truck’s controller, in the same way truck manufacturers connect their own assistance systems. The speed function itself is specified, validated and certified by the truck manufacturer or the integrator.
How common are forklift and vehicle accidents?
In Germany alone, 18,035 reportable accidents with industrial trucks and 8 deaths were recorded in 2024; in 41 % of them the person was struck, crushed or run over (DGUV). In Great Britain, being struck by a moving vehicle kills on average 22 workers a year, 17 % of all worker deaths (HSE, five-year average to 2025/26).
Is tracking employees for safety legal in Finland?
Yes, when it is necessary for a defined purpose such as safety, handled in the workplace co-operation procedure and documented. As a rule, location data may not be used to monitor working hours (Act on the Protection of Privacy in Working Life 759/2004, sections 3 and 21; guidance of the Data Protection Ombudsman). This is general information, not legal advice.
Do we need a data protection impact assessment (DPIA)?
Almost certainly. Systematic monitoring of employees with a new technology meets at least two of the criteria in the guidelines endorsed by the European Data Protection Board, and in 2020 the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman’s sanctions board fined an employer EUR 16,000 for using vehicle location data to track working time without a DPIA.
What do works councils typically require?
Published German works agreements under section 87(1) no. 6 of the Works Constitution Act typically require purpose limitation, no performance or behaviour monitoring, no movement profiles, defined access rights and retention, anonymised analytics, and a ban on using data obtained outside the agreement.
Does the system help with evacuation head counts and lone workers?
Yes. It lists who has reached the muster point and the last zone of anyone missing, and flags a single person in a danger zone. That supports the employer’s duties to account for employees after an evacuation and to give lone workers a way to communicate and summon help; it does not replace them.

Talk to us about your site’s risks

Tell us where people and vehicles meet on your site. We will show you which alerts fit, and what the system does and does not do.

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