Client: Toyota
Location: WA, Australia
Toyota’s cutting-edge Parts Distribution Centre supports a network of 36 Toyota dealership sites across Western Australia. As a purpose-built facility designed for scale and speed, the project builder and logistics manager were tasked with increasing the site’s capacity to handle a greater volume of parts and accessories.
Due to the site’s multi-functional layout and high-volume operations, the project presented several complex safety challenges. Vanguard worked closely with the team at Toyota to identify site-specific risks.
Client Challenges:
- Protecting the building perimeter from vehicle and material handling equipment (MHE) damage.
- Keeping expensive assets within the warehouse guarded
- Creating a walkway to separate pedestrians from MHE on the warehouse floor.
- Safeguarding overhead walkways at risk of being hit by MHE.
- Establishing temporary drop zones for operational flexibility.
Solutions Offered:
Knowing how and where to implement the proper safety controls is a key component of improving the safety and efficiency of your site. With the sheer scale of Toyota’s distribution centre, a wide range of safety controls was required to manage various risks.
Trying to source different safety controls from various suppliers can be a time-consuming and frustrating process that overcomplicates things. By offering the entire range of solutions through one supplier (Vanguard), Toyota streamlined the project by establishing a direct line of communication and a single source.
By visiting the site, we gained a deeper understanding of what the Toyota team aimed to achieve. From there, we developed a set of recommendations for the types of safety controls that would be most suitable, and where they could be placed to optimise safety and efficiency. Some of these suggestions differed from the original specifications but were welcomed as a better alternative.
Structural & Asset Protection
Protecting infrastructure in and around a warehouse environment requires strong safety controls that can withstand impact from vehicles and MHE.
The Toyota team was initially going to install steel in-ground bollards to separate vehicles and MHE outside the facility. Following our recommendation, they opted for steel surface-mount bollards because they can be easily installed and replaced if future maintenance is needed.
Overhead walkways are expensive assets; plus, if they are hit, they could injure people walking across them. A lack of concentration from a distracted forklift driver is all it takes to create costly outcomes, including causing serious harm to people.
We custom-designed steel door frame bollards to meet the height and width requirements of Toyota’s overhead walkways, preventing damage to these structures and protecting crossing staff. The customisation also allowed AGV towing trollies to continue operating without obstacles.
Downpipes often fall victim to collisions with vehicles and can not only be a costly asset to replace but also slow down operations in the process. By installing custom-width steel downpipe guards, Toyota has prevented potentially major damage to its infrastructure in the event it gets hit.
Outside the facility, where heavy vehicles are more likely to occupy the site space, Toyota installed our steel W Beam barrier—a double-impact barrier with Crumple Zone Technology (CZT) that protects the outside of the building from heavy vehicles. The CZT protects the barrier if it is hit, preventing it from ripping out of the ground and damaging the surface beneath.
Pedestrian Safety
While the need for a pedestrian barrier had initially been overlooked, a PedSafe Handrail and accompanying Swing Gate were used to block off an operational area and segregate pedestrians for their safety.
By creating clearly defined walkways and installing gates that encourage people to pause before entering the line of MHE, the risk of accidents was significantly reduced.
Zone-Specific Impact Protection
Protecting key components of the Toyota facility from MHE impact is one of the highest priorities. When structures and equipment are exposed to the risk of damage, it can result in costly repairs and stall or even completely halt operations.
To avoid this risk, Boplan Flexible Barriers were installed around the automated pick zone. Designed to absorb energy upon impact, the barrier will bounce back to its original shape when hit. Flexible kickrails were also installed along the warehouse walls to protect against MHE collisions.
During our site scope, we identified a staging area that needed to be cordoned off, but still accessible to pedestrians. As a result, we recommended the SpanSafe expandable barrier as a temporary protection measure that could be retracted when not required, allowing for operational flexibility.
Aesthetic Front-of-House Safety
Toyota wanted a solution to deter vehicles from getting too close to a building without compromising on aesthetic appeal—using stainless steel bollards was a practical way to do so. Toyota installed these solutions in front of their facility to blend security and design at public-facing entrances.
The Outcome:
After implementing a situation-specific plan, Toyota’s WA Parts Distribution Centre now benefits from custom-engineered safety solutions that align with its advanced logistics design.
This was a complex installation in the sense that operations could not be stopped while the safety solutions were being implemented. However, the ability to gain early access to the building, combined with swift installation work, allowed the job to be completed simultaneously.
As time passed, the job expanded in scope beyond its original boundaries. However, we worked with Toyota to adapt to the site’s evolving demands and ensure they got the right solutions in place.
By ensuring the right solutions are used for the right purposes, Toyota can now operate with confidence in operational efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of workplace safety.
