Tag: ergonomics

Use a Trailer Mover to Transport Heavy Items at Trade Shows and Expos

If your company manufactures items like boats or RVs, you probably see a great benefit to participating in trade shows and expos that give interested parties a chance to see your products. Yet, before your salespeople can show off all of the impressive features of a boat or RV that you manufacture, you have to get your products into a convention center or other exhibition hall. And this is where a DJ Products trailer mover can make a difference.

Overextending the body when manually lifting and moving items like trailers from one location to another can cause significant strain. You not only want your merchandise to arrive in good condition; you want your workers to be safe as well. Although a boat, camper or RV travels a short distance to and from your exhibit space, transporting these items even briefly can cause strain. The electric TrailerCaddy trailer mover is a perfect solution.

Our powered trailer movers have lower maintenance costs than typical trailer movers. They are also less bulky than traditional electric trailer pullers, so strain is minimized. However, being less bulky does not mean that our trailer movers are less powerful. Trailer movers like our TrailerCaddy are designed for increased control in tightly confined areas. This is especially useful for maneuvering through busy trade shows and convention centers where workers from other companies are also transporting goods.

If you are interested in seeing just how versatile our trailer movers are, you can inquire about our free demo trial trailer program. Our program allows you to use a trailer mover at your facility on a trial basis before you make a decision about purchasing one. After you fill out the Demo Program Inquiry, a Sales Engineer will get in touch with you to discuss the proper trailer mover solution.

Electric Cart Pushers Can Help Hospital Employees Work Efficiently

People who work in a hospital spend a lot of time there but they certainly don’t want to spend a lot of time in the hospital as patients. You can help prevent your employees from experiencing strain and pain as they transport cart through a hospital using an electric cart pusher. You can keep productivity up and avoid having workers on medical leave with the right material handling solutions.

The CartCaddyShorty electric cart pusher is battery powered electric cart pusher designed to have enough power to maneuver a cart through a hospital. It is designed for easy maneuvering and pivoting of your loads. While the CartCaddyShorty electric cart pusher is small, it still has plenty of power to handle most push or pull applications within the hospital industry. This little machine packs a big punch and can usually last for 16 hours or two shifts.

Hospitals are busy environments where efficiency is key. If you work in a hospital, you don’t want to spend time having to make a lot of adjustments to the equipment that has been purchased to make your job easier. The CartCaddyShorty has a spring hitch option and customized attachment—this means that workers will not need to fabricate multiple attachments for the cart or your equipment. Since the CartCaddyShorty’s attachment springs down and upward and attaches firmly to the bottom of the cart, an operator can easily get to work pushing, pulling or maneuvering the cart.

Call us today at 800-686-2651 and talk to a Sales Engineer who’d be happy to give you a recommendation on the material handling solution that will work for your hospital or medical facility.

Ergonomic Material Handling Equipment Prevents Strain and Injury

When you hear the word “ergonomics,” the first part of the body you think of may be the back, but ergonomically designed equipment helps reduce strain all over the entire body. Overusing certain muscles repeatedly while completing work tasks can lead to pain and injury that affects an employee’s psyche and ability to work.

According to About.com, “Ergonomics derives from two Greek words: ergon, meaning work, and nomoi, meaning natural laws, to create a word that means the science of work and a person’s relationship to that work.”

DJ Products makes Ergonomic Material Handling Equipment that moves naturally with the body and can eliminate the strain of manually pulling heavy product, parts carts, or wheeled equipment. We make “walk-behind” units that allow for better contra by the operator because they work as extensions the body. Rather than attempting to push, pull or otherwise coerce a cumbersome piece of equipment that likely is weighed down with a lot of supplies to move, workers who use DJ Products equipment can guide our products to where they need to be. Because of this operating flexibility, our electric cart movers can be used in more applications than standard material handling equipment and they work better in tight, difficult spaces.

Take some time to peruse the products on our website to find the products that match your specific need. Or if you prefer, you can call one of our Sales Engineers at 800-686-2651 so we can recommend a product that will help decrease the chances that your employees will experience strain or injury as they complete certain tasks.

Corporate Videos Get Their Own YouTube Site

Billed as YouTube for business, eCorpTV.com seems tailor-made for videophiles like DJ Products’ marketing department! As we’re sure you’ve noticed when you visit our website, we’re great fans of video. At DJ Products, we’ve found that while a picture may be worth a thousand words, a video is the next best thing to putting our product in the customer’s hand. Just as realtors have discovered that video tours draw home buyers, DJ Products has discovered that showing customers what our ergonomic powered carts can do is a highly effective way to sell our product.

That’s the idea behind eCorpTV.com. Businesses from Fortune 500s to small start ups can quickly and easily post their product videos on the site free of charge. As the site developers note, more than 68% of American workers aged 25 to 44 will watch online videos this year. Adding online video marketing to your advertising mix just makes sense. Online videos have the potential to attract not only customers, but investors, journalists and potential employees. Corporations don’t have to worry about competing with stupid pet tricks or humorous rants, eCorpTV.com accepts only G-rated legitimate business videos. They aim to become a quality service for the business community.

We think they’re on the right track. Watch one of the DJ Product ergonomic material handling product videos. We’ve found that no amount of text can show quite as effectively as a video exactly how tight a turn our CartCaddy power tug can make or just how our side-steer powered cart can be maneuvered. If you haven’t added video to your product website yet, it’s time to take a page from the future and start filming!

New Side-Steer Powered Cart Handles Long Parts

Long parts or equipment that overhang the ends of the cart have always been a challenge to move. Objects that overhang the transport cart make it impossible for operators to safely push or pull loads from the end of the cart; they just can’t get physically close enough to get a safe handhold or exert proper force. Overhanging loads are generally too heavy to be pushed or pulled by a single worker and their length makes maneuvering these loads particularly awkward and unsafe. Problems with reach length, load balance and load stability even make use of traditional motorized tuggers unproductive and unsafe. The length and cumbersome placement of oversized loads makes it impossible for tuggers built to handle normal loads to safely reach under an oversized product or piece of equipment to grab and connect to the cart, much less guarantee safe transport and maneuvering by the operator.

DJ Products, the nation’s foremost manufacturer of ergonomically-designed motorized carts and powered cart movers, has solved the problem of safely transporting oversized loads with the introduction of its new side-steer powered cart. The unique side-steer design of this self-propelled cart allows the operator to safely walk behind and to the side of oversized loads, providing clear sight lines and safe, easy maneuvering of heavy, extra-long parts and equipment no matter how far they overhang the transport cart. Visit our website to watch a video of DJ Products’ new side-steer powered cart in action.

Capable of hauling loads up to 5,000 pounds, DJ Products’ ergonomic design ensures that the cart, not the worker, shoulders the load. The conveniently-located variable-speed twist grip is designed to reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome while easily allowing the operator to move forwards and backwards at speeds up to 3 mph. Ergonomic design allows workers to perform their jobs more efficiently and comfortably by allowing equipment to be adjusted to the size of the worker. Awkward and unsafe work postures that lead to tired and cramped muscles, longer and more frequent work breaks, and disabling musculoskeletal injuries are eliminated.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that one worker in every 200 experiences an overexertion injury. Annually, overexertion injuries cost American businesses more than 12 million lost work days and over $1 billion in compensation costs. According to a study published in the New Hampshire Business Review, every dollar invested in ergonomics reaps a $4 savings in medical, insurance, workers’ compensation and lost work day costs. To find out how DJ Products’ new side-steer powered cart can safely maneuver overhanging loads and save you money, talk to one of our ergonomic specialists today.

Shopping for Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions

Is getting material handling solutions part of your responsibility at work? And are you wondering how you will find the solutions that will fit the bill?

If you are looking for Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions, then DJ Products most likely has something for you. You don’t want to just get any solutions; you want to get equipment that will minimize the chances of injury and help streamline work processes.

Need to move trailers?
Our TrailerCaddy trailer mover is ideal for moving trailers down a manufacturing line or in a congested storage area.

Need to move cars or trucks without damaging them?
The CarCaddy car pusher helps you move a car, truck, bus or RV in tight spaces without strain and without a ton of people.

Need to move waste containers or dumpsters?
Waste containers are not only bring on potential ergonomic injury, they sometimes also may come with unpleasant odors. You can move waste containers efficiently and safely with our waste container and dumpers solutions.

Need to move carts for laundry and other things in a hospital or hotel environment?
Our ergonomic Hospital Material and Hotel and Hospitality Movement Solutions can help your employees handle maneuvering in tight areas with pedestrian traffic. These solutions have a more appealing appearance that similar products and they are designed for lighter materials.

Need material handling solutions for military or DOD applications?
We know that you may have specific needs and we are here to help you address those needs for maneuvering vehicles, trailers, boats and wheeled equipment.

These are just some of the possible applications for our material handling solutions. Call us at 800-686-2651 and our Sales Engineers will be happy to explore custom applications.

Empower Your Employees with Power Tugs

Our power tugs push or pull almost any heavy cart, making work more efficient and much safer. Your workers may be tempted to do this work on their own but they risk injury when they do this. Just because a cart has wheels doesn’t mean that you can safely move it on your own. A DJ Products power tug has the power to push or pull almost any heavy cart. A single employee can now move heavy carts, which previously had required multiple operators to maneuver.
Ergonomically designed, the most common application of our powered tugs is using them to move carts with two front swivel casters and two straight casters, While they can help maneuver carts in small spaces our powered tugs are not lightweights when it comes to helping workers transport heavy loads. Even our smallest powered tug, the CartCaddyShorty Power Tugger can carry a variety of items such as a bin full of washers, a flat bed of steel, or a cart full of cookie dough.

While your employees may enjoy feeling invincible because they can move heavy carts on their own, what they may really be doing is causing unnecessary strain. When you opt for ergonomically designed powered carts and powered tugs from DJ Products, you may see an increase in morale because you have made it possible for your employees to work more efficiently. This, plus the reduced chances for injury, will also create good feelings among your workers.

Call 800-686-2651 to learn more about how our products can make work go more smoothly at your workplace.

Star Trek’s Vision of Material Handling Flawed

The legendary television show Star Trek and the franchise’s many spin-offs brought the future to the present. Many of those futuristic gizmos sparked the imaginations of young inventors resulting in tools, electronics and appliances that are commonplace today. So I was surprised to see what looked suspiciously like an ordinary forklift truck creeping along the space dock floor in the newest Star Trek movie. Of course, the good news is that the material handling industry appears to be alive and well in the 24th century. However, with their staggering accident and injury rate, you’d think that engineers of the future would have come up with a more efficient, more cost-effective, more ergonomic tool for moving material and equipment from place to place than antiquated forklifts.

This is one place where the generally forward-thinking minds who envision the Trek universe got it wrong. Even in our century, forklift trucks are already on their slow way out. Spurred by safety issues and high operating and maintenance costs, a growing number of savvy business and industry leaders are choosing to replace their forklifts with safe, fuel-efficient, ergonomically-designed, motorized material handling carts and movers. A few centuries from now, I can envision sleekly-designed material handling movers gliding silently on cushions of air above the floor surface, either completely automated or guided by shiny robots; but primitive forklifts? Surely the material handling industry will have progressed beyond that old dinosaur by then!

Companies that have replaced their forklift trucks with ergonomically-designed motorized carts are already realizing decreased accident/injury rates and enjoying the accompanying significant savings in medical, insurance, worker’s compensation and disability costs. Every year forklift accidents are responsible for 100 worker deaths — 25% from overturns — and more than 20,000 injuries. Ergonomically-designed CartCaddies promote operator control and safety with their walk-behind design, strategically placed ergonomic controls, and easy maneuverability.

And when it comes to maintenance costs, sure to be a factor when you’re building mega-trillion dollar starships, battery-operated CartCaddies win over forklifts hands down. The average annual battery/maintenance cost of operating an ergonomic electric CartCaddy is around $300 per year. Compare that to forklifts where operating and maintenance costs comprise 80% of the total cost of ownership over the life of a unit. Annual forklift fuel costs alone can run from $15,000 for gas and diesel units to $3,000 to $8,000 for electric and battery-operated units.

If you want to experience the future of material handling today, contact a DJ Products ergonomic sales engineer and ask about our full line of CartCaddy products.

Find Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions with Online Tools and Live Assistance

As we have discussed, ignoring ergonomics can lead to injury but we know that it is very easy to postpone researching ergonomic material handling solutions. With all of the things you need to do to keep your business going, you probably have this on your list but may not have gotten to it just yet.

That is okay because DJ Products is here to help with online tools and live assistance to make it easier for you to ensure your workplace remains safe and productive.

ErgoCalc
Our Ergonomic Load Calculator is designed to assist the Ergonomist, Safety and Health Specialist, and other professionals as they try to implement change to improve 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. The calculator will combine conditions related to the state of the “vehicle health”, floor condition, terrain and footing as well as the weight of the load being moved in estimating these forces.

Live Assistance
We specialize in ergonomic material handling solutions, so we not only know our products; we also know something about the industries in which they can be used. You can see our products on our website and through demonstration videos but we don’t expect you to just take a chance and order them without any additional help. We want to partner with you.

You can call our Sales Engineers at 800-686-2651 for a recommendation on your proper solution. Our Sales Engineers are also happy to explore custom applications where our base products meet primary criteria.

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.