DJ Products, Inc.

Ford is using Hollywood’s latest special effects gimmick to help design its cars and make them more ergonomic and driver friendly. You may have heard of motion-capture technology where a person’s body is hooked up to a slew of sensors that record individual muscle movements. It’s the revolutionary technology behind Hollywood director James Cameron’s sleek blue beings in the holiday movie hit Avatar. Ford Motor Co. has started using the same motion-capture technology to tweak the ergonomic design of its cars.

Since the early 1900s time-motion studies of ergonomics pioneers Frank and Lillian Gilbreth to movie-maker Cameron’s impressive high-tech sensors, industrial designers have been studying how workers move their bodies to accomplish different work tasks in an effort to create more efficient designs. Greater productivity may have been the early goal, but concern for worker health and safety has become an equally motivating challenge, one that gave birth to the field of ergonomics.

“Just like in the movies, we hook people up with sensors to understand exactly how they move when they are interacting with their vehicles,” Gary Strumolo, Ford manager of research and engineering, told Motor Trend magazine in a recent online article (click here to read the Motor Trend article and see pictures of the process). “Once we have all that motion captured, we create virtual humans that we can use to run thousands of tests that help us understand how people of all sizes and shapes interact with all kinds of vehicle designs. It’s an incredibly efficient way of engineering tomorrow’s vehicles.”

We may not have lithe blue aliens darting around our manufacturing plant, but DJ Products has long been a leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic material handling carts and tugs. Long before James Cameron and Ford started sticking wired sensor pads on test subjects, DJ Products was investigating and studying how the body moved and applying it to material handling design. Nice to see the rest of the world starting to catch up!

The U.S. auto industry is starting to make its comeback. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the first loans from the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program authorized by Congress to support the U.S. manufacture of energy-efficient cars and automotive components: 

• Ford Motor Co. was granted $5.9 billion to retool factories in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio to manufacture fuel-efficient vehicles.  
• Nissan North America received $1.6 billion to retool its Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing plant to produce electric vehicles.
• Tesla Motors got $465 million for production of advanced electric vehicles in California.

Other signs of industry recovery include Gestamp Corporation’s $90 million investment in a Chattanooga, Tennessee stamping operation to produce parts for Volkswagen’s new mid-sized sedan, and Ralco Industries’ $6.4 million expansion of its Pontiac, Michigan facility to increase production of welded assemblies  for the auto industry.

It’s a relief to finally see the first twitch of life in the U.S. auto industry. And it’s exciting to see the industry retooling for what promises to be a robust future. But along with forward-thinking changes in their product line, the auto industry should be implementing innovation changes in their production practices. Retooling initiatives should include ergonomic material handling equipment on the assembly line, on plant floors and in factory storage lots to ensure the protection of workers’ health and safety. The workers who made concessions in pay and health benefits to keep the auto companies alive deserve to work in an environment that promotes good health. The citizens who provided the cash that the government is using to fund the loans that are jump-starting new life into the auto industry deserve to know that every possible measure is being taken to create a financially lean manufacturing operation. Ergonomic material handling equipment accomplishes both goals.

Ergonomic equipment like DJ Products’ CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher pushes heavy equipment down an assembly. The CartCaddyLH electric tug can push a vehicle down a rail or be used to push/pull from station to station heavy carts of raw materials or parts weighing 10,000 to 50,000 pounds. The DealerCaddy car and truck pusher easily maneuvers cars and trucks around storage and dealer lots. All DJ Products’ material handling carts and movers are ergonomically designed to prevent expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries. Ergonomic equipment and practices have been proven to cut production time and costs, protect workers’ health and safety, improve worker morale, and significantly reduce the musculoskeletal injury expenses that cost U.S. businesses more than $150 billion each year. Including ergonomics in auto industry retooling efforts just makes sense — for the auto industry, for workers, and for taxpayers.

We admit it isn’t faster that a speeding bullet, and you won’t find leaping tall buildings in the specs; but it can make you feel more powerful than a locomotive. If you’ve ever wanted to flex Superman muscles but your body is more Clark Kent, our incredible TrailerCaddy trailer mover is just what you’ve been looking for. This powerful DJ Products mover turns ordinary workers into Supermen and Superwomen, allowing them to effortlessly transport heavy trailers and vehicles — no tights or capes required!

DJ Products’ versatile TrailerCaddy trailer mover pushes and pulls trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. Heavy equipment trailers, RVs, campers and boats are easily moved down assembly lines, from manufacturing plant to storage lot, across dealer lots, on and off showroom floors, or into position at trade shows — no need to hook up to a truck when you need to move these vehicles short distances, just slide in the TrailerCaddy and a single worker can do the job, effortlessly. Click here to watch a video of DJ Products’ amazing TrailerCaddy in action.

Like all DJ Products powered carts and movers, the TrailerCaddy trailer mover is ergonomically designed to take the strain off workers. The sore backs, strained muscles and exhausting overexertion that plague workers who wrestle with large trailered equipment are eliminated by DJ Products’ ergonomic design features. Any worker of any size or physical ability can easily move trailers, vehicles or equipment using DJ Products’ electric TrailerCaddy trailer mover. Ergonomic design significantly decreases worker injuries and their associated medical, insurance, worker’s compensation and lost man-hour costs, representing a considerable savings to employers.

Less bulky than traditional equipment, DJ Products TrailerCaddy electric trailer movers are sleek, compact and designed to maneuver easily in tight spaces, diminishing potential damage to surrounding parts and equipment when moving bulky vehicles. The ergonomic variable speed twist grip prevents carpal tunnel syndrome while allowing operators instant and complete control over the unit at speeds of 0 to 3 mph in both forward or reverse. A high tech speed controller, neutral throttle braking and electric adjustable acceleration/braking ensure safe operation and maximum operator control of the unit. Click here for complete specs on DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy trailer mover.