Take the Forklift Challenge

Toyota Material Handling has launched a 'Forklift Challenge' game which is said to be the first mobile application in the material handling industry. The game is specially created to raise awareness about the capabilities of the Toyota System of Active Stability (SAS) and how it can lower costs in business.

The game allows you to climb into the driver's seat and experience the type of work that takes place in material handling - as well as the costs incurred by unsafe practices. Players have to use SAS special features in order to reduce the risk of accidents and optimise productivity.

N.B (In real life, SAS functions are always active and work in combination to protect drivers, trucks and goods - which is how Toyota trucks enhanced with SAS help customers to drive down costs.)

The goal for players of the 'Forklift Challenge' is to achieve maximum productivity while performing material handling tasks, in the quickest possible way. On each lap, there are several locations where the player has to safely pick up and drop off cargo - the SAS features must to be activated to prevent accidents or load loss. Get it wrong and drivers might incur additional damage costs, or even be forced to take a penalty lap and lose productivity.

The game has been developed to make maximum use of the gyro in mobile devices (the system which measures and maintains orientation), so that players can have a realistic and intuitive driving experience.

"It is more than just a game," says Tony Wallis, operations director Toyota Material Handling UK: "'Forklift Challenge' has been specifically created to illustrate the benefits customers get from Toyota SAS in terms of safety and cost control. With this game, we can now show that in a fun, dynamic way - engaging both our customers and forklift drivers in with the real experience of using Toyota SAS.

He added: "When it comes to acquiring new skills or attaining a new mindset, there is no substitute for 'learning by doing'. 'Forklift Challenge' is an excellent way to visualise and experience what SAS can do for our customers in terms of reducing accident risk and damage costs."

The Forklift Challenge is now available online for PC and MAC via www.toyota-forklifts.eu The mobile version of the game is available for free via iTunes for iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4. It is also available on the Android Market and requires Android 2.1.

Toyota System of Active Stability (SAS)
SAS is the product of years of experience in engineering advanced automotive technology. An industry premiere and still unique in the business, patented SAS technology draws on Toyota's leadership in developing automotive safety systems. Toyota forklift trucks equipped with SAS use intelligent technologies to reduce your driver costs and damage costs. SAS constantly monitors forklift operations and automatically takes corrective action when it senses factors that could lead to truck or load instability. For more information, please visit the SAS minisite via sas.toyota-forklifts.co.uk