My company currently has a system where 16 tables move in and out of an oven. the tables are lined up 4 X 4 and can move in both X and Y axis. We currently have persons working on and around the tables and rely on the operator of the tables to ensure that there is no one in the vicinity before he chooses to move any tables.

My problem with this is that (like Alton Towers) it is a semi manual system which is prone to operator error. There have been a few near misses some years back but now the operators seem to use more care when moving tables. We cannot put light curtains in between each lane because of the fact that persons are working in the area a lot of the time.

Can anyone else tell me about some engineering controls that might work other than light curtains in this area. We have erected a lot of emergency stops in the area but I still think the system can be made more "fool proof".

Thanks for reading