DJ Products, Inc.

In this space we’ve often extolled the value of ergonomics and ergonomic equipment. Ergonomically-designed material handling equipment like DJ Products’ CartCaddy motorized carts and tugs offer multiple benefits in the workplace, including:

• Reducing worker injuries and ensuring a safe work environment
• Improving worker morale by decreasing physical stress and strain during task performance
• Decreasing medical, insurance and worker’s compensation costs
• Decreasing time-lost costs due to worker injury and recovery/rehabilitation
• Increasing productivity, efficiency and profitability

But as Anne Kramer, CEO and President of Ergo Works, Inc., pointed out in a recent article posted on DiversityBusiness.com, ergonomics also opens the workplace to a more diverse workforce by improving accessibility.

Ergonomics is the science of fitting the task to the worker, rather than forcing the worker to contort his body to perform the task. Ergonomic design recognizes that workers come in all sizes of varying physical ability. Recognizing the great diversity among workers, ergonomic design allows equipment to be positioned and used by a maximum number of workers. 

Ergonomic equipment is designed to minimize the overexertion or cumulative trauma of manual lifting, pushing, pulling, stretching and other repetitive tasks that can injure soft muscle tissues. Kramer notes that back and shoulder injuries account for one-third of all missed work days. When the burden of a task is assumed by the equipment instead of the worker’s back, the need for inappropriate exertion is eliminated and the risk of injury is reduced. Ergonomics allows a more diverse group of workers to perform the same task or use the same piece of equipment, keeping injury rates low and productivity high. Use of ergonomic equipment allows employers to satisfy their legal responsibility to accommodate workers, maximizes use of their workforce and reflects a commitment to diversity in the workplace.

With the 15th Annual National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition opening tomorrow in Las Vegas, this seems like a good time to promote the value of ergonomics to creating safe working conditions, safe work environments and saving businesses a considerable amount of money on their bottom line. ErgoExpo will focus on the role of workplace ergonomics in economic recovery with special educational tracks detailing return on investment, impact on America’s aging workforce, potential to reduce health care costs, and impact on improving workplace safety.

The application of ergonomics to workplace processes and equipment has been proven time and again to increase productivity and profitability while improving health, safety and morale. Implementing an ergonomic plan and utilizing ergonomic equipment in your place of business is a win-win proposition — for business owners and their employees.

• Ergonomic procedures eliminate painful movements that can stretch and pull muscles causing injury, particularly with repetition or over time.
• Utilizing ergonomically-designed material handling equipment eliminates the strain and risk of injury from transporting and positioning materials or equipment.
• Implementing an ergonomic program creates a safer environment in the workplace.
• Ergonomic equipment allows workers to stay on the job longer and take fewer and shorter breaks, increasing productivity.
• A safer work environment means fewer injuries and fewer lost man-hours, increasing worker productivity.
• Fewer injuries decrease direct medical and physical therapy costs as well as the expense of insurance and disability claims, improving your bottom line.
• When work is less physically taxing, workers are happier and workplace morale goes up.
• When injuries go down and morale goes up, absenteeism goes down and productivity goes up!

To find out more about ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, visit the DJ Products’ website today.

Musculoskeletal injuries caused by overexertion are responsible for 25% of all workplace injuries and affect one in every 200 workers, according to data compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Overexertion injuries caused by straining during pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying tasks cost U.S. businesses more than $1 billion in compensation costs and 12 million lost workdays every year. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, more than 50% of worker’s compensation claims are for debilitating back injuries that affect 1.75 million (1 in 5) workers each year — at an annual price tag of $30 billion. The time-lost cost of a single back injury is estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at $26,000.

Ergonomic equipment is designed to eliminate and prevent muscle strain, overexertion, back injury and the whole gamut of musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries that eat away at U.S. business profit margins. Ergonomically-designed equipment reduces the risk of overexertion and injury from pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, bending and twisting tasks. The equipment, not the worker, carries the burden, eliminating expensive medical, insurance, worker’s compensation and lost work-hour expenses. When workers are less physically tasked and workplace safety is increased, worker morale improves, production increases and product quality goes up.

One study of U.S. manufacturers found that every dollar invested in ergonomics resulted in a savings of $4. DJ Products, a national leader in the manufacture of ergonomically-designed carts and movers, has found that most customers recoup their investment in ergonomic equipment within the first year. DJ Products specialized in providing affordable ergonomic solutions to material handling applications. We manufacture material handling equipment that is designed to eliminate the strain and pain of manually pushing or pulling heavy carts, equipment or materials. Our ergonomically-designed equipment is smaller, more maneuverable and less costly than traditional material handling equipment such as forklifts, walkies and motorized riding tugs. DJ Products specializes in battery powered, walk behind carts, movers and pushers that offer maximum safety and maneuverability. If you’re looking to get better value from your material handling dollar, contact DJ Products’ expert ergonomic sales team today!