Material Handling Archives - Page 11 of 29

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 In a small and fast pace environment, you can’t afford to have over-sized, unreliable and outdated equipment – you need carts and lifts like those offered by DJ Products; equipment that is small, easy to use and that will last an entire shift (or more) on a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.

How to Create a World-Class Warehouse

There are five essential steps to creating a world-class warehouse, according to Dr. Edward Frazelle, founder of The Logistics Institute at Georgia Tech and director of the school’s Logistics Management Series. A pioneer in modern logistics, Frazelle is an industry legend who has trained more than 50,000 logistics professionals and coached countless companies and government agencies in achieving logistics excellence.

Profile. Frazelle believes in creating profiles of every element of a warehousing operation. Profiling order, activity and planning activities makes it possible to identify the causes of problems as well as pinpoint opportunities for improvement.
Benchmark. It is necessary to determine a benchmark for warehouse performance, practices and infrastructure against which comparisons can be made to worldwide standards or future achievements. Benchmark comparisons allow you to determine the need for improvement or new technology.
Innovate. Based on the information obtained during phases 1 and 2, warehouse processes are streamlined and made as efficient as possible.
Automate. Computerize where possible to increase efficiency and productivity. Computerization should focus on simplifying tasks, increase performance and maximize resource use. Mechanize where justified to maximize production and storage density and to assist operators in performing complex tasks.
Humanize. Involve warehouse operators in the redesign process. Recognize individual performance, promote team goals and implement ergonomic improvements in every possible warehouse activity to safeguard your workforce.

The order in which the above 5 elements are applied to warehouse design and redesign is important, warns Frazelle. Keep in mind that:

Design adjustments are much easier and cheaper to make in the early profile and benchmark phases.
Mechanization investments are less flexible and more expensive than computerization.
Protect your workforce. Ultimately your most valuable resource is your workforce. They are your last element of consideration only because your workforce requirements will be dictated by the preceding elements.

Frazelle’s five elements of warehouse development can be successfully utilized to design a warehouse master plan, redesign existing operations, develop requirements for management systems and guide improvement projects.

SJF Material Handling Checks In

We were delighted to hear from one of our Minnesota brethren this week. Kent Powell of SJF Material Handling, Inc. in Winsted, Minnesota, just a couple of hours down the road from our home office in Little Falls, ran across our blog and dropped us a line.

SJF is a material handling equipment supplier and consultant. For more than 25 years, they’ve been providing new and used material handling equipment from their Minnesota base. Their Genesys division designs and engineers cutting-edge material handling and distribution systems. Services include customized consulting, layout/design, engineering and control programming services for warehousing and distribution-based industries.

You’ll find the SJF Material Handling Blog an interesting read and will want to add it to your list of “favorites.” Their blog focuses in large part on the steel market that provides the raw material for the conveyors, pallets, carousels, rack and other material handling products they sell. It provides readers with another level of insight into the issues that concern our industry today.

DJ Products manufactures ergonomic electric cart pullers and motorized cart pushers for the manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, logistics, automotive, healthcare, hospitality and retail industries. We specialize in ergonomic material handling solutions that eliminate the strain and resultant injury that occurs from manually pushing or pulling carts and wheeled equipment. We’re one interesting cog in the larger material handling wheel, as is SJF Material Handling. We know there are others out there and we want to hear from you.

We invite our readers and others who share our interest in material handling and its applicable industries to share your comments. Alert us to other interesting websites and blogs that we can share with our readers. Drop us a comment if you read an interesting blog post. Share your own experiences or concerns or let us know what you’d like to hear more about. Our goal in creating the DJ Products blog is to share news, information and insights about material handling. We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line.

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.

Five Important Dock Safety Tips

Warehouse safety begins at the receiving and shipping docks. Safe dock procedures set the stage for the safe unloading, handling and storage of materials as well as the packing, loading and shipping of product. Identifying and addressing ergonomic challenges on the dock can directly impact worker safety and dock productivity. “You have to look at everything from what kind of trailer you’re going to receive, to whether the load is floor-loaded or unitized to what happens to it after it comes off the truck. Even the temperature inside the facility and the weather are important,” explained Brent Tymensky, VP of design engineering for Fortna Inc.

Dock safety begins with attention to five important issues:

Trailer access. The length, width, height and suspension system of a trailer generally determine the dock equipment needed. Other considerations include whether the trailer is dry or refrigerated and whether the load is unitized and fully cubed.
Dock conditions. Temperature and weather impact dock worker safety and efficiency. A canopy that keeps out cold, heat, wind, rain and snow improves working conditions and worker comfort. Air-inflatable dock seals can form a tight barrier around a trailer, keeping out the weather and reducing energy costs.
Personnel issues. The age, experience and physical condition of your workforce are factors that determine how and when automated and manual equipment are used. Adjustable conveyors that reach into a trailer can assist with manual unloading and loading procedures, reducing the physical strain on workers. While some palletized loads can be off-loaded as is, many pallet loads must be broken down manually into their components for use or proper storage. Adjustable carts and tuggers can make this work both easier and safer for dock workers.
Dock safety equipment. Vehicle restraint devices prevent trailers from exiting prematurely while workers are still on the trailer. Restraint devices range from simple wheel chucks to automated systems that bolt into the cement dock and attach to the trailer’s rear guard. A newly marketed interlocking device attaches to the trailer brake emergency airline to prevent the trailer from moving until the dock ramp is removed and the dock door closed.
Productivity and efficiency. Dock levelers, extendable conveyors and palletizing equipment all increase efficiency in retrieving and loading materials and goods. Trailer drop can significantly hinder the transition from the trailer to the dock. Levelers and vehicle restraints that support the rear of the trailer can eliminate trailer drop as equipment is moved into the trailer for loading or unloading.

Hazards in the Workplace

Many things located in your workplace; things that you use every single day without a second though, things as common as pallets, ladders, hand trucks can all prove to be dangerous if not used properly. Many of the pieces of equipment that you use on a regular basis, the things that you come in contact with so often that you take their necessity for granted, can pose a serious health risk to you and others if they aren’t in good condition or if they aren’t properly used.

Regular inspections of all equipment should be made to ensure that everything is in good working condition, regular maintenance should be performed on any equipment that contains moving parts and you should ensure that all of your employees are educated on the proper use of the equipment.

The equipment that you use everyday needs to be: properly used by your employees, in good working condition and capable of handling the work that you are using it for. Many workplace injuries can be avoided simply by the use of the right equipment for the task at hand. The electric carts and lifts offered by DJ Products are easy to operate – your employees can be trained quickly to operate these lifts properly, safely and efficiently. They are quiet – the rest of your employees won’t be distracted by excessive noise while DJ Product’s equipment is operating. They are highly efficient and have long battery life – your employees won’t be stuck with an unfinished load of material in the middle of your warehouse due to the fact that their cart died. All of these attributes will make your warehouse more efficient and much safer for all of your employees.

Safety should be a prime concern when you work in material handling – and safety starts with the right equipment for the job and properly trained employees. You can make your operation as safe as possible and dramatically increase your company’s efficiency by using the right equipment for the job.

Give Your Operation a Lift with Material Handling Tugs

Are you still utilizing pallet jacks and forklifts to transport loads in your warehouse or plant? Investing in power material handling tugs from DJ Products can pay long-term dividends thanks to increased efficiency and fewer work-related injuries.

With space often at a premium, the smaller, more manageable tugs offer quicker movement of material from place to place. Weight of the load is distributed over the drive wheels, increasing traction that allows for easy transport of even the heaviest materials. This also means that a single person can handle loads that usually require two or more people.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, a full 50 percent of work-related musculoskeletal disorders are back injuries. Each incident results in anywhere from seven to 21 days off the job. Material handling tugs provide an ease of operation that sharply reduces the danger of injury. They also include ergonomically designed features such as variable speed twist grips, eliminating factors that cause repetitive stress.

Safety is a prime standard in the design of our tugs. Emergency stop switches let operators quickly shut down if necessary, preventing injury as well as damage. Your employees will work with a greater sense of confidence, resulting in an overall boost in morale.

Our DJ Products line of material handling tugs includes the PartsCaddy and CarpetCaddy that can accommodate unusually shaped or oversized loads. No matter what your needs, you’ll find a style that fits. Our Sales Engineers are ready to help you find your perfect solution at 800-686-2651.

Implementing a Forklift-Free Program

Forklift trucks are expensive to maintain and are a significant source of worker injuries and even deaths each year. The high cost of using forklifts in manufacturing, warehousing and logistics environments is pushing an increasing number of businesses to go forklift-free (see our June 11 post). Going forklift-free can reduce inventory and equipment needs, improve material flow and customer response, increase cycle efficiency and overall productivity, and decrease operating costs. At the same time a forklift-free work environment significantly improves plant safety; decreases liability concerns; and markedly decreases worker injuries and associated medical, insurance, disability and lost man-hour costs.

Implementing a forklift-free program can be challenging and will require a coordinated effort by top-level management, all affected departments, and suppliers, say John Neuman and Larry Tyler in American Machinist. They emphasize that success will require the ability to maintain “a big picture overview of the project as well as an understanding of how each department and suppliers, both internal and external, will be impacted.”

A successful transition to a forklift-free environment begins with a clarification of plan targets and goals and the identification of waste, ergonomic and safety threats. Neuman and Tyler suggest beginning by asking how operations and your supply chain will be impacted by a forklift-free system. Typical project leaders include manufacturing and industrial engineers and material logistics personnel. Input should be gathered from safety teams, production managers, line operators, tug drivers, market supply teams, your purchasing department and suppliers. Good communication, efficient information coordination, and clear assignment of responsibilities are important to success at this stage of the project, warn Neuman and Tyler.

Performing a trial run that physically traces each step of operation from the supplier to the receiving dock through assembly and back to the shipping dock allows the implementation team to uncover any potential problems before initiation. Role playing allows each individual who will participate in the new process to experience and try out the actual movements they will need to undertake in a forklift-free production. The suggestions gained from a physical dry run can provide valuable insight into operational, personnel and supplier issues that must be addressed before full implementation of a forklift-free system.

Obviously, implementing a forklift-free environment in an existing plant presents a significantly greater challenge than in a new or remodeled facility where changes can be incorporated in the planning phase. Neuman and Tyler warn that “existing plant constraints may make the best forklift-free strategy less than optimal.” Aisle widths, conveyor heights, set backs, line space, ceiling height and floor quality are among the challenges that may need to be overcome. Incremental conversion beginning with one or two work cells or a common assembly area may allow for greater success in brownfield operations. Despite the added challenges, positive results can be achieved in brownfield operations though initial cost and implementation time may be somewhat greater.

“Where do you get off …?” Why DJ Products Talks About Economy, Politics

We cover a lot of ground in the DJ Products’ blog: general material handling news, business and production tips, product specifications and applications, industry trade shows, ergonomics, government regulations, and manufacturing forecasts. To the apparent annoyance of some of our readers, we also discuss the economy and politics.

It’s our view that today’s astute business person is interested in a broad view of the business world, as opposed to a narrow, industry-specific perspective. Because he/she realizes that American business does not exist in a vacuum, the savvy business person is interested in not only what’s in front but what’s coming over the horizon. It’s the economic and political landscape of our country that shapes that future view.

One of the purposes of this blog is to provide a forum for discussing those broader forces that affect U.S. business. If our readers just wanted to learn about DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers, they could visit our website. But we think they want more, and we’re not the only ones. Many industry bloggers stray off their own narrow subjects to address the greater concerns of business. And, like us, they get the occasional reader comment, “Where do you get off ….” talking about the economy or politics or whatever annoys the reader.

Mike Botta addressed this issue in his March 2 post on the Industrial Equipment News blog. Botta labeled it “Stimulosis Psychosis,” which he defined as “a rare disorder that causes people to temporarily lose touch with today’s economic, political and business realities.” Botta has run into the same issue we have: Blog readers complaining that they prefer to get their economic and political news from other sources. It seems to be a question of bona fides. While we agree that we are not national experts in the field of economics or politics, who better to discuss how the broad concepts bandied about in Washington will actually affect the businesses forced to apply them than the business owners tasked with the job?

An excellent case in point is national ergonomics standards. Ergonomics standards have waxed and waned with Washington’s shifting political winds: in with Clinton, out with Bush, coming in again with Obama. While business owners generally support ergonomic measures because they increase production, lower overall costs and improve worker health and safety, the state of the economy has many worried about the expense of implementation and reporting procedures if the feds get involved.

Politics and the economy are all part and parcel of doing business in America. It’s like Botta, who writes about industrial equipment, says in his blog, “No Industry = No Equipment.” Without a viable U.S. industrial community, material handling firms have no market for their equipment. A healthy industrial community is dependant on a healthy economy and, right now in particular, a healthy economy is dependant on politics.

How Ergonomics Saves Money

Musculoskeletal injuries caused by overexertion are responsible for 25% of all workplace injuries and affect one in every 200 workers, according to data compiled by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Overexertion injuries caused by straining during pushing, pulling, lifting and carrying tasks cost U.S. businesses more than $1 billion in compensation costs and 12 million lost workdays every year. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg! According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, more than 50% of worker’s compensation claims are for debilitating back injuries that affect 1.75 million (1 in 5) workers each year — at an annual price tag of $30 billion. The time-lost cost of a single back injury is estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at $26,000.

Ergonomic equipment is designed to eliminate and prevent muscle strain, overexertion, back injury and the whole gamut of musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries that eat away at U.S. business profit margins. Ergonomically-designed equipment reduces the risk of overexertion and injury from pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, bending and twisting tasks. The equipment, not the worker, carries the burden, eliminating expensive medical, insurance, worker’s compensation and lost work-hour expenses. When workers are less physically tasked and workplace safety is increased, worker morale improves, production increases and product quality goes up.

One study of U.S. manufacturers found that every dollar invested in ergonomics resulted in a savings of $4. DJ Products, a national leader in the manufacture of ergonomically-designed carts and movers, has found that most customers recoup their investment in ergonomic equipment within the first year. DJ Products specialized in providing affordable ergonomic solutions to material handling applications. We manufacture material handling equipment that is designed to eliminate the strain and pain of manually pushing or pulling heavy carts, equipment or materials. Our ergonomically-designed equipment is smaller, more maneuverable and less costly than traditional material handling equipment such as forklifts, walkies and motorized riding tugs. DJ Products specializes in battery powered, walk behind carts, movers and pushers that offer maximum safety and maneuverability. If you’re looking to get better value from your material handling dollar, contact DJ Products’ expert ergonomic sales team today!