Material Handling Archives - Page 16 of 29

Versatile Trailer Mover Useful for Boats, RVs

Spring is officially here. It’s not the daffodils poking through the ground that tipped me off; it was the parade of boats and RVs on the highway this weekend that clued me in. When people put their boats in the water and fire up their RVs, you know that spring is in the air. The folks in Chicago and Detroit may still have to shovel a few inches of snow this month, but most of the country (Nebraska excluded) is starting to enjoy warmer days, and thoughts are turning to summer pleasures.

Developed to facilitate the easy movement of trailers around manufacturing plants and storage facilities, DJ Products’ versatile TrailerCaddy trailer mover has been appropriated by the boating and RV industries. Ergonomically designed to prevent the muscle strain associated with moving large trailers and trailered equipment, DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy makes it possible to move heavy, unwieldy boats and RVs at plants, in showrooms and on sales lots with ease. Our ergonomic trailer pusher protects the health and safety of your workers, putting the strain on the equipment, not on workers’ muscles and backs.

The compact design of DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy allows workers to effortlessly and safely maneuver boats and RVs while maintaining complete control over the vehicle, whether moving a RV across a crowded sales lot or positioning a boat in a tight showroom space surrounded by other expensive vehicles. Because our battery-operated TrailerCaddies are more efficient and less bulky than traditional electric trailer pulling equipment, they cost less to use, have lower maintenance costs, require less storage space, and result in fewer accidents.

Capable of moving trailers, RVs and boats up to weighing up to 20,000 pounds, DJ Products’ trailer mover is powered by three deep-cycle batteries for long run times, extended use between charging, and quiet operation. An electric braking system holds trailers safely on inclines, preventing potential accidents from run away trailers. Operated from the handlebar, the ergonomically-designed, variable-speed, high-tech speed controller allows smooth acceleration and de-acceleration from 0 to 3 mph both forwards and backwards. A safety stop switch conveniently mounted on the handle bar ensures immediate, safe stopping power. Non-marking tires protect showroom floors. Click here to see a film of DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy in action.

Electric Mover Turns Workers into Supermen!

We admit it isn’t faster that a speeding bullet, and you won’t find leaping tall buildings in the specs; but it can make you feel more powerful than a locomotive. If you’ve ever wanted to flex Superman muscles but your body is more Clark Kent, our incredible TrailerCaddy electric mover is just what you’ve been looking for. This powerful DJ Products electric mover turns ordinary workers into Supermen and Superwomen, allowing them to effortlessly transport heavy trailers and vehicles — no tights or capes required!DJ Products’ versatile TrailerCaddy electric mover pushes and pulls trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. Heavy equipment trailers, RVs, campers and boats are easily moved down assembly lines, from manufacturing plant to storage lot, across dealer lots, on and off showroom floors, or into position at trade shows — no need to hook up to a truck when you need to move these vehicles short distances, just slide in the TrailerCaddy and a single worker can do the job, effortlessly. Click here to watch a video of DJ Products’ amazing TrailerCaddy in action.

Like all DJ Products electric mover, the TrailerCaddy electric mover is ergonomically designed to take the strain off workers. The sore backs, strained muscles and exhausting overexertion that plague workers who wrestle with large trailered equipment are eliminated by DJ Products’ ergonomic design features. Any worker of any size or physical ability can easily move trailers, vehicles or equipment using DJ Products’ electric TrailerCaddy trailer mover. Ergonomic design significantly decreases worker injuries and their associated medical, insurance, worker’s compensation and lost man-hour costs, representing a considerable savings to employers.Less bulky than traditional equipment, DJ Products TrailerCaddy electric mover is sleek, compact and designed to maneuver easily in tight spaces, diminishing potential damage to surrounding parts and equipment when moving bulky vehicles. The ergonomic variable speed twist grip prevents carpal tunnel syndrome while allowing operators instant and complete control over the unit at speeds of 0 to 3 mph in both forward or reverse. A high tech speed controller, neutral throttle braking and electric adjustable acceleration/braking ensure safe operation and maximum operator control of the unit. Click here for complete specs on DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy trailer mover.

Technology Changes the Way Material Handling is Performed in 2015

When your business grows, can you handle the surge in labor? Technological advances in material handling are making things easier with automation. From manufacturing equipment, to warehouse distribution, to shipment — industrial tugs and other automated material handling solutions are driving growth in all industries.

Forecasts through 2019 call for a compound annual growth rate of more than 8 percent in the material handling industry. The numbers from BCC Research point to high-tech advances ranging from robotics to wearable tech as a source of growth for the next 20 years.

Tech that Makes Material Handling Faster, More Agile

Buzzwords like scalability and flexibility have been around for years. The new tech available are turning those concepts into a key part of everyday operations.

Consider the effects of adding industrial tugs to a warehouse. With a manual wheeled cart, a single employee can only move “X amount” of products around the warehouse floor in a given day. With a motorized tug that pushes or pulls the cart, the employee avoids the physical strain of maneuvering the heavy items all day.

Busier than usual one day? Automated solutions help your existing workforce accomplish more. If order volumes vary by day or season, a warehouse can keep costs down with a right-sized workforce using smart solutions that provide the flexibility and scalability required at all times.

Growing Your Business with Automated Material Handling

If your staff moves inventory, equipment, or vehicles around the worksite, we have industrial powered carts to increase productivity (and reduce worker injury, too).

Check out the WagonCaddy and other industrial tugs at DJProducts.com for more info.

Material Handling Industry Moving to Clean, Green Electric Carts

“Cleaner, greener, smarter.” That’s how John Teresko characterized the material handling industry’s shift to electric battery-powered vehicles in a recent online article on Industry Week. “While the continuing transition to electric battery-powered lift trucks may suggest only environmental concern, the trend is really part of a broader search for new levels of performance and productivity,” he said. Over the past decade sales of electric trucks have gradually overtaken and surpassed sales of internal combustion models. The move to electric power is the most significant, most evident trend in the material handling industry.

While Teresko happened to be writing about forklift trucks, the move to clean-energy, electric battery-powered carts and tugs is universal across the landscape of the material handling industry. Fueled by a growing concern for the environment and skyrocketing fossil fuel costs, savvy businessmen have been trading in their gas- and diesel-powered vehicles in favor of cleaner, cheaper-to-operate electric battery-powered equipment. With the capacity to operate a full shift without recharge, electric battery-powered material handling equipment provides significant energy savings without any loss of productivity.

What Teresko didn’t mention is that forward-thinking manufacturers and business owners are moving away from forklifts altogether in favor of cheaper, more versatile, more efficient, safer, ergonomically-designed powered carts and movers. Heralding the next significant shift in the material handling industry, manufacturers are replacing forklifts with highly maneuverable powered movers that allow greater flexibility of use. Their smaller size and ability to maneuver in tight spaces and highly trafficked areas allow motorized carts and powered cart movers to be employed in a wide variety of tasks, increasing the flexibility and versatility of your material handling equipment resources.

Receiving equal consideration is the appallingly high accident/injury rate associated with forklifts. Ergonomically-designed powered carts, tugs and movers have a proven track record of reducing accidents and musculoskeletal injuries. Switching to ergonomically designed electric battery-powered movers results in a significant savings in medical, insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs and has been proven to reduce absenteeism and lost man-hours. Investment costs are routinely recouped in the first year after purchase. Ergonomically-designed electric battery-powered material handling equipment is the industry’s next most important trend and savvy business owners are getting onboard.

Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions Improve Productivity

In our last post we talked about coming trends in warehousing. More companies are starting to outsource certain functions, such as logistics, as part of a program to increase efficiency and improve productivity. Outsourcing allows you to focus on your primary business model instead of stretching your resources to include secondary but essential functions such as logistics. The astute businessperson will realize that outsourcing is but one element of what must be a multi-directional effort to tighten efficiency and improve productivity in these difficult economic times.

Making a careful assessment of material handling equipment usage and associated costs — both direct and indirect — can have a significant affect on your bottom line.

With the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline going through the roof, replacing outdated equipment with fuel-efficient electric and battery-powered equipment can save thousands of dollars in fuel costs.
Replacing bulking, difficult to move equipment with highly maneuverable powered carts and tugs can improve workplace safety and worker morale and decrease lost man-hours from absenteeism and injury.
Installing ergonomically designed pushers, pullers and carts can save thousands of dollars a year in decreased medical, insurance and disability costs resulting from musculoskeletal injuries.
Implementing ergonomic practices in the workplace can improve worker morale considerably while increasing efficiency and productivity significantly. Retraining staff to utilize recognized ergonomic practices generally produces an immediate savings from reduced worker injuries and associated medical costs.

DJ Products specializes in providing affordable ergonomic solutions to material handling applications. Our highly trained staff can assist you in assessing your material handling needs and design solutions tailored to the specific needs of your business. For more information, visit the DJ Products website.

Why Do We Need Material Handling Solutions?

If you are new to an industry in which your employees labor in plants and warehouses, you may not be fully aware of the need for material handling solutions to assist with transporting goods. You may think that if you are supplying your employees with carts or trolleys that they should not need more than that to move products or raw materials around. What you may not realize is just how difficult and possibly dangerous it can be to just use a cart in certain situations.

While a cart or trolley may be equipped with casters, this does not mean it is equipped to handle all of the spaces and surfaces where your employees work. Slight inclines and tight corners may make it difficult to maneuver some types of wheeled equipment that would otherwise move with ease.

A tug from DJ Products can help ease possible muscle strain that could occur when an employee attempts to push or pull carts, especially ones with heavy loads. You can use our industrial tuggers to help transport carts with casters, carts that use 4-swivel casters or a wagon-wheel style of turning, and carts in a straight line. Not only can you avoid employee injury, you can also avoid collisions and accidents that might damage valuable raw materials or products.

It is our goal to provide solutions for material handling situations that are ergonomically correct, safe and cost effective. You can feel free to call us at 800-686-2651 if you are unsure as to which material handling solution will work best for you. Our Sales Engineers can provide recommendations. The will also be happy to explore custom applications where our base products match primary criteria.

Material Handling Solutions for the Auto Detailing Industry

Americans love their cars, and they tend to hang onto them for a long time. That’s doubly true in times like these. When the economy slows and prices rise, people keep their cars until time and mechanical failure finally take their toll. Some owners are able to stave off the inevitable for years, sometimes decades, with attentive maintenance and expert body care. America’s love affair with the automobile coupled with a tight economy has created a growth boom in the auto detailing and reconditioning industry.

For many Americans, their car or truck is an outward extension of their personality. Their ride is part of their personal image. The considerable time and money spent on detailing their car or truck on a regular basis is as much an investment in image as in prolonging the life of the vehicle. These customers demand perfection.

If you are an auto detailer or reconditioner, you’re well aware of the hours of painstaking labor that go into detailing a car and buffing the finish to the clear, deep gloss your customers demand. DJ Products has a product that allows you to move cars around your lot and in and out of service bays without damaging that carefully buffed finish. DJ Products’ CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher is perfect for auto detailers and reconditioners and vehicle service centers where cars must be moved short distances without damage.

The front push pad of the ergonomically-designed CarCaddy is made of a soft, durable, padded material specifically designed to preserve the paint and integrity of the vehicle. Even more, this compact, battery-powered pusher will prevent worker injury. No more pulled muscles and strained backs trying to muscle a vehicle into position. DJ Products’ CarCaddy does the “heavy lifting” so your workers can concentrate on serving your customers.

Auto Industry Retooling Should Include Ergonomics

The U.S. auto industry is starting to make its comeback. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the first loans from the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program authorized by Congress to support the U.S. manufacture of energy-efficient cars and automotive components:

Ford Motor Co. was granted $5.9 billion to retool factories in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio to manufacture fuel-efficient vehicles.
Nissan North America received $1.6 billion to retool its Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing plant to produce electric vehicles.
Tesla Motors got $465 million for production of advanced electric vehicles in California.

Other signs of industry recovery include Gestamp Corporation’s $90 million investment in a Chattanooga, Tennessee stamping operation to produce parts for Volkswagen’s new mid-sized sedan, and Ralco Industries’ $6.4 million expansion of its Pontiac, Michigan facility to increase production of welded assemblies for the auto industry.

It’s a relief to finally see the first twitch of life in the U.S. auto industry. And it’s exciting to see the industry retooling for what promises to be a robust future. But along with forward-thinking changes in their product line, the auto industry should be implementing innovation changes in their production practices. Retooling initiatives should include ergonomic material handling equipment on the assembly line, on plant floors and in factory storage lots to ensure the protection of workers’ health and safety. The workers who made concessions in pay and health benefits to keep the auto companies alive deserve to work in an environment that promotes good health. The citizens who provided the cash that the government is using to fund the loans that are jump-starting new life into the auto industry deserve to know that every possible measure is being taken to create a financially lean manufacturing operation. Ergonomic material handling equipment accomplishes both goals.

Ergonomic equipment like DJ Products’ CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher pushes heavy equipment down an assembly. The CartCaddyLH electric tug can push a vehicle down a rail or be used to push/pull from station to station heavy carts of raw materials or parts weighing 10,000 to 50,000 pounds. The DealerCaddy car and truck pusher easily maneuvers cars and trucks around storage and dealer lots. All DJ Products’ material handling carts and movers are ergonomically designed to prevent expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries. Ergonomic equipment and practices have been proven to cut production time and costs, protect workers’ health and safety, improve worker morale, and significantly reduce the musculoskeletal injury expenses that cost U.S. businesses more than $150 billion each year. Including ergonomics in auto industry retooling efforts just makes sense — for the auto industry, for workers, and for taxpayers.

Nursing Home Volunteers Can Use Material Handling Solutions

There are plenty of uses for motorized cart pushers and industrial tuggers in nursing homes. Workers can use them to deliver patient medications and meals. Motorized laundry carts can be used to retrieve dirty laundry and then deliver clean laundry. Overall, material handling solutions can make it easier for nursing home workers to complete their tasks efficiently while avoiding unnecessary strain so they can concentrate on patients.

So we know that motorized carts can be used to deliver the things that nursing home residents need…but what about flowers?

NewsWorks reported about a New Jersey woman who has made it her mission to see to it that folks in the nursing home get a little cheer in their day via day-old grocery story bouquets. She picks up the day old bouquets and then transports them to several nursing homes, spending nearly three hours a day making her deliveries. The article says that Patricia Gallagher gets enough of these bouquets that would otherwise be tossed away to fill up a shopping cart…what it does not say is how she transports the bouquets from her car into and around the various nursing homes that she visits.

So yes, even nursing home volunteers can make use of material handling solutions. Instead of having to carry items in or relying on staff members to help (and taking them away from their duties), having a motorized cart available for volunteers and families who are distributing gifts or setting up donations would be a great idea.

Call 1-800-686-2651 to speak with one of our Sales Engineers to learn more about our products.

Ergonomic Design Lowers Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury

Manual material handling (MMH) contributes to more than half a million musculoskeletal injuries a year in the U.S., said a 2007 report published by the California Department of Industrial Relations. A joint study by California OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that “effective ergonomic interventions can lower the physical demands of MMH work tasks, thereby lowering the incidence and severity of the musculoskeletal injuries they cause. Their potential for reducing injury-related costs alone make ergonomic interventions a useful tool for improving a company’s productivity, product quality, and overall business competitiveness.”

Musculoskeletal injuries, primarily strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders and upper limbs, “can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them,” warns the report. Such injuries carry a double whammy for employers who “often find themselves paying the bill, either directly or through workers’ compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers.”

The report recommends adopting ergonomic solutions that reduce the physical demands of MMH tasks, including:

Using simple transport devices like carts to move loads,
Eliminating lifting from the floor,
Using lift-assist devices like scissors lift tables, and
Analyzing and redesigning work stations and workflow.

Next time: The advantages of employing ergonomic solutions in your workplace.