christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Five Steps to Improve Warehouse Safety

What does it look like when a warehouse maximizes safety? Workers using tools and methods that inherently mitigate risk. Task automation perhaps plays the biggest role. Repetitive tasks and high-stress movements both cause workplace injuries. Powered pushers and other material handling solutions take away these strains.

The UK’s health and safety news leaders at SHP Online recommend this 5-point plan to improve warehouse safety:

#1. Ongoing safety practices. When starting a new safety protocol, make sure that the best practices continue over time rather than being a one-time meeting or announcement.

#2. Technology should be used to make operations easier and safer. Use tools to improve posture and lifting technique. Powered pushers reduce the risk of common warehouse injuries to the back and neck.

#3. Study “near misses” to prevent accidents that are likely to recur.

#4. Personal protective equipment (PPE) provides a safety net. Focus more on safe practices for prevention, but also use PPE that employees find comfortable.

#5. Communication should be open and frequent. Conduct regular huddles as opposed to only offering formal complaint and suggestion methods.

Not sure where to start? In many warehouses, the heavy carts carrying inventory or equipment create the biggest strain on workers. Powered pushers let any employee maneuver thousands of pounds of weight with the push of a button.

Back, shoulder, groin, and other musculoskeletal injuries take a toll on worker health, and those injuries threaten your operating efficiency as well. For more info on powered cart pushers and pullers for warehouses, talk to us at DJProducts.com about our variety of injury-specific warehouse safety tools.

Boutique Hotels Emerge as a Trend in 2015

Boutique hotels have gone from an exciting fad to a lasting trend in recent years. In 2015, hospitality experts have observed more emphasis on both business-friendly hubs and Instagram-worthy lifestyle hotels.

To create the right atmosphere, hoteliers need fast and seamless housekeeping methods. Tools such as a powered housekeeping cart help accomplish the boutique vision by keeping staff happy and friendly and streamlining the cleaning process.

What is your hotel doing to stay ahead of the competition? Modern, premium surroundings are the new norm in hospitality.

Design and Layout Trends in Boutique Hotels

Tourism news magazine Tourexpi recently interviewed some of the leading hospitality design minds about the trends that emerged in 2015:

Striving for authenticity? Work with the local architecture and style, or take another route altogether. Faked authenticity is spotted easily.

Modular design. Get more mileage out of space with easily movable furniture in rooms and public spaces that perform double duty.

Public spaces rather than meeting rooms. Businesspeople are booking meeting rooms less frequently, preferring casual and impromptu communal spaces.

Smaller, minimalist rooms. People do little besides sleep and dress in rooms these days — and hotels are designing smaller rooms.

Foregoing bathtubs? Unless your hotel attracts families with babies, walk-in showers make more sense.

Streamline the housekeeping process, and it’s much easier to succeed as a boutique hotel. A powered housekeeping cart (either a new cart or a battery-powered retrofit kit) can be a major game-changer.

Make sure your employees have the tools they need to provide fast and friendly hospitality. Visit DJProducts.com for more info on our powered housekeeping cart.

Carpet Trends -What’s Hot is More Than Beige

Neutrals will always play an important role in great design. But for 2016, beige is just as boring as ever. Tastes are skewing towards warmer tones of taupe or interesting variations on gray with undertones of blue, green, or brown.

Designers and consumers are looking beyond beige for colors and styles that have the same versatility without the yawn factor:

Blues and Greens as Neutrals

Slate blue, faded moss green, and other soft blue and green tones are being chosen for carpets in place of actual neutrals. Few buyers want eye-popping colors that they will grow tired of, but rather muted colors that coordinate easily.

Texture in Place of Pattern

Striations, ribbing, marbled effects and other textural effects are drawing plenty of attention. Textured patterns hide stains and wear and tear. It also avoids looking dated or difficult to complement with decor.

Timeless Geometrics

After a long fad of heavy-handed patterns like chevron and herringbone, the carpet trends have settled on less showy and more timeless geometric patterns. Think low-contrast, two-tone designs like a subtle windowpane pattern.

Keeping up with the trends meaning being able to physically move inventory around to have the popular styles ready to show and sell.

A carpet roll caddy simplifies the process of moving carpets around the warehouse and showroom, or out to delivery trucks. Instead of several employees risking back injury with manual labor, just one employee can handle the load with a battery-powered carpet roll caddy that assists with lifting and placing the item.

Be prepared to move the hot carpet trends of 2016 — check out the carpet roll caddy at DJProducts.com.

Reduce Turnover to Keep Your Warehouse Profitable

Efficiency can swing the profitability of a warehouse more than anything else. And as warehouse managers know, staying efficient requires a strong balance of process, labor, and equipment (like industrial tugs that automate some labor).

Employee turnover hits warehouses hard because workers build skills and get better and faster over time. New employees can be brought into the fold with a good process and helpful tools, but it’s always worth the effort to retain the good employees you already have.

Some great tips for reducing employee turnover from the Wall Street Journal are very applicable to warehouses:

Include “culture fit” during the hiring process. You can teach the job. Bad fits aren’t going to stay around for long.

Stay aware of competitive salary and benefits to avoid poaching.

Reward and recognize top performers, and offer upward mobility as a motivating tool for everyone.

Be accommodating with schedules when possible — working around special requests and approving time-off requests go a long way.

Be sure to consider the physical labor involved, too. Are your employees comfortable on the job, or would many of them prefer a job that is less tiring and difficult? Injuries and soreness can push an employee to look elsewhere.

Automated material handling solutions help reduce employee turnover by significantly improving the work environment. Industrial tugs can move inventory carts and haul equipment with minimal effort. Eliminate the strain of chronic back pain and other warehouse ailments, and your employees are less likely to look around.

Follow our blog for more warehouse management tips and check out DJProducts.com to explore your options for industrial tugs and warehouse cart movers.

Healthcare Business Trend Projections for 2016

Healthcare spending has grown at slower rates in recent years, and that trend looks to continue in 2016 and beyond. PricewaterhouseCoopers has released new projections from its Health Research Institute that estimate 4.5% net growth in 2016 — a relatively steep drop from a decade earlier.

The HRI report examines key factors that are curbing medical spending:

Cost-sharing increases for patients reduce the likelihood of seeking treatment

Telemedicine offering virtual visits and reduced costs

Comparison shopping and health advisers steering patients to lower-cost services

Other factors are increasing health spending in non-traditional ways:

Increased data security expenditures

Incorporating a swath of new specialty drugs

Healthcare Consumers Shifting to Retail and Ambulatory Care

Hospital administrators need to redouble their efforts to reduce operating expenses in order to compete. Drugstore clinics and physician’s offices can offer similar care at reduced costs, luring patients away from hospitals.

Controlling Costs Key in a Competitive Market

Hospitals can take numerous short-term and long-term steps to reduce costs:

Educate the public and promote healthy lifestyles

Use data and analytics more strategically

Adopt virtual care options whenever possible

Leverage new tools and equipment

On that last point, we are seeing hospitals improve care with efficiency and quality using equipment such as motorized hospital carts. Better tools for employees can streamline daily operations while also enhancing patient care. For example, motorized hospital carts may boost employee morale and help retain talented staff.

The decisions made now can help position your healthcare facility for better profitability in the volatile times ahead. For more info on motorized hospital carts and other tools to boost efficiency, visit DJProducts.com.

Versatile Trailer Mover Useful for Boats, RVs

Spring is officially here. It’s not the daffodils poking through the ground that tipped me off; it was the parade of boats and RVs on the highway this weekend that clued me in. When people put their boats in the water and fire up their RVs, you know that spring is in the air. The folks in Chicago and Detroit may still have to shovel a few inches of snow this month, but most of the country (Nebraska excluded) is starting to enjoy warmer days, and thoughts are turning to summer pleasures.

Developed to facilitate the easy movement of trailers around manufacturing plants and storage facilities, DJ Products’ versatile TrailerCaddy trailer mover has been appropriated by the boating and RV industries. Ergonomically designed to prevent the muscle strain associated with moving large trailers and trailered equipment, DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy makes it possible to move heavy, unwieldy boats and RVs at plants, in showrooms and on sales lots with ease. Our ergonomic trailer pusher protects the health and safety of your workers, putting the strain on the equipment, not on workers’ muscles and backs.

The compact design of DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy allows workers to effortlessly and safely maneuver boats and RVs while maintaining complete control over the vehicle, whether moving a RV across a crowded sales lot or positioning a boat in a tight showroom space surrounded by other expensive vehicles. Because our battery-operated TrailerCaddies are more efficient and less bulky than traditional electric trailer pulling equipment, they cost less to use, have lower maintenance costs, require less storage space, and result in fewer accidents.

Capable of moving trailers, RVs and boats up to weighing up to 20,000 pounds, DJ Products’ trailer mover is powered by three deep-cycle batteries for long run times, extended use between charging, and quiet operation. An electric braking system holds trailers safely on inclines, preventing potential accidents from run away trailers. Operated from the handlebar, the ergonomically-designed, variable-speed, high-tech speed controller allows smooth acceleration and de-acceleration from 0 to 3 mph both forwards and backwards. A safety stop switch conveniently mounted on the handle bar ensures immediate, safe stopping power. Non-marking tires protect showroom floors. Click here to see a film of DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy in action.

Ergonomic Controls Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Constant numbness in the hands, sharp shooting pains in the wrist and up arms, loss of grip strength or even the ability to maintain a grip on objects, loss of feeling in fingers — the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are frightening and the pain is great enough to wake you up at night. Left untreated, the condition is debilitating and can cause permanent damage to your hands.

Because of the serious and debilitating repercussions of carpal tunnel syndrome DJ Products designs all of its material handling equipment with ergonomic controls, handles and handholds. Our goal is to provide ergonomically-designed material handling equipment that protects the health and safety of workers by eliminating the potential for debilitating musculoskeletal injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful, progressive condition caused when the median nerve, the key nerve in the wrist, is continuously compressed by swollen tissue. The median nerve controls sensations and impulses to the muscles on the palm side of the hand, thumb and all of the fingers except the pinkie. The median nerve runs from the forearm into the hand through a narrow bony passage at the wrist called the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel also houses tendons that allow the wrist and hand to move. When repetitive motion activities or repeated stress from pushing and pulling heavy carts irritates wrist tendons, they swell, pressing on the median nerve. The result is numbness, weakness and pain that radiates from the fingertips up the arm.

When workers continue to perform daily tasks that irritate wrist tendons, pressure on the median nerve becomes constant, eventually causing permanent damage. Without nerve support, the individual gradually loses fine motor and may even lose gross motor control of his hands and fingers. He may lose the ability to sense hot and cold. Muscles at the base of the thumb atrophy, and hands can become deformed. Left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome can cause life-altering disability.

Repetitive motion activities on the job and strain from pushing and pulling heavy equipment are the leading causes of carpal tunnel syndrome in the U.S. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in a 1998 study 3 out of every 10,000 U.S. workers were affected by carpal tunnel syndrome. On average, each worker missed 10 days of work and incurred medical bills of $30,000. Treatment of chronic cases requires surgery and an average 6 to 8 weeks for recovery. Utilizing equipment with ergonomically-designed controls and handles can effectively eliminate the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

What Is Material Handling?

Say the words “material handling” and many people think of forklifts carrying pallets across a warehouse floor. But material handling is so much more. There isn’t an industry or business that doesn’t handle materials, whether it’s steel on an auto assembly line or boxes of paper in an office. If you buy, sell or use anything (i.e., materials), it has to be moved and that, in its most basic essence, is material handling.

Efficient material handling can reap huge rewards for businesses. It can markedly increase efficiency, eliminate unproductive and duplicate efforts, improve production completion time and decrease worker accidents and injuries — all of which decrease costs and improve your bottom line. The key to maximizing your material handling investment is versatility. Material handling equipment that can be easily tasked to multiple uses, used by workers of any age or size, and that can maneuver easily in any environment, whether across an open floor or down a crowded corridor, will give you maximum return on your investment.

DJ Products is the nation’s premier manufacturer of ergonomically-designed electric carts and motorized cart pushers, the most versatile material handling equipment on the market today. DJ Products makes carts, pushers and movers for a wide variety of applications, from heavy industrial environments to hotel and hospital settings to retail establishments. We make heavy-duty tugs capable of moving 20,000 pounds of heavy equipment down an assembly line. We make compact cart pullers that can quietly move linen carts down a crowded hotel corridor or maneuver diagnostic equipment around a cramped hospital room. We make specialized equipment for the automotive industry that can just as easily maneuver cars, trucks or even trailers across a storage lot as around a showroom floor. And that’s just a sampling of the uses customers have found for our products.

But it’s ergonomic design that sets DJ Products’ equipment apart. Ergonomic design ensures that the equipment, not the worker, carries the load, significantly decreasing the risk of expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries to employees. Ergonomic design assures optimal equipment management by any operator, no matter his or her age, physical size or strength. Adjustable features, strategically located and carefully designed controls, superior maneuverability in tight spaces, and excellent safety features are built into every DJ Products cart, pusher and mover.

Visit the DJ Products website today for complete information about our full line of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment.

Safety Is No. 1 When Choosing Material Handling Equipment

Productivity and safety are the two top concerns when business owners buy material handling equipment, with safety being paramount. Unsafe equipment will drag down productivity, while safe equipment will enhance productivity. To handle materials safely, loads must be under the operator’s control at all times. Load capability and handling, maneuverability, control placement and design, wheel placement, tire composition, operator line of sight — there are a whole host of design elements that determine the safe operation of material handling equipment.

Manufacturing material handling equipment that is as safe to use as it is easy to operate drives the design of DJ Products’ material handling equipment. Our products are ergonomically designed to take the physical strain off workers’ muscles, allowing them to work more efficiently and more comfortably. By making equipment adaptable to the worker, ergonomic design allows workers of various body types, ages, and physical skills to perform on an equal footing. Ergonomic design maximizes employee performance by eliminating awkward work postures that lead to the tired and cramped muscles that erode job performance and can lead to injury and disability. When workers are forced to contort their bodies into less than optimal postures to operate equipment, muscles become more quickly fatigued. Not only does fatigue lead to slower task production and longer and more frequent breaks, it increases the risk of injury. Ergonomic design eliminates these problems and ensures each worker a safe and comfortable work environment.

To maximize operator control and line-of-sight, DJ Products’ material handling equipment is designed so that the operator walks or rides behind the loaded equipment. This affords the operator maximum visual sight lines to ensure plenty of time for maneuvering and safe stopping, particularly in crowded or heavily trafficked environments. Conveniently-positioned, ergonomically-designed controls allow easy operation and instant safe stopping power of DJ Products’ battery-operated and motorized carts and cart pushers.

A unique safety feature of DJ Products’ carts and movers is our strategically-designed mover arm that allows our cart movers to pivot a full 180 degrees under the arm once it is firmly attached to a cart or piece of equipment. This allows the operator to turn and maneuver carts and equipment safely without risk of jackknifing the cart while carrying a heavy load.

To find our more about the specific safety features that make DJ Products’ material handling equipment a national favorite for a wide variety of applications from manufacturing assembly lines to hotels and hospitals to grocery stores, visit our website today.

DJ Products Trailer Mover Perfect Solution for RV Industry

The economy is driving people in search of inexpensive travel and vacation options and, in many cases, inexpensive housing. RVs seem to fit the bill. Record-setting attendance at RV shows has led to strong first quarter sales in the recreational vehicle industry. With young adults aged 18 to 34 comprising the fastest growing segment of RV owners, industry watchers expect RV sales to remain strong well into the future. RVs are the perfect vehicle for active folks who appreciate the outdoors and are looking for an easy, eco-friendly way to travel. The ability to take off for a quick weekend or mini-vacation is as appealing to young adults as it is to busy families and retirees.

Increasing RV sales are creating a ready market for DJ Products’ popular TrailerCaddy trailer mover. More RV buyers mean more RVs moving across sales lots and in and out of showrooms. DJ Products’ trailer mover is the perfect solution for manufacturers, dealer lots, trade shows and service centers. Our versatile TrailerCaddy is designed to push and pull trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. DJ Products’ ergonomic design provides powerful pulling strength while protecting workers’ health and insuring their safety. Our ergonomically-designed material handling equipment is built to prevent the physical strain that occurs when workers are forced to muscle around large trailered equipment. Ergonomic design ensures that the equipment, not the worker, takes the strain of moving and maneuvering heavy equipment.

DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy makes easy work of pushing and pulling all kinds of recreational vehicles, including RVs, campers, equipment trailers and boats. Our electric-powered trailer mover is the perfect solution for moving recreational vehicles down an assembly line, around a manufacturing plant, across sales lots and showrooms and into trade show spaces. The compact design of DJ Products’ powered TrailerCaddy allows superior, precise movements, making quick work of maneuvering large recreational vehicles through crowded spaces and into display areas without fear of damaging surrounding vehicles. As RV sales continue to increase, you can expect to see more manufacturers and dealers turning to DJ Products’ handy TrailerCaddies to move recreational vehicles.

DJ Products makes a full line of compact, ergonomically-designed material handling products designed to do the job while protecting the health and safety of workers. Our products are cost effective to purchase and inexpensive to operate and maintain. Most of our customers report recouping their capital investment within the first year of ownership. To find out how DJ Products’ motorized carts, movers and pushers can benefit your business, talk to one of our ergonomic specialists today.