DJ Products, Inc.

There’s a big difference in the amount of energy and effort it takes to push a wheeled cart across a smooth, flat linoleum floor and a floor covered in carpet. So many factors come into play, including:

• The design, width and size of the wheel.
• The weight of the piece of equipment being moved.
• The depth and nap of the carpet.
• Whether the transport area is flat or inclined or a combination of the two.

These issues and many others are seriously considered during the design of ergonomic material handling equipment for use in health care and hospitality settings that generally include carpets in some areas. Wheel design can significantly impact the amount of force it takes to maneuver a laundry, food, utility, maintenance or garbage cart or some other piece of equipment across hospital, nursing home, hotel, motel or resort floors.

DJ Products electric cart pushers feature a unique wheel design that provides optimal traction on both smooth and carpeted floors with no discernable transition issues. The ergonomic design of our motorized hospital and hospitality cart pushers removes transition issues as carts move easily from one flooring surface to the next. Changes in grade and friction are negated by ergonomic wheel design that allows smooth travel over and between surfaces. The unique 5th wheel design of our control arm allows safe 180 degree pivoting of fully-loaded carts under the arm. This feature allows workers to turn heavy loads a full 90 degrees without risk of jackknifing the care or needing to manually maneuver the front end of the cart.

The result is safer operation for hospital and hospitality workers and more versatile use of these exceptional ergonomic material handling products.

The weather folks are in their glory, on full alert as hurricane Ida churns toward the Gulf Coast. Even up here in the far northern reaches of the Midwest (Little Falls, MN) where even mild fallout from Ida is highly unlikely, local weather broadcasters are dancing on screen in paroxysms of joy as they gasp the latest warning bulletins. It’s likely to be a few weeks before any real snow hits our neck of the woods, so I guess Ida gives the storm chasers something to do; but prevailing winds being what they are, I don’t think we’re in much danger of flooding up here.

All the hoopla in the press did give me a new idea to pass along to our sales team. I saw resort workers struggling to push stacked lounge chairs across pool aprons and into storage areas. You could see them struggling to muscle the heavy stacks of chairs against the wind. It occurred to me how easy the job with be with DJ Products’ versatile WagonCaddy power mover. We’ve already adapted our powered material handling equipment to help local schools maneuver metal bleachers around school gymnasiums and on and off playing fields. This application for the hospitality industry would be a snap!

Ergonomically-designed to take the strain off workers’ backs, DJ Products’ WagonCaddy power mover allows an operator to quickly and easily transport materials — like lounge chairs — parts or machinery without physical exertion. (Click here to see a video of the WagonCaddy in action.) Like all of our ergonomically-designed, powered material handling equipment, this tug is equipped with an instant safety stop to prevent injuries. A variable speed thumb twist allows the operator to smoothly move in forward and reverse up to 3 mph. Compact design allows for maneuvering in narrow corridors and tight spaces and the cart can pivot loads a full 360 degrees. For full details, visit DJ Products website.

Staycations and a sharp decline in business travel during the recession have pushed the U.S. hospitality industry to the edge. In recession for the past 24 months, overall occupancy rates continue to erode despite a slight seasonal uptick in June. Occupancy rates at U.S. hotels, motels and resorts have been falling even more rapidly than before over the past eight weeks and the immediate future doesn’t look good, according to industry watcher Hotelmarketing.com.

Continued concern about family finances and potential job loss have kept families at home. Group travel is down, and tours are being cancelled for failure to meet minimums. Businesses have cut travel to hold the line on expenses. Convention and trade show attendance is down. Hotels and motels are competing for a narrowing traveler pool that has forced many to cut staff until the economy improves and the hospitality industry rebounds.

Savvy hoteliers are turning to ergonomically-designed hospitality carts that allow a single employee to accomplish a greater workload with less physical effort. Ergonomic design eliminates strains and pains that workers can develop from pushing heavy laundry, cleaning and linen carts at hotels, motels, casinos and resorts. Powered housekeeping carts and clean and dirty linen carts allow a single employee to safely manage heavy loads of linens or cleaning supplies.

Powered platform carts and electric carts allow easy and safe movement of supplies, materials, parts or machinery from one area of a facility to another. Compact design permits operators to easily and safely maneuver carts through heavily traveled hotel corridors and narrow behind-the-scenes hallways. Motorized dump hoppers makes trash removal a breeze.

DJ Products, the national leader in the manufacture of ergonomic motorized carts and tugs, offers a full line of material handling products designed to meet the needs of the hospitality industry. Our motorized cart retro kit can be adapted and installed on any cart to increase safety and productivity. Visit the DJ Products website for more information.