Tag: dumpster mover

Is There Such a Thing as Ergonomics for Waste Disposal?

Man from city service pulling garbage bin
Back Injuries Can Occur from Pushing or Pulling Heavy Dumpsters.

You bet there is! Ergonomics is all around us, from keyboards that protect our wrists repetitive task injury, to workplace trainers showing staff how to lift heavy items with proper technique. Ergonomics in the workplace is especially important because workers tend to repeat the same actions countless times, day after day.

Waste disposal ergonomics can be tricky, and we’re not talking about throwing crumpled paper like a basketball. Workers who handle heavy dumpsters face injury risks from lifting and throwing heavy objects and when pushing or pulling the dumpster to collection points. They must deal with literally tons of weight, on wheels, while traversing slopes, inclines, and gravel. Ask your maintenance and janitorial staff if they are comfortable with moving dumpsters, and you might be surprised to hear about their sore lower backs, shoulder strains, and hamstring pain.

How to Prevent Waste Disposal Injuries

If you’re not using a dumpster mover to move waste containers, chances are good that one of your employees will experience a painful injury that costs the company a fortune in productivity and workers comp. Brian Piñon of ICW Risk Management recently told MySafetyNews about how he analyzes and prevents workplace ergonomics problems:

• Be proactive by asking employees about injury risks and observe their process of looking for physically dangerous practices.

• Talk to your management team and employees about reporting pain or discomfort before injuries occur.

• Train some trusted employees to watch for and correct ergonomic problems.

• Purchase automated equipment like dumpster caddies to ease frequent, demanding tasks.

Examine the ergonomics safety process for waste disposal at your business, and consider a dumpster mover and other ergonomic equipment from DJ Products to protect your staff.

Dumpster Moving – Push or Pull, the Wrong Choice May Put You in the Hospital

Push or Pull done incorrectly may cause injury.
Push or Pull done incorrectly may cause injury.

Many workers have a preference for either pushing or pulling heavy equipment, but the truth is manually pushing or pulling are both dangerous. The motion and exertion requirements can cause a repetitive stress injury while also risking losing control of the heavy equipment that’s in motion.

Danger of Pulling Heavy Equipment

Pulling a heavy load puts high stress on the body. Also, a moving dumpster can itself be dangerous. As one manager recently explained to MySafetyNews, the momentum might make the rolling equipment smash into the feet of the worker.

Injuries from pulling heavy equipment include:

• Back injuries from twisting and straining

• Neck and shoulder muscle strains and tears

• Hamstring and hip injuries

• Collisions and out-of-control carts endangering others

Danger of Pushing Heavy Equipment

Pushing a cart can be safer than pulling, but also has numerous injury risks:

• Wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries

• Lower back injuries

• Carpal tunnel syndrome

• Cart blocks view of path, endangering other people and property

Avoid Workplace Injuries with Dumpster Tugs

The best solution for pushing or pulling a heavy cart like a waste dumpster? A motorized caddy that propels itself and stops on command. Dumpster tugs use a battery-powered motor to move thousands of pounds of weight with a simple steering control.

Dumpster tugs prevent many causes of worker injury:

• Eliminate physical strain of pushing and pulling

• Control the dumpster up and down inclines and across rocky surfaces

• Safely stop without sending a shock through the arms and back

• Maneuver around turns without straining the wrists and legs

Prevent the injury risks of manual pushing and pulling with motorized dumpster tugs from DJ Products.

New Dumpster Mover Muscles Trash Containers

Responding to customer need, DJ Products announces the addition of a new dumpster mover to its world-recognized line of ergonomically-designed, battery-powered cart pushers. The DJ Products dumpster mover easily pulls heavy trash and recycling dumpsters and containers to the curb or a designated location for pick up. The new dumpster mover provides an excellent solution for retailers, office buildings, apartment and condominium complexes, hospitals and nursing homes, hotels, shopping centers, manufacturers, distribution centers, and any business that has to haul heavy containers for trash or recycling pick up. 

Trash and recycling containers and dumpsters are typically located near trash compactors and bailers deep inside underground parking garages or in designated areas on the plant floor. These heavy containers must be maneuvered around equipment or vehicles across crowded floors or parking garages to designated collection sites or to the outside curb for access by waste haulers. Due to the heavy, unbalanced loads they contain, trash and recycling containers and dumpsters can be extremely awkward and difficult to move and maneuver, particularly around obstacles. When performed manually, the task of pushing and pulling these containers across long distances and up underground slopes to street level puts workers at high risk for expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries.

DJ Products’ ergonomically designed dumpster mover eliminates the pains and strains associated with manually pushing heavy carts and wheeled equipment. Its compact design allows this dynamic cart mover to maneuver easily through tight spaces such as hallways, aisles, doors and crowded parking garages. A powerful 36-volt motor makes this heavy-duty tug capable of muscling dumpsters and containers weighing 500 to 10,000 pounds. The new DJ Products dumpster mover turns a three or four-person job into a quick and easy one-person operation. This powerful battery-operated waste mover can easily push or pull heavy dumpsters or trash/recycling containers up sharp inclines, over asphalt and even through snow and ice.

Visit the DJ Products website for more information on our new battery-powered dumpster mover and to see this amazing ergonomic tug in action. Call 1-800-686-2651 or contact us online to talk to one of our engineering specialists about arranging a free demo trial of our new dumpster mover.  

The Benefits of the Dumpster Caddy

Few pieces of heavy equipment require as much movement as dumpsters. They’re necessary containers at all types of facilities, from office buildings to hospitals to apartment complexes. Simplify this regular task with use of the Dumpster Caddy from DJ Products.

Fully loaded dumpsters can weigh thousands of pounds, particularly those used at locations such as shopping malls or hotels. Although they generally have wheels, they’re cumbersome to move and turn. They’re often stored in an underground lot where they need to be transported to ground level for pick-up by a waste management or recycling service. It’s not unusual for this task to require at least two or three employees to complete.

Our Dumpster Caddy fastens securely to the container to safely move loads of up to 10,000 pounds. Corners and tight spaces are easy to negotiate thanks to the caddy’s compact size and efficient operation. In addition, battery power enables the caddy to go up and down inclines as well as over ice, snow and other outdoor conditions.

Using a Dumpster Caddy can help streamline your overall operations as well. You can have only one person handle the job instead of sending two or three others. Its ergonomic design reduces the possibility of injury and job-related absences. 

DJ Products has a full line of caddies and tugs that can address any of your material handling problems. Our products fit applications from moving shopping carts to maneuvering aircraft. Contact our knowledgeable Sales Engineers at 800.686.2651 for information on solutions to fit your needs.

Dumpsters Need Love Too: Benefits of the WasteCaddy

WasteCaddy
Dumpsters Need Love Too!

Even though they perform an important function, dumpsters don’t get much love. They provide a convenient disposal location for office and apartment buildings, malls and construction sites, but for most people they’re barely an afterthought. Would you feel differently about a dumpster as a housing option?

A photographer in San Francisco recently used this humorous concept to make a serious point. Fed up with exorbitant real estates prices in his home town, he published a series of tongue-in-cheek photos of “alternative” housing such as mailboxes and manholes covers. The picture of a dumpster was accompanied with a caption referring to it as a “$5,000 waterfront condo”.

All joking aside, without dumpsters trash disposal and recycling would be nearly impossible. The downside is that their size makes them difficult to move, especially when they’re full. Our WasteCaddy and WasteCaddyLite offer perfect solutions to this workplace problem.

These battery-powered pullers are so powerful that one person can easily use them to move dumpsters from underground garages and across dirt and gravel. Their compact design makes them maneuverable even in narrow, confined spaces. Ergonomic features such as the variable speed twist grip help to reduce occurrences of repetitive stress injuries. We also offer a variety of add-ons so you can tailor the caddy to meet your specific needs.

The WasteCaddyLite can handle loads up to 2,000 pounds while the WasteCaddy accommodates up to 5,000 pounds. Our friendly Sales Engineers at DJ Products are ready to help you choose the one that’s right for your application. Please contact us at 800.686.2651 or visit our website to use our convenient real-time chat assistance.