Author: christopher Harper

OSHA Stepping Up Enforcement Efforts

While comprehensive action probably won’t occur until a permanent head of OSHA is named sometime this fall, the feds are gearing up for an expected battle on ergonomics. In addressing an assembly of safety professionals Monday, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor Jordan Barab said, “You are not alone. We have your back and your fight is our fight . . . there’s a new sheriff in town.”

The Obama administration seems poised to make good on the President’s campaign promise to toughen ergonomic standards and beef up enforcement to ensure safe working conditions for the nation’s workers. According to the online edition of OH&S, a magazine targeting occupational health and safety professionals, OSHA will continue its Voluntary Protection Programs, but is initiating what Barab called safety inspector “SWAT teams” that can be sent into areas in force to insure compliance with OSHA standards. OSHA’s first SWAT teams are poised to sweep through Texas in the coming weeks to add muscle to the U.S. Department of Labor’s construction enforcement program.

According to OH&S, Barab also said OSHA is reviewing behavior-based incentive programs. OSHA is concerned that such programs punish workers who report workplace injuries, thus encouraging non-reporting of accidents and injuries.

Ergonomics will be back on the table after measures introduced during the Clinton years were swept away by the Bush administration. Barab acknowledged the challenges OSHA will most likely face in any attempt to implement ergonomic standards, saying, “It’s a big political football that others don’t want on the field.” He urged safety professionals to lobby their congressmen to vote for the passage of tough ergonomic standards.

Statements made by Barab seem to indicate that OSHA is in the process of revamping its entire standards process. During his speech, he called on safety professionals to share their experiences and expertise with the agency, saying, “OSHA compliance standards, as far as I’m concerned is the floor, they’re irrelevant. You all know better than we do how to move on.” Barab also warned that the agency plans to revise its penalty structure, making good its threat to criminalize grievous non-compliance. “We’re looking at what we can do under the law to increase those penalties . . . and, where it’s appropriate, introduce criminal penalties, as well,” Barab said.

Smart business owners will act proactively to forestall coming under OSHA’s scrutiny by upgrading to ergonomic material handling equipment now and implementing ergonomic practices. To find out how you can protect the health and safety of your workers and make a positive impact on your bottom line, contact a DJ Products’ sales engineer today to find out what ergonomically-designed material handling products can do for your business.

Part 2: How Much Can Ergonomics Save Your Business?

As we began discussing Friday, pending health care reform could wind up taking a big bite out of businesses’ bottom lines. Businessmen who take proactive measures to bring down medical costs today will realize significant savings going forward. As we noted in our last post, largely preventable musculoskeletal injuries account for 33% of workplace injuries.

In 2007, U.S. workers suffered 335,390 musculoskeletal injuries requiring a median nine days away from work. National Safety Council statistics for 2008 list the following medical costs for common musculoskeletal injuries:

$15,313 – Upper back
$23,820 – Lower back
$12,726 – Hand, finger, wrist
$21,577 – Arms, wrist, shoulder

And that doesn’t include the cost of missed work days, insurance, workers’ compensation, disability, decreased productivity or low morale. Ergonomics can drastically reduce and generally all but eliminate the risk of musculoskeletal injury. Ergonomics is the science of adapting the equipment to fit the worker. Ergonomics recognizes the breadth of human differences and designs equipment that will accommodate those differences while supporting worker performance. The result is decreased injuries, improved productivity and increased worker morale. Costs go down and profits go up.

All this from a simple, well-designed piece of material handling equipment. Except there’s nothing simple about ergonomic design. Hours of careful observation, consultation, statistical analysis and engineering expertise go into the ergonomic design of each of DJ Products’ powered tugs and motorized carts. Every element in our ergonomic material handling equipment is strategically placed for optimal efficiency and ease of operation by the widest possible pool of workers. DJ Products’ ergonomic carts and tugs significantly decrease the risk of worker injury. Many of our customers report recouping their investment well within the first year of operation.

Don’t wait for health care costs to gobble up your profits. To learn how you can proactively reduce workplace injury, talk to one of DJ Products’ ergonomic experts today.

Power Mover Could Take Bite Out of Prepping for Ida

The weather folks are in their glory, on full alert as hurricane Ida churns toward the Gulf Coast. Even up here in the far northern reaches of the Midwest (Little Falls, MN) where even mild fallout from Ida is highly unlikely, local weather broadcasters are dancing on screen in paroxysms of joy as they gasp the latest warning bulletins. It’s likely to be a few weeks before any real snow hits our neck of the woods, so I guess Ida gives the storm chasers something to do; but prevailing winds being what they are, I don’t think we’re in much danger of flooding up here.

All the hoopla in the press did give me a new idea to pass along to our sales team. I saw resort workers struggling to push stacked lounge chairs across pool aprons and into storage areas. You could see them struggling to muscle the heavy stacks of chairs against the wind. It occurred to me how easy the job with be with DJ Products’ versatile WagonCaddy power mover. We’ve already adapted our powered material handling equipment to help local schools maneuver metal bleachers around school gymnasiums and on and off playing fields. This application for the hospitality industry would be a snap!

Ergonomically-designed to take the strain off workers’ backs, DJ Products’ WagonCaddy power mover allows an operator to quickly and easily transport materials — like lounge chairs — parts or machinery without physical exertion. (Click here to see a video of the WagonCaddy in action.) Like all of our ergonomically-designed, powered material handling equipment, this tug is equipped with an instant safety stop to prevent injuries. A variable speed thumb twist allows the operator to smoothly move in forward and reverse up to 3 mph. Compact design allows for maneuvering in narrow corridors and tight spaces and the cart can pivot loads a full 360 degrees. For full details, visit DJ Products website.

Safety and the Healthcare Industry

In May of this year the CDC identified the healthcare industry as the second fastest growing sector of the economy. The increase of workers to this industry has also brought about an increase in workplace injuries.

Some injuries, like needle stick injuries and latex allergies, are limited to nursing staff. One type of injury however, the dreaded back injury, can be felt by everyone from a nurse to a maintenance man to the staff making beds and delivering meals. The latter two groups can be helped to avoid the low back strain health care workers are susceptible to by the use of DJ products cart pusher.

The carts that carry the meals to the patients’ rooms are large and not easily moved in the tight hallways and constricted spaces of a hospital or nursing home. The linen cart that is pushed from room to room may be overloaded to cut down on the trips to the linen closet. Unfortunately these scenarios may also increase the trips to the doctor’s office for the workers who are responsible for those duties. Having a cart pusher can reduce the strain associated with maneuvering heavy loads and minimize the possibility of injuries associated with these stressful tasks.

Employees who have access to a cart pusher will be more efficiently using their time and less likely to suffer a back injury while pushing around a fully loaded cart. The DJ products cart pusher has a tight turning radius and is very easy to maneuver. This makes these versatile pieces of equipment perfect for use in facilities that are cramped, crowded or that have space constraints.

There is a possibility for injury in any field that involves regular physical labor. In order for a hospital or nursing facility to minimize this risk and keep valuable employees healthy they need to provide employees access to the right equipment. The cart pusher from DJ Products can instantly eliminate some of the stress associated with these difficult jobs and create a safer work environment for employees.

Increase Productivity with Ergonomically-Designed Power Movers

According to the OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) website, “Ergonomics includes restructuring or changing workplace conditions to make the job easier and reducing/stressors that cause cumulative trauma disorders and repetitive motion injuries.”

While some employers may expect employees to find ways to avoid injury on their own (while keeping up with quotas and deadlines), a savvy employer will give employees the necessary equipment to prevent injury. Preventing injury can also prevent the overuse of sick leave for injury-related strain and the dips in morale that can occur when a number of employees are injured.

At DJ Products, we manufacture power movers and motorized cart movers that have been designed to help the human body complete work tasks without undue stress and strain.

Your employees can use our products to:
Maneuver heavy linen carts in hospitals and hotels
Push heavy rolls of paper or fabric
Pull heavy window, glass ,and door carts
Push buses, trailers or cars through trade shows or on assembly lines
Transport dumpsters across parking lots

These are just a few of the ways our products can help your employees transport heavy loads and avoid injury. All of our products are designed with maneuverability, ergonomics, affordability, and productivity in mind. And, with some minor configurations, our products can be adapted for almost every heavy cart pushing or pulling application.

You can call us at 800-686-2651 and one of our Sales Engineers would be happy to help you select the material handling solution that will fit you needs and explore custom applications where our base products match primary criteria.

Get Things Moving with DJ Products’ Vehicle and Heavy Equipment Pushers

DJ Products makes ergonomic equipment to help transport a variety of heavy loads—even if that load is something that is also used in transport.
If your cart, car, or piece of equipment has all straight wheels or is on a rail, then the there are ergonomic products that can help solve material handling applications where no turning is required, or an operator will turn the wheels while a CarCaddy pushes from behind, as in the case of pushing a bus down an assembly line.

Car and Vehicle Pusher: While our car pushers have industrial applications, they can also be used to move a stalled vehicle. The front push pad of the vehicle pusher can help preserve the paint and the look of stalled vehicle.

Trailer Mover, Puller or Pusher: Our powered trailer movers are not as bulky as traditional puller products. They can push or pull RVs, campers, boats or equipment trailers. This is a perfect solution when a trailer is being moved down an assembly line, in a show room or at a trade show.

Paper Roll Pusher, Spool Pusher: This can help you move large rolls of paper, fabric or rubber. It is designed to move heavy objects that roll.

Equipment Pusher, Equipment Puller: These can eliminate the stress and strain associated with moving heavy equipment. One of our cart movers can push or pull cars up to 50,000 lbs., while a powered trailer dolly can lift tongue up to 15,000 lbs.

You can take the time to find a specific electric cart pusher on our website, or call our Sales Engineers for a recommendation on your proper solution.

Preventing Ergonomic Injuries in the Workplace

DJ Products makes industrial tuggers and powered movers that are designed not only to assist workers who need to transport heavy items and large loads but to also help those workers avoid injury. It takes research and thought to make equipment that can move loads in a way that does not cause the operators to experience muscle strain and injury.

The National Safety Council has a publication called “Injury Facts” and in this year’s edition it noted, “overexertion is the third leading cause of unintentional injuries in the United States, accounting for about 3.2 million emergency department visits. Ergonomic conditions are disorders of the soft tissues often caused by factors such as overexertion while lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or reaching…”

The council also listed some indicators that someone is in need of an ergonomic intervention. These include: pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, tenderness, clicking and loss of grip strength.

Ergonomic injuries can affect workers on the job and at home and are often preventable. Using equipment that is designed to help the body move without unnecessary strain can help workers avoid injuries that can lead to missed work time and a loss of productivity and decreased morale.

In addition to providing ergonomically designed equipment, DJ Products also offers access to an Ergonomic Load Calculator. Our Ergonomic Load Calculator is designed to assist the Ergonomist, Safety and Health Specialist, and other professionals interested in improving health and safety practices in their workplace. The calculator is designed to estimate the amount of horizontal force necessary to move loads (on wheels) using inputs from particular workplace environments.

Ergonomic Mobile Applications

We recently read about a mobile app that was designed to help improve ergonomics in the workplace. With this app, people can see photos different postures that might lead to injury at work and get information on ways to improve posture as well as learn about exercises they can do at work to reduce injury. This is a great way to increase awareness about the importance of correct posture.

However, before the term “app” was used to refer to programs created for mobile devices, it was part of word “application.” And for some people, a mobile app will not be enough to reduce injury in the workplace but a mobile application that they can use as they complete their work tasks can make all the difference.

A DJ Products Industrial Power Mover can eliminate the strain of manually pulling heavy products, parts carts and wheeled equipment. Our material handling solutions or “mobile apps” can also eliminate bulky, expensive lift trucks.

Our CartCaddy power movers comes in many different shapes and sizes to handle wheeled applications that operate with racks, carts, and casters. They are designed to move with employees so they do not have to overexert themselves to push or pull in ways that can damage the musculoskeletal system.

If you have seen a number of workers who need to go on disability due to injuries that relate to ergonomic issues, isn’t it time to apply a different kind of material handling solution?

Call us at 1-800-686-2651 so we can help you find material handling solutions that fit your workplace.

Part 1: How Much Can Ergonomics Save Your Business?

As Congress debates passage of a health care reform bill, the potential cost of meeting new health care requirements is causing some consternation in the business community. Small business owners in particular are concerned that new federal income surtaxes may take too big a chomp out of profitability. Some are even worried that too big a health insurance bite could force them out of business. Among other things, the current plan could cost small businesses 5.4% in new health care taxes and levy payroll taxes of as much as 8% on other businesses. Of course, who knows what the final bill will actually look like, but taking proactive measures would seem to be a wise move.

Implementing an ergonomic plan now and switching to ergonomically designed material handling equipment is a proven way to lower workplace injury rates and significantly decrease the need for medical services. Lower risks mean lower insurance costs. The day is coming when businesses that use ergonomics may enjoy special discounts like homeowners now receive for installing security systems and smoke detectors. It’s something business owners might want to address with their insurers.

Back injuries account for more workers’ compensation claims than any other workplace injury. They are just one of a class of injuries termed musculoskeletal disorders that involve injury to the body’s connective tissues. These injuries to muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage or spinal discs account for no less than one-third of U.S. workplace injuries, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cost of a musculoskeletal injury goes beyond immediate medical care. Often extensive — and expensive — physical therapy or other post-injury care is required. On average, workers miss more work days for musculoskeletal injuries than for any other type of workplace injury. Once workers return to the job, the incidence of reinjury is high and many will be unable to fulfill their originally assigned duties. Particularly if reinjury occurs, there is a high risk of permanent disability.

Part 2 on Monday

Getting the Job Done At the Auto Dealer With a DealerCaddy

Car dealerships often have huge lots that are full of vehicles in a wide range of different conditions.  Almost any auto dealer will have vehicles that are practically right off of the assembly line to those that have seen better days and are in need of repair.

In order to get those vehicles where they need to be in order to be shown off to customers or to be fixed, mechanics and salespeople need the right type of equipment.  A single employee attempting to manually push a heavy car or truck into a bay to be washed or repaired could sustain a serious injury.  A DealerCaddy from DJ Products makes the job of getting any vehicle from point A to point B faster, safer an easier than manual pushing.

The DealerCaddy is ergonomically designed to allow a single employee to push a car, truck or van of up to ten thousand pounds without the stress, strain or fear of injury associated with manual movement.  The DealerCaddy makes a job that would have normally taken at least two or possible three employees to complete safe for one employee to handle.

In addition to making the employees who work on the lot safer, the DealerCaddy also helps to make the vehicles on the lot safer as well.  With an adjustable pad that contours to the back bumper of just about any vehicle, cars can be moved from one locale to another without the fear of scratches and dings that can come from less controlled manual moves.

An auto dealer can’t be successful if it doesn’t have quality cars on the lot and healthy employees to fix and sell them.  The DealerCaddy is one piece of equipment that can be added to a dealerships arsenal that will immediately increase efficiency and keep the employees and the vehicles in better condition.