BASF: Safety and efficiency in fleet control

A forklift workshop with an office – in the middle of BASF’s 10-square-kilometer main site in Ludwigshafen. Within sight of the workshop, which looks after the company’s entire industrial truck pool, one thing becomes clear: at the largest contiguous chemical site in the world, safety and efficiency are not side issues but a basic principle put into practice every day.

A dedicated industrial truck pool at the heart of BASF

BASF relies on its own, clearly structured fleet management: around 2,600 industrial trucks are managed – about 1,800 of them in Ludwigshafen on a full-service basis with an in-house workshop.

The industrial truck pool handles procurement and rental and advises the plants on the site on the efficient use of the vehicles. “We support the plants in finding the optimal equipment. Safety, costs and utilization are always the focus – which is exactly why Mobile Easykey has its place here,” explains operations assistant Daniel Schneider. The on-site workshop attached to the industrial truck pool is responsible for maintenance, servicing and repair and ensures that the fleet remains ready for operation at all times.

The goal: more safety in transshipment warehouse Y130

In 2016, the decision was made to introduce Mobile Easykey (MEK) – initially in the site’s largest transshipment warehouse (known as “Y130” in the BASF world). Around 70 vehicles were in use there, and the aim was to improve the interplay of safety and transparency in order to prevent incidents that occurred despite comprehensive safety measures.

“The focus is always on analyzing incidents: what exactly happened, and how? And how can we avoid such incidents in the future?” says Daniel Schult, who was involved in the introduction. The combination of Crash Sensor and access control proved to be a precise fit that convinced the works council and department management alike. As a result, MEK was introduced not only for Y130 but also for other plants in which industrial trucks are used – regardless of forklift make. As a manufacturer-independent system, Mobile Easykey is an “adapter” that enables safe operation with all vehicle types.

Technology and acceptance as the key

Compared with other systems, Mobile Easykey scored with its dual sensor concept and the option of individually adjusting sensitivity through calibration runs. “The ability to fine-tune the sensors precisely to the respective environment was decisive for acceptance,” Schult reports.

Data protection was also a central topic from the very beginning: all data is stored exclusively on a BASF-owned server and only in anonymized form. Together with the works council, clear rules for storage and needs-based data analysis were developed.

Improved processes and greater responsibility

The introduction of Mobile Easykey led directly to tangible improvements: less damage, more efficient processes and a stronger sense of responsibility. Drivers benefit from the fact that events can be traced objectively. It quickly became clear: this is about fairness, safety and support in everyday work.

“Today, Mobile Easykey is spreading almost on its own within the BASF plants through positive reports from users,” says workshop foreman Christoph Kupper, who is in charge of technical support. “The combination of safety, transparency and ease of use convinces everyone involved.”

From explosion protection to autonomous machines

Around 20 plants on the site now use Mobile Easykey – not only on conventional forklifts but also on pedestrian-operated equipment and autonomous machines. A particular milestone was the introduction of the Ex protection module for areas subject to explosion protection requirements. This enabled BASF to ensure secure access control even in highly sensitive zones.

Future-proof and robust

Today, Mobile Easykey is an integral part of BASF’s safety and efficiency concept in intralogistics:

• 95% of the modules are connected to the database via mobile network – independent of Wi-Fi on the extensive site.
• The modules outlast several vehicle generations and more than 10,000 operating hours.
• Authorizations for special vehicles are assigned directly in the system.
• Automatic shutdown after crashes protects material and energy.

“The demand for intelligent solutions is unabated,” Kupper emphasizes. “And the awareness of the added value of Mobile Easykey has long been there.”

Mobile Easykey at BASF thus stands for lasting safety, responsible handling of equipment and technical reliability – from the forklift fleet in the transshipment warehouse to sensitive explosion protection applications. A system that is not only technically convincing but also has a lasting influence on the safety culture at the largest chemical complex in the world.

Facts and figures: BASF Ludwigshafen

BASF’s headquarters in Ludwigshafen is the largest chemical complex in the world: around 33,000 people work in more than 125 production plants on an area of 10 square kilometers. The site is connected by 2,850 kilometers of pipelines, 230 kilometers of rail track and 106 kilometers of roads. With more than 8 million metric tons of products per year, Ludwigshafen remains the heart of the BASF Group, which employs 111,800 people worldwide and most recently generated sales of 65.3 billion euros

Success story taken from the previous website.