christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

New Aircraft Designs Aim to Decrease Fuel Usage

Back in 2010, many people thought changing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) law to improve the average car fuel economy from 27.5 mpg to 37.8 mpg by 2016 was an ambitious proposal. That was a 37 percent improvement. The Tech Journal reports that researchers from MIT, with the help of a NASA grant, have developed an aircraft design that will improve the fuel efficiency of planes by 70 percent.

Moving aircraft efficiently in the air

NASA established a $2.1 million dollar research contract for the development of a new generation of subsonic passenger planes. NASA provided different grants to Lockheed Martin and Boeing for designing supersonic planes. Researchers at MIT developed a “double bubble” concept for their subsonic aircraft proposal. It features a dual fuselage design with these compartments being side by side and resembling two bubbles that have fused with one another. This shorter and wider fuselage with a tail-mounted engine provides more seating capacity and improves the loading and unloading process for passengers.

Moving aircraft efficiently on the ground

While the MIT researchers may have come up with an aircraft design that reduces emissions, can take off on shorter runways, and cuts down on noise pollution, you already have the most efficient method of towing small aircraft available with the Lindbergh Aircraft Tug Company’s family of aircraft tugs. We have electric aircraft tugs that allow a single person to quietly move planes weighing from 4,000 pounds to as much as 15,000 pounds.

For more information on these low-maintenance and economical aircraft tugs, visit DJProducts.com, and visit our blog for other tips and industry news.

Long Holiday Hours Mean Managers Need to Build Morale

Are your employees whistling while they work — or groaning in dissatisfaction? If the holiday season means longer hours, more overtime, or extra night and weekend shifts, it’s time to focus on ways to increase morale. Staff productivity and supply chain efficiency depend on it.

Warehouse managers need to be aware that increased workloads over the holidays can exacerbate the potential of warehouse labor to experience a loss of morale:

Long hours make workers feel like the business profits at the expense of their well-being
Physical exhaustion and short sleep lead to productivity loss, irritability, and general unhappiness
The potential of flare-ups increases between managers and employees, and among employees
Busy seasons may prevent managers from finding the time to show appreciation for workers

All of these problems can exist year round, but the holiday season holds its particular challenges. Nobody wants to feel overworked and under-appreciated during this time of year!

Build Morale to Plow Through the Holidays

The flip side, fortunately, is that you can build morale to make the holiday workload feel like a team effort and a team victory.

Invest in snacks and refreshments and ensure that everybody gets an appropriate amount of break time. It’s really true that workers can get more done over the course of a shift with short breaks sprinkled in.

You can also ease the physical burden of strenuous tasks with advanced material handling equipment. Our self-propelled warehouse tugs relieve the back-breaking work of pushing and pulling supply or inventory carts.

To keep your employees happy and working hard, contact us at DJProducts.com to discuss warehouse tugs and industrial cart movers.

Get Ready for the Holiday Shopping Rush

The holiday shopping season is in full swing, with “Black Friday” shopping spread out across the season. For retail, that means heavy traffic and high workloads for weeks on end.

Many people shop early in November and late into December to avoid the major crowds. Ironically, for retailers that actually lengthens the span of time spent dealing with higher-than-normal store traffic.

The National Retail Federation recently released its annual survey of consumer holiday shopping statistics. With 46 percent of holiday shopping taking place online, brick-and-mortar retailers need to convert traffic into sales efficiently. Online shopping provides the lure of convenience, so stores need to make it easy for customers to find and buy items.

Buyers love the “in-store pickup” option. This process can be streamlined by having employees use baskets and shopping carts to prep orders.

The Right Tools to Help Customers Shop

We often talk about inventory moving carts to help keep the warehouse and stock room in full motion. For holiday shopping, you also need a solution to retrieve shopping carts so customers don’t feel turned away or stressed.

Our motorized shopping cart movers help your business turn more sales and keep your employees fresh and energized. The benefits of shopping cart movers include:

Present a great first impression on shoppers
Encourage shopping cart use vs. carrying items by hand
Retain your best workers with improved working conditions
Simplify the task for seasonal workers with less experience
Protection from parking lot accidents

Help your employees keep customers happy — empower them with shopping cart movers for retrieving and relocating carts without the physical strain of doing it manually.

Celebrating 90 Meacham Airport is Ready to Grow

In the early days of American aviation, Meacham Airport of Fort Worth, Texas opened for operations in 1925. Almost a century later, the airport has recently announced new municipal funding of $17.5 million for terminal renovations and new hangars.

Meacham’s rich history was recently spotlighted by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Opened in 1925 to continue aviation in Fort Worth after the U.S. Army ceased its local flight operations.

Named for Fort Worth mayor Henry Clay Meacham, who donated money to build living quarters for the airport manager.

U.S. mail flew from Fort Worth to Chicago out of Meacham beginning in 1926. Passenger travel began in 1928.

World War II planes stopped at Meacham en route to the Pacific from New England.

American Airways (now American Airlines) opened regional headquarters in 1933.

Since 1953, Meacham has served corporate and private aviation.

The history and future growth of Meacham Airport show how dynamic small and regional airports have become. With increasing interest in private jets and flight schools, Meacham stands to expand and thrive.

All this growth has been made possible largely by new technology. We at DJ Products serve the small and private plane industry with aircraft tugs that help maneuver planes around tight hangars and across airport grounds. Instead of the old style of aircraft tugs built on lawn mower engines, we have innovated with powerful and reliable machinery adapted from the industrial material handling sector.

Aircraft tugs from DJ Products are available for weight classes of 4k, 8k, 15k, and 35k pounds as well as helicopters. For more information about aircraft towing and tuggers, visit DJProducts.com.

Electric Mover Turns Workers into Supermen!

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 electric mover is just what you’ve been looking for. This powerful DJ Products electric 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 electric 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 electric mover, the TrailerCaddy electric 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 mover is 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.

Mobility Matters to Today’s Hospitality Property Managers

Mobile technology has already changed the property management world by changing the way customers find and book a room. Now we are seeing the hospitality adopt smartphone and tablet apps for employee use, changing the way everyone from housekeeping to managers does their jobs.

Starfleet Media’s 2015 edition of the Smart Decision Guide to Hotel Property Management Systems explains how mobility solutions are quickly becoming part of the new norm.

Mobile platforms help hotel employees with productivity and response times:

Housekeeping receives instant alerts when a room should be cleaned
Front desk staff receive text-based messages when a guest makes a request
Maintenance receives and submits work orders, complete with notes and digital photos
Data and information can be seamlessly integrated from mobile applications to the property management system, producing trackable data for analysis and monitoring

In other words, mobile access not only helps workers communicate with each other and guests in real-time, it also accelerates the way hoteliers can compile and analyze data. One hub, accessible to any employee, with fewer phone calls and less paperwork to slow things down.

Hospitality industry equipment and the latest software work together to increase productivity and reduce costs. Think of a housekeeping employee using a motorized linen cart equipped with a mobile tablet. The worker quickly moves from room to room based on check-out alerts, instead of manually pushing a cart and knocking on every door.

Equip your staff with the latest technology. View the full report from Starfleet to read about the latest trends, and explore your options for motorized housekeeping carts and other hospitality industry equipment from DJ Products.

New CartCaddyHD Cart Mover pulls and pushes loads up to 50,000 lbs

DJProducts, Inc. is the world leader in providing battery-powered cart mover and assist tugs (cart mover) to the manufacturing, hospital, and retail industries. They provide solutions that eliminate the pains and strains associated with manually pushing heavy carts and wheeled equipment, or are less costly, smaller, and more maneuverable then traditional equipment like forklifts and pallet jacks that are not designed to push or pull wheeled carts and equipment. Cart Mover

Continue reading “New CartCaddyHD Cart Mover pulls and pushes loads up to 50,000 lbs”

Airtugs From Lindbergh Air Tugs by DJ Products

While small aircraft and helicopters don’t reach the size of commercial jets, they still present a major challenge for ground crews. Moving these bulky, heavy vehicles through the tight confines of hangars is awkward and time-consuming. With an assist from a Lindbergh air tug, this job becomes easy enough for one person to handle.

Our eco-friendly tugs are battery-powered so they run quietly, eliminating the distraction of loud engines. The walk-behind design means they can be handled by one person for more efficient use of manpower. Variable speed twist-grip handlebars are ergonomically designed to reduce the chance of repetitive use injuries. They can be operated with either hand and allow for smoother acceleration and braking.

Lindbergh tugs are sturdy enough to operate on gravel, dirt, grass and inclines as well as inclement weather conditions such as snow and ice. All larger models are equipped with a lazy susan-style cradle that allows a full 180-degree range of movement without turning the aircraft’s steering mechanism.

We offer a full line of tugs with models that can accommodate aircraft up to 35,000 pounds. In addition to the generous standard features, you can select from a variety of custom options to suit your particular application. Our exceptional customer service team will provide assistance through all stages of your purchase, including follow-up afterwards.

Whatever your needs, DJ Products has a tug to meet them. Our friendly, knowledgeable Sales Engineers are ready to help you find your perfect solution. Please contact us at 800.686.2651 or take advantage of our convenient online chat feature.

Cart puller prevents strains and pains associated with pushing or pulling heavy hospital beds.

DJ Products, Inc. is the world leader in providing assist tugs and a battery powered cart puller to the manufacturing, hospital, and retail markets. They provide cart puller solutions that eliminate the pains and strains associated with manually pushing hospital beds and heavy carts.

Continue reading “Cart puller prevents strains and pains associated with pushing or pulling heavy hospital beds.”

Newly Funded Project Aims to Help Kidney Dialysis Patients Live Longer

The side effects and dangers of kidney dialysis sessions are often preventable through education and planning, say researchers at the University of Michigan. A new program seeks to make dialysis a safer and more comfortable experience for patients.

The study will monitor how outcomes can be improved by working with patients and caregivers to understand the best habits and practices for dialysis treatment. The hope is to drastically reduce the frequency of unstable sessions — ranging from severe fatigue to loss of blood pressure and even death.

Improving Outcomes for Kidney Dialysis

Patients play a role in determining the success of dialysis. Healthy diets, proper hydration, and patience to endure longer sessions (to spread out the rate of fluid exchange) can all improve dialysis results.

Medical staff must also know the warning signs of dialysis problems and the best course of action to minimize ill effects:

Check the fluid status more frequently

Monitor the rate of fluid removal

Educate patients about how to manage dialysis treatment

Respond quickly to signs of instability

Most importantly, every dialysis session should be conducted over an ample period of time to avoid sudden changes. Staff must be ready with the appropriate hospital equipment to monitor patients and respond to problems quickly.

Better hospital equipment for dialysis helps medical providers conduct sessions more easily so patients are not left unattended for too long. A battery-powered dialysis cart mover helps a provider stay nearby and ready to respond, keeping patients cared for and monitored effectively.

If your medical facility needs to improve outcomes for kidney dialysis, consider the dialysis cart movers and other hospital equipment from DJProducts.com.