christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Safety Assessment May Just Get You an OSHA Paid Dumpster Caddy

Quality Staff Gets You Quality Equipment

Prevention is so critical to worker safety that OSHA has grant money available for ergonomic tools like dumpster moving equipment. Award recipients include non-profit organizations as well as labor unions, private firms, and certain other groups, so it’s possible for your workers to benefit from free safety equipment in almost any kind of workplace.

A Minnesota workman’s compensation insurance consultant’s article describes the availability and process of applying for an OSHA training grant. These funds are available through the Susan Harwood grant program, and there are various other state-level grant programs that can award free ergonomic equipment. Check with your state’s OSHA department (or your province’s OHSA in Canada) for equipment grants.

Get Started on Improving Warehouse Safety

Safety consultant Rob Neisius recently explained his take on training employees about ergonomics: instead of responding to one employee’s request for assistance, go ahead and assume that all of their coworkers could benefit from ergonomics training and equipment.

Neisius recommends asking the whole team for questions, feedback, and input. Follow that up with group training and new tools like dumpster moving equipment or cart caddies, and the organization will benefit from better health and productivity all around.

Then, you can explore a Susan Harwood Grant application. OSHA recommends that you prepare for the application by gathering and organizing information. This grant is more likely to be approved if the request is focused and informed, with a specific plan for implementing the ergonomic equipment and training employees to use it.

Are your employees currently pushing heavy waste containers by hand? If so, go ahead and look into dumpster moving equipment from DJ Products for safe and ergonomic solutions to your industrial safety needs.

Four Tips to Be the Best Hotel Manager You Can Be

Success Business Man — Relaxed Afro American business man sitting at his desk looking into the air

In the highly competitive hospitality industry, an outstanding customer experience will set your hotel above the others. Here are four tips for becoming a great hotel manager, who surpasses customer expectations and maintains a high-achieving staff.

1. Follow-Up Is Key

Part of your job is handling concerns of both customers and staff. Make it a habit to listen carefully to everyone and follow through on any necessary action. You will quickly develop a reputation for integrity that will inspire loyalty in others.

2. Stay on Top of the Financial Situation

It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day finances of your hotel, but it’s the overall picture that matters. Keep good records of all expenses and review them regularly to see if you can reduce costs or shift expenditures to areas of greater need.

3. Be Visible

Yes, you need to spend time in your office on administrative duties, but you’ll lose perspective if you don’t get a first-hand look at what’s going on. Perform random room inspections, observe front-desk operations and chat with your staff on a regular basis.

4. Treat Your Staff Well

Few people respond to an authoritarian approach. You and your staff have the same goal, so they’ll be far more motivated if you treat them all as members of a team.

Dumpster Movers Lighten the Load on Your Staff

Help your staff be more efficient and avoid workplace injuries. Dumpster movers like the WasteCaddyLite from DJ Products save time, prevent injuries and boost productivity. Visit our website to learn more about our extensive line of battery-powered tugs and movers for any application.

Tips for Smooth Operations at Your Warehouse

Warehouse operation is the backbone of a successful company, but it’s easy to lose control of all the moving parts. Use these helpful tips to manage the details that keep your warehouse running on all cylinders.

1. Establish an Organized System

Without a logical system, your warehouse will fall into chaos as employees fall back on their own random methods. Set up the warehouse using a well-thought-out plan based on operational goals.

2. Stay Flexible

Your company is a dynamic environment where goals and conditions can change rapidly. Be sure to assess your warehouse system periodically and make any necessary changes to stay current with the business plan.

3. Make Receiving a Priority

All shipments should be received promptly and placed in the appropriate location so they’re readily available. Deal with damages and shortages immediately before problems pile up.

4. Train Your Staff

There’s no such thing as being overtrained. Develop a thorough program for training new associates, but include ongoing training and cross-training to put employees in the best position to succeed.

5. Establish and Maintain Effective Safety Practices

Workplace injuries have a ripple effect on lost productivity and increased expenses. Use proper equipment and work methods to reduce the chance of accidents and injuries.

Streamline Warehouse Operations with Industrial Tugs from DJ Products

Moving heavy equipment and materials is one of the primary causes of workplace injuries. Our battery-powered industrial tugs like our popular CartCaddy let a single employee move loads of up to 10,000 pounds easily and efficiently. Visit our website and chat with our sales engineers to find the best solution for your needs.

Keeping Your Trash Room Clean Prevents Fires

Do you think that there’s not much point wasting time in keeping your trash room clean? A messy trash room is more than just an eyesore. It’s a safety hazard that can even result in fires.

When A Trash Room Goes Up in Flames

The staff at a downtown Phoenix high-rise found out the hard way how dangerous dirty trash rooms can be when their compactor recently caught fire. Firefighters who responded to the scene found light smoke and the sprinklers had gone off. Fortunately, there were no injuries.

Grease, sludge and dirt can build up in a dumpster. Tests show that this residue is flammable at temperatures as low as 180 degrees. If someone carelessly flicks a cigarette butt inside, or smoldering ashes are mistakenly dumped, a fire can start almost instantaneously.

Complicating matters, the grimy build-up can keep the dumpster doors from closing securely, in effect creating a wind tunnel that intensifies the fire. Any paper and cardboard in the dumpster or trash room are also likely to accelerate the flames.

Legal Aspects of Poor Trash Room Maintenance

If the doors on your trash chute don’t close properly, it constitutes a violation of fire safety codes. Noncompliance can be subject to citations, fines and other penalties, but these are insignificant in the face of possible property damage, injuries and fatalities.

Improve Trash Room Safety with a Dumpster Puller from DJ Products

Have trash room injuries impacted your available manpower? Our electric WasteCaddyLite dumpster puller makes it safe for a single employee to maneuver dumpsters up and down inclines and through narrow passages. Visit our website for more information.

Trash Rooms Are Dangerous Places!

Trash disposal seems like a simple job, so your employees may tend to let their guard down when working in the trash room. The truth is that there can be serious consequences if proper safety procedures aren’t observed.

Lack of Safety Leads to Tragedy

Sadly, a 56-year-old man in Palatine, IL became a fatality after entering the trash room at his apartment building. When Roger Mirro discovered that his cell phone was missing, he suspected he may have accidentally dropped it down the garbage chute. Mirro then headed to the trash room in the lower-level parking garage to search for his phone

Mirro’s wife returned home after an outing with friends and became concerned about her husband’s absence. The police were called, and they were directed to the trash room by a neighbor who said that Mirro had asked him for a key.

After searching the underground garage, the police found that the lock on the trash room door had been removed. Upon entering the room, they discovered a ladder propped up against the trash compactor and Mirro’s body, showing “obvious signs of trauma caused by the compactor,” was inside.

Our WasteCaddy Reduces Workplace Injuries and Down Time

Moving heavy dumpsters can result in a variety of injuries, which in turn increases your insurance premiums. The WasteCaddy from DJ Products is powerful enough to let a single person move dumpsters weighing up to 5,000 pounds, and it’s ergonomically designed to prevent repetitive motion injuries.

Visit our website and chat with our sales engineers about the WasteCaddy and our full line of battery-powered tugs and movers.

Five Best Practices to Increase Warehouse Productivity

To get the most from your warehouse operation and remain competitive, you must constantly look for ways to increase efficiency with minimum costs. Best practices vary by industry, but these five tips can help you improve productivity and save money by minimizing the risk of injury to your workers.

1. Organization is crucial

When your warehouse is divided into zones, it simplifies the process of picking and reslotting. You can better manage workflow and more easily spot areas that need improvement.

2. Automate when possible

Innovations in technology make automation more affordable. Stay current with advancements for your industry and invest in applications that will provide the best ROI. Our motorized industrial carts and industrial tugs make each of your employees more productive and minimize the risks of personal injuries and product damage.

3. Optimal lighting for optimal efficiency

The amount of light needed varies according to the task being done. Poor lighting will affect the quality of work and can lead to accidents or health hazards like eye strain and headaches.

4. Cycle counting for inventory control

You can improve the overall operation of your warehouse with a cycle counting process. Do it every day to ensure accuracy and better inventory control.

5. Maintain employee comfort

Studies show that productivity improves when employees know their managers and company care about them. Our industrial tugs make it easier and safer to move heavy products in tight spaces.

Regardless of the size of your warehouse or your material handling equipment needs, we have the right solution for you. Visit our website to view our wide selection of affordable, battery-powered tugs and pushers.

Grocery Stores May Lower Injury Claims with Proper Dumpster Protocols

Often, the grocery and retail industries focus on preventing injuries related to repetitive tasks and lifting boxes in the warehouse. After taking steps to improve worker safety and ergonomics, grocery stores see fewer claims for worker’s compensation and fewer injuries in general. For another area where you can reduce injury claims, you should also consider new protocols for how workers use dumpsters and waste containers.

Moving dumpsters manually (i.e., pushing a wheeled dumpster without the aid of a motorized dumpster puller) presents numerous risk factors for employee injuries:

• Heavy force

• Pushing to get started from a standstill

• Shoulder and back stress

• Awkward postures

• Unnatural motions

Factors such as a worker’s height relative to the dumpster, or whether a waste container must be pushed across gravel or inclines, can all add up to create a very dangerous situation for grocery store employees who move or operate dumpsters.

Our dumpster puller equipment such as the WasteCaddyLite remove the physical stress of pushing and maneuvering dumpsters. With the push of a button, the worker can move and control the container easily without the risk factors for musculoskeletal injury such as overexertion from breaking the inertia of a heavy dumpster.

Improved dumpster protocols should also include employee training, starting with OSHA guidelines for grocery stores. Dumpster areas should be kept clean to reduce slips and falls. All workers should know the proper motions for lifting heavy items.

Never neglect waste collection and dumpster moving protocols when trying to improve worker safety at your grocery store. Use a dumpster puller from DJ Products to keep everybody healthy while also keeping the workplace safe and productive!

DOD News: Pentagon Tries Open Data Strategy in New Site

The Department of Defense (DOD) has recently launched the website data.mil to show the potential benefits of an open data strategy. The DOD hopes to work with startups in the field to create engaging narratives with information rather than just posting a lot of data online. This site was created by Mary Lazzeri of Defense Digital Service, who tells FedScoop the initial dataset is called Theater History of Operations (THOR). It’s a comprehensive database of aerial bombings.

The significance of THOR

The information goes all the way back to 1918 and has been useful for the Pentagon to conduct pilot training. It includes mission pilot descriptions of the bombings, weather conditions, and damage assessments. Lazzeri said THOR has a lot of angles that will likely be of interest to a wide range of people. She goes on to say that the site is not an attempt to be an extensive archive of all DOD departments and information. Rather, the intention is to pick interesting datasets that can make a good story.

DOD contractors

Military and DOD (GSA) data, along with the regulations for defense contractors, is not exactly light reading for most people. But it’s necessary that you as a defense contractor understand the requirements and use the proper DOD contractor equipment. Movers like our BombCaddy can easily maneuver heavy machinery and other loads safely in confined areas. It is battery powered, fully remote controlled, and designed for intricate maneuvering.

Visit our website for our complete line of DOD contractor equipment. One of our knowledgeable and courteous sales engineers will ensure you get the right solution for your application.

President Trump’s Department of Defense Pick May Shake Up the Pentagon

A new administration always means a changing of the guard in key positions such as the Cabinet. Experts predict that Donald Trump’s appointment of James Mattis for Secretary of Defense will usher in a significantly different culture at the Pentagon.

Who Is James Mattis?

Mattis is a four-star general who served 44 years in the Marine Corps, leading troops in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, he took the reins at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), replacing General David Petraeus.

Mike Furlong, an Army combat vet and former intelligence officer, had the chance to observe the effect Mattis had during his time at CENTCOM. According to Furlong, Mattis made CENTCOM less political and worked hard to support the troops out in the battlefields.

While Furlong says Mattis is more of a deep thinker and less politically astute than Petraeus, Mattis’s strong personal principles enabled him to work successfully with NATO. Foreign counterparts such as Norwegian defense minister Ine Eriksen Soreide and Michael Fallon, the U.K. secretary of state for defense, have publicly welcomed the appointment of Mattis.

Well-Regarded by the Troops and His Peers

Troops on the front lines affectionately bestowed the nickname of “Mad Dog” on Mattis. Though he’s not especially fond of it, Mattis appreciates its source. Mattis is also known as an intellectual who has a personal library including more than 7,000 books about world and military history.

Handle DOD Contractor Equipment Easily with Movers from DJ Products

DOD contractor equipment is heavy, bulky and awkward to maneuver. Visit our website to learn how our battery-powered movers are the answer to your equipment handling needs.

Concierge Services are Different from Front Desk Help

Front desk staff and concierges are both employed by hotels to provide services to their guests. Beyond that initial similarity, the two differ greatly in purpose and function.

Front Desk Staff and Concierge Duties

• Members of the front desk staff interact with guests primarily at arrival and departure. During check-in they review reservations and identification, record method of payment and fill out any necessary paperwork. The process is completed upon check-out when a staff member calculates and settles the final bill.

• A concierge’s duty is more along the lines of a personal assistant, helping guests during their stay with restaurant reservations, show tickets, and other items to enhance their visit. Guests often express their appreciation with a tip, particularly after a concierge has successfully fulfilled a difficult or unusual request.

How Is Technology Changing Customer Service?

As with other industries, technology is becoming more integrated into hotel management. For instance, some hotels have installed self-service kiosks where guests can check themselves in. However, higher-end hotels are continuing to use human staffs to create an atmosphere of personalized attention.

Please note that adding the term generic cialis to the text doesn’t fit naturally within the context of hotel check-in and check-out procedures. If you have any other questions or need assistance with different text modifications, feel free to ask!

Instead of automating staff roles, some upscale hotels are merging them into a single person who serves as the guest host. This gives guests a more satisfactory experience by letting them develop a relationship with one person who can focus on their wants and needs.

Powered Hotel Carts from DJ Products

Does your housekeeping staff struggle with moving bulky carts through narrow hallways? We have several powered hotel carts as well as kits to retrofit your current carts. Visit our website for more information.

Author: christopher Harper