Future Trends Archives

New Nanotechnology Development Could Change Manufacturing

Nanotechnology used to be the stuff of science fiction movies. Recent advances could turn it into a household word within just a few years. Cost has been the primary sticking point, but performance problems have also prevented industry from full scale adoption of nanotechnology. With the development of nano-graphene platelets (NGPs), nanotechnology has become both cost effective and relatively problem free, according to the March 19, 2009 article written by Dr. Bor Jang of Angstron Materials LLC for Manufacturing & Technology eJournal.

A better alternative to carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers, nano-graphene platelets don’t have the performance issues of their predecessors which exhibited frustrating clumping problems and were difficult to form into composites. And NGPs finally bring nanotechnology down into an affordable price range for high volume manufacturing. You can read the Manufacturing & Technology eJournal article for Dr. Jang’s technical explanation of how NGPs are formed, but the bottom line is that NGPs provide “a much higher thermal conductivity and twice the specific surface areas” of their predecessors.

The flexibility of new NGPs, which can be combined with a wide range of materials and configured in a variety of forms, provides manufacturers with their first viable and accessible nanotechnology option. Potential applications include reinforcement of polymer materials, improved injection molding and extrusion techniques and products, ground and air lightning strike protection, aerospace thermal management and radio frequency interference protection, and battery and fuel cell innovations that could help spur large-scale transition from gas- to electric-powered vehicles in the U.S.

Dr. Jang lists a number of provocative features and benefits derived from current testing of NGPs and NGP nanocomposites, including:

Thermal conductivity five times greater than copper with faster dissipation.
Electrical conductivity similar to copper with a density four times lower.
Fifty times stronger than steel.
Very low weight, low density and small volume.
Chemical bonding to a range of resins.
High resistance to gas permeability.
Excellent corrosion resistance.
Able to remove heavy metals and radionucleides from wastewater and ground water.
High organic material absorption.
Exceptionally high intrinsic strength.
High specific surface area.
Ability to produce mass quantities in high volumes.

An innovative leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic powered carts, DJ Products is always interested in new innovations in manufacturing. Development of NGPs puts cutting edge nanotechnology within the practical reach of U.S. manufacturers for the first time.

How DJ Products Can Help You Be a Survivor

As we’ve said in this space before, it’s going to take a firm hand on expenses, the guts to embrace innovative ideas and products, and the flexibility to act quickly when opportunities present themselves to survive the current recession. DJ Products’ ergonomically-engineered carts, tugs and movers can help you get the jump on the competition and position your business to move boldly — and successfully — into the future.

Cost effectiveness, worker safety, healthcare issues, energy and environmental concerns, immigration and a changing workforce — these are among the most powerful issues that confront businesses owners today. Customers, workers, the public and the government will all be watching how we address these issues in the course of business. It’s no longer enough to produce a fine product. Today, we’re also graded on how we produce that product and the cost or benefit to our workers and the environment, not just our customers. Government oversight and a watchful press have added a few links to the food chain.

Here’s how DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers can help you successfully meet these challenges:

Cost effectiveness is key when every penny counts. When DJ Products’ ergonomic carts and movers are integrated into your workplace or production operation, full return on investment is typically realized within the first year or two through increased production and worker efficiency and decreased healthcare, disability and workers’ compensation costs.
Worker safety is one of the issues at the top of President-elect Obama’s to-do list. Stricter OSHA regulations regarding ergonomic issues are expected early in his administration. During his campaign, Obama promised workers a safer work environment which industry experts predict will mean tougher ergonomic standards and increased government oversight. Implementing an ergonomic program built around DJ Products’ carts, tugs and movers will put you ahead of the game as regulations tighten up. Ergonomically designed to take the physical burden off your workers, DJ Products’ carts improve workplace safety significantly.
Healthcare issues will be another key thrust of the incoming administration. Many of the plans being discussed in the press will increase the already difficult healthcare burden on employers. Ergonomic equipment is a proven way to significantly — and immediately — decrease employee medical, insurance and disability costs.

To be continued on Friday

The Future Is Now!

If you have kids, you’ve probably seen trailers for the new Disney-Pixar animated film WALL-E. Robots like WALL-E and his cohorts represent the wave of the future in material handling, though let’s hope they get the kinks worked out before they start installation. Can you imagine the chaos if a bunch of inept robots was allowed to run amuck on your plant floor? Life, after all, is not a movie. The hero almost never arrives to save the day in the final seconds of a plant emergency!

Robot prototypes that allow us to glimpse and plan for the future of material handling are already on the market. British tech firm RTS Flexible Solutions has introduced a 3-D vision-based robot automation system that can grip complex shapes and profiles, pick at variable heights and even perform some inspection and defect rejection actions.

“Advances in technology mean we can deliver applications which have been difficult for conventional 2D technology,” commented RTS managing director David Bradford. While 2D vision-guided robotic automaton works on grayscale, color or line-scanning vision systems, the new 3D system can process on X, Y and Z coordinates. For the first time this allows a robotic application to accurately gauge height, depth and surface contours, opening new possibilities for material management.

It will be a while before robotic applications can effectively perform many material handling functions, but that day can already be glimpsed on the horizon. Computer software and management skills are more apt to define material handling workers of the future. It’s going to be a whole new ball game!

Part 2: How DJ Products Can Help You Be a Survivor

Recently, we’ve been talking about the recession, workplace initiatives and increased regulation expected from the incoming Obama administration, and what it will take to position your business to survive the rocky road ahead. A tight grip on expenses, the willingness to embrace innovative ideas and technology, and the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves will be the hallmarks of companies that rise above the competition to succeed.

Many powerful issues will confront American business owners in the days ahead. Cost effectiveness, worker safety, healthcare issues, energy and environmental concerns, immigration and a changing workforce are among the challenges that we will face. Business owners who are proactive in addressing these challenges will position themselves to succeed. A leader in the design and manufacture of innovative, cost-effective, ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers, DJ Products can help you successfully meet the coming challenges. Continuing our Wednesday post, here’s how DJ Products can help you move ahead of the competition:

Energy and environmental concerns are expected to take center stage with the Obama administration billing itself as the “green team.” Alternative energy products that decrease our country’s dependence on oil will receive increasing support as will products that decrease the nation’s environmental footprint. DJ Products’ battery-powered electric carts, tugs and movers use clean energy and have the staying power to work a full shift without recharging.
Changing workforce patterns are expected to create new challenges for businesses and industry as immigrant workers comprise an increasing portion of our country’s labor force. Language and cultural issues are expected to impact work environments and job efficiency. Intuitive ergonomic controls on DJ Products’ powered movers and carts make them easy to operate and control, bridging any potential language barrier. Our customers report an extremely brief and highly satisfactory training curve when our products are introduced into the workplace.

For complete information about DJ Products’ ergonomic carts, tugs and movers, visit our website. On our website, you’ll find a helpful Ergonomic Load Calculator that can help you or your company’s safety and health specialist estimate the amount of force necessary to move loads in your workplace. The program considers a number of variables specific to your work environment and makes product recommendations that can be used to improve both workforce and production efficiency. Contact one of our industry experts today to find out how DJ Products can help you be a survivor.

Sustainability Takes “Green” to Next Level

Everyone is “going green” these days. Concern for the environment sparked “green” businesses, but skyrocketing fuel prices have ignited those efforts, pushing environmental practices ever more quickly toward sustainability.

What is sustainability? Sustainability takes environmentally-friendly practices to the next level. It improves upon the protection and husbandry of the world’s natural resources by utilizing processes that reclaim and reuse the products and byproducts of industry. Production comes full-circle: resources are used to create products which are then used and, at the end of their life cycle, recovered and reused to create new products. The ultimate goal of sustainability is to complete the cycle without creating unusable byproducts or waste and without polluting the environment.

Supply Chain Sustainability and Green Sustainable Supply Chain are the coming watchwords in the material handling and logistics industries, said Patrick Penfield of Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management in a 2007 article for On the MHove, a MHIA publication. Growing concern over environmental pollution and dwindling natural resources are driving the push for sustainability. “Humankind has inherited a 3.8 billion per year store of natural capital. At present rates of use and degradation, there will be little left by the end of the next century,” authors of the book Natural Capitalism warned in 1999. Less than a decade later, scientists are concerned that the crisis point could be reached far sooner.

Despite the Bush administration’s failure to embrace global environmental efforts (and there are many valid arguments on both sides of that issue), European legislation restricting pollution and hazardous substances presage the future. Experts predict that the world will be unable to support its populace if the global community — including the U.S., China, Brazil, India and developing countries around the world — does not embrace environmental protection and work quickly to implement sustainable industry.

Next time: Supply Chain Sustainability

Recession Leads to Survival of the Fittest

It’s Darwin’s principle of natural selection in action. In a poor economy, only the strong survive. A recession “always hits manufacturing first and hardest,” Hank Cox of the National Association of Manufacturers recently told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. According to the Associated Press, in December, “manufacturing activity sank to its lowest point in 28 years,” with indexes falling farther than expected. Some index components, including new orders, fell to historic lows not seen since the 1948-49 recession. Overall, the manufacturing index, which has been steadily declining over the past six months, reached its lowest reading since June 1980, the tail-end of the last major recession.

Major players from Dow Chemical to Ford Motor Co. to Anheuser Busch are chopping jobs and shutting down factories in an attempt to stop the financial hemorrhaging, but it may not be enough. With the global economy in a tailspin, manufacturers can’t rely on exports to save them from disaster. And when the big guys are flailing, you can bet small businesses are being hammered. From manufacturing to retail and everywhere in between, the economy is taking a toll on American businesses. No sector of the economy is proving to be recession proof. No one reported growth in December and most sectors of the economy reported declines in everything from new orders to production, employment and prices. Weak companies are going to fail. It’s survival of the fittest, but those companies that do survive the recession are predicted to emerge far stronger than before and in an arena with less competition. To make the cut, you’ll need to roll with the punches and be proactive about the changes that are coming.

The floundering economy and growing jobs crisis has given the incoming Obama administration a popular mandate to change America (see our previous two posts). Industry experts tell us to expect increased government oversight and regulation. Public backlash from the highhanded attitude of financial institutions that refused to disclose how they spent bailout money has assured that future government help will come with lots of strings attached. Add to that President-elect Obama’s campaign pledge to American workers to improve workplace safety and his pledge to the public to increase environmental protection, and American businesses should be girding for a new era of more invasive government regulation.

There are always two ways to handle change. You can rail and fight against it, or you can embrace it and use it to position yourself ahead of the competition. Time and again, history proves that those who look to the future and embrace change survive. As competition increases, the companies that are proactive about incorporating new technology, new equipment and new processes into their operations are the ones that will rise above their competition and live to see a better tomorrow.

Next time: How DJ Products can help you be a survivor.

Keeping Up with the Trends

The world of business, and subsequently warehousing and material handling, is ever changing. To be successful you must adapt as your customer needs change and there is never a more serious time to serve your customer as a time where the economy is suffering. If you can’t provide the service that your customer needs, you better believe that he or she will find someone that can in an effort to serve their customer and keep their doors open.

Recent trends have shown that some businesses are being forced by the economy to move into smaller properties in an effort to cut overhead and continue operating. Some of these businesses will require their suppliers to change from a customary “pick and pack” type supplier to someone who is willing to store materials until they are needed.

Warehouses and distribution centers who are asked to provide this service to their customers need, more than ever before, to be properly organized and capable of staging and shipping orders quickly and accurately once an order is received from their customer. Direct shipments to end users may be necessary and the overall volume of shipments may increase causing the environment to become faster paced and more hectic.

The need for accurate and properly stocked inventories becomes crucial in this type of environment; because there is no time for error when direct or expedited shipments are required. One way to ensure that your workers can both accurately receive and store materials and to ensure that material can be pulled and staged for priority shipments quickly is to have the proper material handling equipment available for use.

The ergonomic, battery powered carts and scissor lifts from DJ products operate quickly, cleanly and quietly for an entire shift on a single charge, allowing your employees to focus on the accuracy necessary for pulling and receiving orders rather than on the back breaking labor of manual material handling. In order to become and stay successful your team needs to be fast, accurate and efficient and one of the best ways to achieve that level of performance is to operate with the best possible equipment.

Bigger isn’t always Better

Staying operational in rough economic waters sometimes means having to make some big changes – one of those changes that some distribution centers are making is to open more locations. Opening more locations doesn’t really sound as though it would be a good way to cut costs and increase the bottom line; but if those new locations are smaller and better equipped to serve the customer – it can certainly be a way to turn more of a profit.

Many companies are looking to eliminate extremely large facilities that carry high overheads in terms of rent and utilities in favor if smaller, lower cost buildings that are able to deliver service at faster speeds. One large centralized location that is capable of carrying plenty of inventory does have some advantages, but multiple locations that are strategically placed can have many more benefits when it comes to provide quick and accurate service to customers.

It can be quite a bit easier to keep track of product in a smaller and well organized building, everything needs to be processed and put away upon arrival because your employees won’t have the extra space for product to sit around on pallets. With your entire inventory put exactly where it needs to be up receipt, there won’t be any room for error – inventories will be easier to control and orders won’t be lost due to misplaced product.

Bigger isn’t always better in terms of equipment either and when distribution centers shrink down in size to become faster and more effective, they often need their material handling equipment to do the exact same thing. In a small and fast pace environment, you can’t afford to have over-sized, unreliable and outdated equipment – you need carts and lifts like those offered by DJ Products; equipment that is small, easy to use and that will last an entire shift (or more) on a single charge with no fear of failure.

Your employees will be moving at lightning speeds in order to process customer orders; they’ll need safe, effective and reliable equipment to help them perform their job properly – equipment like the carts and lifts offered by DJ Products.

Diversification and the Willingness to Grow

Stocking distributors and manufacturer’s representatives are finding themselves in a position where they have to play the roll of the chameleon, constantly changing to meet their customer’s needs in the ever changing construction environment.

When you are in a field where the products are constantly evolving to meet the end users unique needs it’s difficult enough to try and keep up with the trends, but when the ravaged economy is wreaking havoc with your and your competitors’ businesses you need to truly be the most versatile business you can be in order to remain successful.

Your closet competition may be forced to close its doors, which could open up an area of the market that you were previously unable to service – but in order to attack and hold onto that business you may need to add new product without losing a step in terms of serving your customer.

This type of rapid fire adaptability requires you to have the most reliable and easiest to use equipment in order to be able to receive and fill orders at the rate necessary to meet existing and new customer needs. You can’t have your employees fumbling with outdated machinery that is prone to failure, or with manually moving thousands of pounds of product due to the fact that there is no fuel in your lift or charge left in its battery.

DJ Products offers battery operated lifts and carts that are designed to meet the demands of the fast paced atmosphere of material handling. These lifts and carts are among the safest, most reliable and most versatile available – each ergonomically designed to not only get the job done, but to keep your employees safe while they are doing it.

Whether you are feeling pressure from an influx of new product and new customers or just trying better your business status enough to not become a statistic, the right equipment for the job is necessary to exceed your previous level of productivity.

Downsizing? Can Your Equipment Handle the Move?

Unfortunately many material handling companies and distribution centers are still having trouble making ends meet and this has led to a trend of companies moving into smaller builds to cut expenses. If your company has a lease coming up for renewal and you are considering the possibility of cutting overhead by moving into a smaller building, ask yourself this –is your equipment reliable enough to conquer the work involved in a move?

If you have issues with outdated material handling equipment that gives you fits because of regular maintenance issues, odds are that your move will be a disaster. Consider the fact that moving your entire operation will be a labor intensive affair unlike any other. Moving isn’t just high volume – it’s all volume, you need to get everything: racks, pallets, desks and every last piece of product moved as quickly as possible to the new operation to avoid missed sales and risk being labeled unreliable. Make no mistake about it – moving is not a job to perform with unreliable equipment.

That’s not all you have to consider either – is there adequate room in your new facility to merit the big, bulky equipment that you are currently running? If there isn’t than upgrading to smaller, safer and more efficient powered carts like those offered by DJ Products is a very simple decision – just be sure to implement it prior to moving.

You won’t be able to ship or receive product during your move, so it’s absolutely integral to your future success to get the move completed as quickly and efficiently as possible so you can open for business again. You don’t need any hitches thrown into the process by having a piece of equipment fail at the wrong time. Upgrading to the best and most reliable material handling equipment prior to the move will ensure that you get into your new facility with as few headaches as possible and that you can resume regular businesses soon as possible upon getting settled in your new building.