Author: christopher Harper

Use a Tow Tugger to Transport Carts Safely

DJ Products offers tow tugs like the CartCaddy Shorty that are designed to help workers move heavy carts and equipment efficiently and safely. Our motorized cart movers increase productivity by reducing the number of operators needed to move a heavy cart since tuggers like the CartCaddy Shorty can be operated by one employee.

One employee can move heavy carts and equipment safely with the CartCaddy Shorty because it attaches to the swivel-castered end of a cart and provides the pushing and pulling power necessary for easy turning and intricate maneuvering. It has a variable speed twist grip for forward and reverse directions and can be operated at speeds from from 0 to 3 mph. This means that it can keep up with the operator so he or she will not become frustrated or need to try to yank it or force it to move. Operator frustration such as that can cause problems and our equipment was designed to avoid those kinds of situation.

Another important feature of the CartCaddy Shorty is the safety stop. When the safety stop is activated, the machine stops immediately to prevent any possible injury. We design our equipment to be as safe as possible and to prevent strain, however there are situations that we cannot foresee. This is why an operator has the option of stopping the tugger immediately if necessary.
Sufficient power can also be a safety concern since you do not want to buy equipment that stops working in the middle of the job. The CartCaddyShorty Power Tugger can be operated continuously for 16 hours before you need to recharge it.

Safely Move Stalled Vehicles with a Car Pusher

Bigger does not always equal better and you can find surprising strength in small machines. Such is the case with a DJ Products car pusher. You might imagine that you need something as big as or bigger than a vehicle to move that vehicle, but you do not. Check out this video that shows how one person can push a stalled SUV into a garage using our CarCaddy car pusher.

Our CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher is battery operated and designed to push vehicles that have pneumatic tires, such as cars, trucks, campers, and buses. It can push cars and trucks up to 20,000 pounds on flat ground and up to 10,000 pounds on 3% grade. And if that is not enough, you can opt for a Heavy Duty Motor/Transaxle Power Upgrade so you can push cars and trucks that weigh up to 50,000 pounds. You can also opt to add foam filled tires, snow and ice tires, a safety horn or a flashing light.

But for now, during the heat of summer, you and your employees will be glad to have the CarCaddy to help move a stalled vehicle quickly and safely. The CarCaddy can minimize damage to the body (including back and shoulder strain) and lessen the time one has to spend in the sun moving a vehicle. This time of year it is important to lessen the chances of overexertion and heatstroke.

Whether a car or a larger vehicle needs to be pushed off the road, along a highway or across a parking lot into a service center, you can count on the CarCaddy.

Reduce Risk of Food Processing Plant Injury with Industrial Tuggers

A study from commercial insurer CNA that examined the risks associated with working in the food processing industry found that “the types of incidents most likely to cause worker injuries are manual material handling and physical stress; struck by and struck against; and falls on the same level.” The report also noted that while the industry has increased its use of power movers, there was still a reliance on manual transport that lead to injuries that may have been prevented.

As the reports also states, “Profitability in the food processing industry depends on the rapid production of final product and its timely shipment to customers. The continuous rapid movement of large amounts of raw materials and finished products throughout the production cycle exposes workers to injuries resulting from contact with moving objects.”

We know that you cannot afford to slow down operations. We also know that you would like to avoid costly worker compensations claims and the loss of productivity and morale that go along with those claims. So, try using a DJ Products powered mover, like the CartCaddyShorty for example.

The CartCaddyShorty can be used to transport a variety of heavy loads, including things like large quantities of cold cuts or a cart full of cookie dough. This small, but powerful tugger is one the most maneuverable tugs you’ll find today.

While you can continue to allow your employees to push heavy carts because they are ‘getting the job done,’ consider that ergonomically designed equipment will still help them complete their tasks with the added benefit of preventing strains and sprains that can harm your staff and your financial outlook.

Rely on a Car Pusher Instead of Human Strength

In the Superman movies, the superhero demonstrates his amazing strength: he manages to push a car up in order to free people who would otherwise be trapped. You can also find a number of real-life accounts of people somehow finding the strength to lift a car off of someone in an emergency. That adrenaline rush is useful in emergency situations but there is no guarantee that a person will have that same power on an average day.

This is where a DJ Products car pusher can come in handy because even though having a stalled vehicle is an emergency, you may not find that you are suddenly endowed with great strength to move that vehicle. And if your workplace requires cars be moved (across lots or showrooms) you probably do not want to have employees pushing vehicles themselves since this is can bring on undue physical strain and can damage the vehicles.

Plus, while it may be a common practice to move a stalled vehicle using another vehicle, this can damage both vehicles: they may become dented, scratched, or cracked. In contrast, the front push pad of the CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher is made of a soft, durable, padded material designed to preserve the paint and integrity of the back end of the stalled vehicle while also protecting the car and vehicle pusher.

There are limits to human ability and rather than take a chance, it is better to have the proper material handling solution at the ready so you don’t wind up with a damaged vehicle and injured employees.

Move a Trailer Safely and Efficiently with a DJ Products Trailer Mover

You wouldn’t think of pulling or pushing trailer on your own but with a powerful, ergonomically designed trailer mover from DJ Products you can do just that. Our TrailerCaddy trailer mover is capable of pushing and pulling RVs. campers, equipment trailers, and boats. You can use it to transport these items short distances, such as across a show room or down an assembly line. In other words, a DJ Products trailer mover is perfect for moving boats and trailers in tight spaces where a wheeled trailer will not fit. Our trailer movers let you move these kinds of large items in small areas and if used properly, you can minimize the chances that there will de damage to the vehicle you are trying to move or to the items that surround it.

Why take a chance that human effort alone can move a trailer a short distance without damaging it? Our trailer movers can be made to your specification. We can easily customize the electric mover to work with any style trailer and the electric braking system can hold a trailer on an incline to stop the runaway trailers and the accidents that can result when a trailer slides away.

It comes with 3 deep cycle batteries for long run times and extended use between charges, making it perfect for your business, whether you have a rental center that needs to stage rental trailers on a regular basis or a marina where customers occasionally need help preparing their powered boats before launching them.

Check out this video to see our trailer mover in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVVUfxZwQMI&feature=player_embedded

A Shopping Cart Retriever Keeps Shopping Carts in Rotation

If you’re in retail and will soon have shoppers lining up to make purchases, you want them to be able to pile up products…but they can’t do that if there are no shopping carts available. This is where a DJ Products Shopping Cart Retriever comes in handy. It can help your employees round up shopping carts and get them back into the store as soon as possible so no one has to wait for a cart or try to carry lots of items in their arms.

Our cart retrievers do not just make things more convenient for your customers; they allow your employees to work more efficiently and avoid harsh weather conditions, letting them move up to fifty shopping carts at the time. With a DJ Products cart retriever, hourly employees don’t have to spend time attempting to chase every stray cart. With a labor-saving cart retriever system, your employees don’t need to be out in the cold, rain or snow trying to amass all the carts and get them back to the store on their own.

After one of your employees attaches the cart pusher to the back of the line of shopping carts, the employee then stands at the front of the train of carts with one hand steering the line of carts and the other hand using a remote control device that operates the retriever. The employee can them guide the shopping carts from in front and once they are returned to the store and available for customers, that employee can go to get more carts or go on to complete other work tasks.

Avoid Safety Hazards to Make Efficient Use of Material Handling Solutions

Material handling solutions from DJ Products are safe, ergonomically correct, and cost effective. Our battery powered “walk-behind” units make it possible for an operator to have increased control and maneuver with ease, even in the tightest spaces. You’ll find that our motorized carts and powered tugs are easier to control than traditional electric equipment such as fork trucks, walks, or motorized riding tugs. Take a look at our website to find the material handling solution that will work best for your business and keep in mind that our tugs, pushers and pullers can be customized to better suit your needs.

However, as much as our products can assist you in transporting raw materials and products, they cannot rid your workplace of potential safety hazards.

ComplianceandSafety.com offers tips to make sure that your equipment travels smoothly and your employees stay safe:

Fix or report torn carpeting, loose floorboards or tiles, or otherwise unstable surfaces.

Fix or report broken furniture, burnt-out light bulbs or other appliances, and other defective equipment.

Look out for frayed, torn, or otherwise damaged electrical cords, cables, etc.
Keep floors and walkways clear of cords; coil excess cables or use cable ties to keep them out of the way.

Remove obstructions in walkways and (especially) exits.
Safety signs and exit signs should be clearly marked and easily seen.

Never touch electrical switches, outlets, or plugs with wet hands.

Fix or report fire hazards; check the sprinkler system, renew batteries for smoke detectors, have fire extinguishers on-hand.
Use flame-retardant materials.
Label and safely store all combustible items and fluids.

Get Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions and Retain Older Workers

Some older workers, particularly those who work in jobs that require them to use a certain amount of physical strength, are feeling nervous these days. They worry that if it seems like they cannot handle their work, they may see themselves replaced by younger workers. This fear may cause some older workers to attempt too much in order to prove their value to an organization. They may injure themselves not because they are too old, but because they strain themselves to prove their worth.

Today’s organizations need people of various ages to work together. Older workers have experience and know-how that younger workers do not have; young workers have fresh perspectives that can energize operations. Rather than lose older workers, you can see to it that all of your employees have ergonomic material handling equipment that prevents fatigue, muscle strain, and other injuries. You are probably well aware that it is costly to recruit, hire, and train a slew of new employees, so why not invest in making sure the ones you already have remain on the job?

A DJ Products Power Puller can maneuver in extremely tight spaces and ease the work of transporting hospital carts, laundry carts, maintenance carts and parts carts. These types of carts typically are less than 1500 lbs. and are generally maneuvered manually. Due to the nature of these carts’ uses, some organizations mainly assign elderly employees to maneuver them but our power pullers can also help younger employees as well. If our battery power puller is used, risks of fatigue and injury to valuable workers can be reduced.

A Truck Pusher Moves Vehicles Around a Dealership Effortlessly

Car dealerships move a number of cars and trucks over the course of a year and if you run a dealership and have your employees move these vehicles on their own, you should consider giving them some mechanical assistance. The DealerCaddy truck pusher is a multi-purpose battery powered device that aids car dealerships in a number of different pushing, pulling, and hauling functions.

For one thing, you want to make certain that vehicles do no get damaged on your lot. Whether they are vehicles that have yet to be sold or vehicles that were brought in for repair, it is important they remain in good shape.

And, more importantly, you also want to keep your employees in good shape. With the DealerCaddy trailer and truck pusher, an employee can effortlessly push a large vehicle that weighs up to 10,000 lbs. Because the DealerCaddy is ergonomically designed to reduce strain, you don’t have to worry about your service mechanics injuring themselves before or after they are able to work in a vehicle. In their effort to get work done efficiently, your workers may hurriedly try to move a vehicle on their own, thinking they are going to be able to get through a number of repairs quickly. What they may not realize is that they can strain muscles in such a way that they might be away from work for weeks, leaving their co-workers to be strained under a heavier workload.

Our DealerCaddy truck pusher has an adjustable push pad created to contour the bumper on the back of any vehicle. An adjustable height push pad flips back to expose a ball hitch that can pull cargo or a utility trailer from your parking lot into service bays.

Use Powered Roll Pusher to Push Paper Efficiently

When you ask some people what they do for a living, the response you get is, “I push paper.” These people are likely referring to office work where they process or pass along documents. They are not really pushing paper, as much as they are passing it along and with the use of computers, the volume of paper being processed in office environments has decreased.

Even with new technology, there are, however, still people who really do push paper, and lots of it. Paper companies still make paper and it still has to be transported through warehouses and onto trucks and distributed around the world. A paper company may have employees transport paper rolls that weigh up to 10,000 lbs. In the past, they used air pushers, but found that these were not exactly efficient. DJ Products, Inc. offers a paper roll pusher system that can be adjusted to accommodate paper rolls of different heights. The great thing about a powered paper roll pusher is that it efficiently allows rolls of different sizes to be transported while efficiently only requiring a single operator to push and maneuver rolls and there is not need for the limitations presented by air hoses.

And while you can opt to use fork trucks, walkies or riding tugs to move rolls at your paper manufacturing facility, keep in mind that this kind of equipment will require a lot more storage space than is need for the CartCaddy powered roll pusher. Additionally, you can also use a powered roll pusher from DJ Products to transport wire spools as well as paper rolls.