christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Encourage Safety in Your Warehouse with Safety Walkarounds

Managing Your Warehouse by Walking Around

Use of our electric industrial tugs demonstrates your commitment to employee welfare. Make workplace safety a permanent part of your company culture by conducting regular walkarounds to promote ongoing safety awareness.

What should you focus on during warehouse walkarounds? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends a three-step process for safety inspections.

Before the Inspection

– Never do a “cold” walkaround. Take time beforehand to completely understand warehouse operations and review any previously identified safety issues.

– Talk to managers and supervisors about any specific concerns they may have.

– Wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

During the Inspection

– Limit walkaround participants to a handful of people. Larger groups may intimidate workers and prevent open communication.

– Look for hazards such as blocked aisles and doorways, exposed electrical wiring, and sloppy work areas.

– Solicit employee input as much as possible. Reassure workers that your goal is to spot and solve problems, not point fingers.

– As you go, make a list of identified hazards and prioritize them based on risk level.

After the Inspection

– Lack of follow-through dooms many workplace programs. Employees will be more engaged and cooperative when they see you taking action on findings.

– Create a hazard abatement plan specifying a course of action and timeline for addressing each issue discovered on the walkaround.

– Share the plan with both supervisors and employees and provide progress updates.

– If you don’t already have one, form a warehouse safety committee to help further integrate safety education and awareness in daily workplace operations.

Make Industrial Tugs from DJ Products Part of Your Safety Program

Customers say ergonomically designed industrial tugs such as our best-selling CartCaddyShorty are “like having an extra employee.” Our cheerful sales engineers are available to help through our convenient online chat feature.

Tips on Managing Your Warehouse Work Force

Managing material handling equipment involves not much more than following an established maintenance schedule. When it comes to managing your warehouse work force and operations, a wide range of variables comes into play.

Use these tips to keep your work force and operations running smoothly and efficiently.

Managing Employees

– Keep lines of communication open in both directions. Encourage employees to share questions or concerns freely so they can be addressed immediately, before they become more serious problems.

– Establish an effective training program for new hires. Both productivity and worker retention benefit when employees are confident in their job. Implement ongoing training and cross-training as needed.

– Conduct performance reviews on a regular basis. Reward outstanding performance and give employees a chance to improve their weaknesses.

– Success and failure are contagious. Don’t allow negative attitudes to get a foothold in the workplace. Let an employee go if he or she consistently demonstrates negative behavior.

Managing Operations

– Prioritize safety in your company’s culture. Keep all areas clean, organized and well-lit. Enforce safety regulations and post them in visible places throughout the warehouse.

– Order-picking is the most labor-intensive job in many warehouses. Review the process and solicit input from employees about making it more efficient.

– Meet with key staff members on a weekly or monthly basis to discuss new ideas, questions and problems.

– Successful companies embrace change. Don’t be afraid to implement new processes or material handling equipment when and where improvement is needed.

Material Handling Equipment for Today’s Warehouses

Are your employees still struggling to move heavy loads? Improve productivity and reduce workplace injuries with battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers from DJ Products. Get assistance from our friendly sales engineers with the convenient chat feature on our website.

How to Reduce Inventory Loss in Your Warehouse Operation

Are you looking for ways to increase productivity and reduce expenses in your warehouse? Cost-effective warehouse equipment is one solution. Reducing product loss also improves customer service and profitability.

A certain amount of loss from damaged product is unavoidable, but you can proactively manage the primary causes of waste. Here are five expert tips to significantly reduce inventory loss.

1. Commit to Employee Training

Your warehouse workers are on the front line of operations, and they can be your most effective warriors against inventory loss. Damages frequently occur when employees don’t operate warehouse equipment properly. Make training a part of the onboarding process and conduct periodic reviews to find areas that need improvement.

2. Analyze Warehouse Operations

Successful companies in all industries embrace the practice of continuous improvement of process, or CIP. Develop a plan of reviewing order picking, packaging and other warehouse processes with an eye for improving efficiency.

3. Invest in Quality Material Handling Equipment

Purchase price and maintenance costs of material handling equipment are important but they shouldn’t be the main consideration. Inexpensive equipment that breaks down or doesn’t work correctly ends up being far more expensive than high-quality equipment that’s efficient and durable.

4. Cut Down on Manual Touch Points

The more often workers touch products, the greater the chance of damage. Maximize the use of material handling equipment to limit instances of operator error.

5. Move Forward

No matter how much you learn about reduction of inventory loss, none of it means anything unless you put it into action. Create a workable plan and follow through on it.

First-Class Warehouse Equipment for All Applications

Take the first step toward reducing inventory damage with warehouse equipment from DJ Products. Contact us to learn more.

5 Tips for Improving Warehouse Productivity

Warehouse and logistics managers know that maintaining a productive loading dock operation is a challenge. Using an electric trailer dolly rather than hiring a 3^rd party shunting service or depending on inbound drivers to move trailers can help. The more control you have over your warehouse operations and the closer that you track key metrics, the more efficiently you can run your business.

These five tips can improve your warehouse’s productivity:

Get Organized

Allocate time to cleaning your warehouse and eliminating clutter. It can help find misplaced orders or avoid losing an order altogether. Being organized improves efficiency and safety as well. When aisles are clear and there are no obstructions in the way, employees are less in danger of injuries. Organization also means improving shelf access, container placement, and space utilization, while adopting lean inventory practices enables you to keep what you need without sifting through items you don’t.

Adjust Your Benchmarks

You want to cover as much as possible, but tracking too many metrics can be inefficient. Start small and add metrics as you go along. Include internal and external factors that affect your cash flow, but don’t focus solely on financials. Are customers’ expectations being met and are your vendors performing as expected? Start by looking at internal operations, or one facility, and look at how operations there can be improved. Apply what you learn later to other facilities serving similar customers.

Focus on Your Employees

A trailer mover might make work easier. However, making employees the focus of your facility improvements can go a long way. Provide regular safety and compliance training and let employees in on your production goals for the year. This gives them a target while providing incentives where possible can also help. For example, reward top-performing employees verbally and with rewards such as bonuses and gift cards, which can boost employee satisfaction, retention, and loyalty.

Take Advantage of Automation

Automating the logistics process can help more than the best electric trailer dolly. Track and monitor each delivery so there’s no guesswork. You can then have raw data from throughout the supply chain. Cloud-based inventory management software tracks everything in real time and displays what you have, what you need, and where your fleet assets are. It lets you refine any process quickly based on the most current factors.

Get an Electric Trailer Mover

When it comes to warehouse productivity, equipment matters. A battery-powered trailer mover, for example, is always available, so you don’t have to wait on an outside service provider to show up. The Electric Yard Dog, a terminal tractor from DJ Products, can move empty and loaded semi-trailers and other equipment around the yard and in and out of loading docks. Any employee can operate it with a minimum amount of training. Precise speed control minimizes the chances for dock, equipment, and trailer damage.

The motorized trailer dolly comes in various shapes and sizes. Units built to move boats and small trailers, all the way up to units that can move empty and loaded semi-trailers. For more information, browse our catalog or contact DJ products at 800-686-2651 or info@djproducts.com today.

Truck Mirrors – What to Know Before You Buy

Unlike small and easily maneuverable yard trucks, your large and powerful rig requires careful care in operation to keep fellow travelers in smaller highway vehicles safe. Your mirrors are an essential feature in helping you accomplish this, granting you a greater vantage point of the things surrounding you. But as with many products, not all things are created equal.

‘If You Can’t See My Mirrors, I Can’t See You’

Anyone traveling America’s highways knows this phrase. This simple sticker says it all, alerting passenger vehicle drivers that it’s a crucial responsibility to stay in sight of trucker’s mirrors. It’s just as crucial for you, as a truck driver, to carefully choose and maintain these mirrors that are so essential to protecting yourself and fellow motorists.

Truck Mirrors Broken? Avoid these Purchasing Pitfalls:

Be Wary of Non-OEM Replacement Mirrors
Avoid bargain basement stick-on mirrors and the like. If your factory truck mirrors have broken, obtaining an exact replacement from the manufacturer is best. Your truck’s mirrors are precisely sized and curved to allow for the best visual range for its specific size and features. However, that’s not to say there aren’t any good aftermarket replacements, because some of them offer additional features that improve safety.

Upgrade to Heated Mirrors if Driving in Cold Climates
Heated mirrors are a great investment for those driving in areas that commonly experience frost, snow, and ice, ensuring a clear mirror in these already dangerous conditions.

Consider Additional Mirrors to Expand Your View
Installing additional mirrors on the cab of your truck can help you eliminate blind spots and increase your viewing range.

Get a good look at true trucking business efficiency. Learn more about yard trucks from DJ Products today.

Some Truck Stops Stand Out Above Others – What to Consider

To put an end to the monotonous ‘meh’ feel of truck stops, many centers have lately been striving to up the ante by offering added comforts and conveniences and boasting bright, shiny exteriors to lure you in and gain your business. There’s now a plethora of places for you to pick for a bit of respite on the road. Almost too many.

Tips for Choosing Truck Stops that are Worth Your Time:

Plan Your Stops for Easier Access to Added Services

Terminal tractors can go forever… but you can’t. Preparations for your journey should include your need for food, leg stretches, bathroom breaks, sleep, etc. You should PLAN your stops versus an on-the-fly haul, so you can take advantage of the services of specific truck stop locations. With the influx of freight shipping and drivers, truck stops are offering quite a bit more than they used to. What would you like to do on your trip?

-Laundry?

-Shower?

-Relax and watch TV?

-Address dental or medical needs?

-Renew DOT certifications?

Look for Superior Parking Facilities

Gas and food are a given, but a great parking setup with wide spaces and great lighting are signs of a quality truck stop.

Major Chains May Offer Bigger Advantages

While there are some great independently-owned truck stops, as a general rule major chains tend to offer more services. Major chains also tend to sport cleaner bathrooms, better food, and more reasonably priced gas than independently-owned stops, due to their increased purchasing power and corporate connections.

Hostler dead on his feet? Ensure the help you need, increasing efficiency and lightening the workload with the help of terminal tractors from DJ Products today.

Beyond the Dumpster: The Problem with Plastic

Our dumpster mover accommodates loads of up to 5,000 pounds, but how much of that is plastic? Despite an increased focus on recycling, a disturbing amount of plastic continues to end up in the trash.

Plastic poses a wide range of threats resulting in long-term damage to the environment. Scientists continue to grapple with the problem of controlling the massive quantities of plastic waste around the globe.

“Statistic of the Year”

Approximately 9% of plastic produced over the last 60 years has been recycled. This staggering fact is so significant that Great Britain’s Royal Statistical Society named it their Statistic of the Year for 2018.

In quantifiable terms, plastic waste is accumulating at 6.3 billion metric tons per year. Even scientists working on the study were shocked at this almost incomprehensible number. Since plastic takes more than 400 years to decompose, most of it still exists.

A Global Approach to Plastic Recycling

For the past two years, scientists have been conducting their first-ever global analysis of plastic production and disposal. With 79% of plastic waste taking up space in landfills or across the environment as litter, projections show there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste by 2050.

Most plastic waste ultimately finds its way into the ocean, where it causes significant harm to fish, birds and marine wildlife. Previous studies found that 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in oceans annually.

According to researchers, production of plastic has accelerated beyond the capacity to handle the waste. Scientists urge re-evaluation of manufacturing, design and usage to develop more eco-friendly strategies.

Dumpster Mover: A Practical Solution to Easier Trash Removal

Reduce costly workplace injuries with a dumpster mover from DJ Products. Call 800.686.2651 for more information.

Beyond the Distribution Center: Tips to Prevent Shipment Damage

How much loss can you absorb from shipping damage? Getting to zero might be an impossible task, but it’s worth making every effort to reduce the risks. Air bags and strong tape help, but everyone along the supply chain needs the right warehouse equipment and plenty of knowledge for how to prevent product loss.

Reduce Freight Claims, Boost Profit

By using powered warehouse carts from DJ Products, your staff can better manage inventory and load shipments onto trucks and trailers. From a motorized cart pusher to more specialized warehouse equipment like the PartsCaddy or CarpetCaddy, there’s a tool for every job.

Logistics experts recommend taking even more action to prevent shipment damage:

– Test shipment methods before rolling out a new product

– Cube stacks of boxes to prevent damage during transit

– Train workers on proper use of box-cutters

– Apply shock and tilt indicators to fragile packages

– Make customer return supplies easy to use

Focus on What You Can Control

Whichever leg of the supply chain your company handles, there are many factors out of your control. From the factory to the last-mile delivery service, many hands touch each package. To prevent damage from shipping, focus on your own warehouse equipment and identify the places and situations that can cause damage.

Crushed box corners and shattered products are signs that employees might be overwhelmed at the warehouse. Does your team have the right material handling equipment for the weight, size, and volume of packages they handle?

DJ Products offers powered cart pushers and tugs for loads ranging from 1,500 pounds to 50,000 pounds. For every application, we have warehouse equipment that can save time, prevent worker injury, and make it easier to deliver the goods intact. Contact us for more info.

Beyond the Dumpster: Landfills – a Growing Community Problem

Landfills are a necessary evil that can have a lesser impact if people are careful about what goes inside of them. Gas emissions and poisoned water supplies are the real problems with landfills, far more than just the space they take up.

If responsible waste management were easier, wouldn’t you and your staff be more on board with it? When facilities managers have the proper dumpster moving equipment to make short work of trash day, it’s much easier to recycle and prevent toxic garbage from going to landfills.

Why Are Landfills a Problem?

Sometimes people should argue about where landfills should go, whether waste should cross state lines, and other matters for the bureaucracy. Landfills can create two important environmental risks when gas and leachate are not effectively controlled.

– Greenhouse gas emissions: decomposing materials release methane and carbon dioxide, hurting local air quality and the climate.

– Groundwater contamination: Heavy metals and chemical substances leach toxic compounds into the water supply and bodies of water.

To reduce the gas emissions, add composting bins near existing trash facilities and encourage participation.

To protect waterways from landfill contamination, everyone should avoid throwing away items like electronics, scrap metals, or chemical containers. Recycle them instead, or take them to a special drop-off site.

Dumpster Moving Equipment for Easier Management

Motorized dumpster moving equipment makes garbage duty less time-consuming and physically demanding.

Maintenance staff and building owners alike benefit from the DJ Products WasteCaddy. Easier trash hauling means fewer injuries, lower premiums for workers comp, and less time spent moving dumpsters.

With the right tools, it’s much easier to incorporate a recycling and composting system into your facilities so you can tout your green efforts. Contact DJ Products for a demonstration.

Replace Your Diesel Yard Dog with An Electric Dolly

Yard dogs can be effective at moving trailers around your docking facility. However, battery powered tuggers from DJ products are just as effective yet more efficient and easier to maintain. Using diesel fuel has its advantages. However, going electric is a trend and rightfully so, because of the benefits of an electric power dolly, which include:

Eliminating the costs associated with maintaining a diesel truck
Battery Powered = virtually no maintenance
Greater efficiency in any operating environment
Emission free operation, permitting indoor operation
No licensing requirements to necessary to operate

Using a diesel semi-tractor to move trailers, you’ll always have the expenses of diesel fuel and the hassle of either keeping fuel on site, or having to leave the yard to “fill up”. Then there are the costs of maintaining diesel equipment, ranging from blocked filters to changing oil and coolant, to servicing the radiator and hiring or finding trained service personnel to maintain the system. Diesel powered vehicles are expensive to operate and maintain.

Electric Dolly vs. Diesel

The TrailerCaddy line from DJ Products eliminates the costs and downtime associated with diesel-powered dollies. Depending on the model, standard batteries range from 36 volts to 48 volts and all you need is an electrical connection to charge up the dolly. With a battery upgrade, some of our higher end models can be updated from the standard four-battery system to a 16-battery system, yielding more hours of performance before a recharge is needed.

And all that is needed for charging is a standard 110v/220v outlet.

An Electric Trailer Handling System Is Powerful

Our Motorized Trailer Puller can tug 10,000 pounds, which is suited for RV’s, utility trailers, and small boats, but it only goes up from there. We also offer the 20,000-pound TrailerCaddy 2.5k, two 50,000-pound rated models, and a few “heavy-duty” systems built to move heavy generators, equipment, and semi-trailers.

Switch to an Electric Yard Dog

The benefits of an electric dolly vs. a diesel truck extend far beyond cost, efficiency, and maintenance. As convenient as these next benefits are, they contribute to the above as well. For one, you don’t need to bring in an extra crew to operate and maintain an electric dolly. Our powered tuggers don’t require licensing to drive and are ready at a moment’s notice. You don’t have to wait for drivers to arrive at your dock or warehouse to get started unloading or moving equipment.

A TrailerCaddy is always accessible. It does not require much room to store and can be maneuvered around tight spaces. Once charged, it is ready to go at any time. View our product line on the web to see which model best suits your application, and feel free to request a free onsite demo or more information; you can also call DJ Products directly at 800-686-2651.