Safety and Ergonomics Archives - Page 2 of 7

North Dakota Offers Safety Grants – Could You Buy a Dumpster Mover?

As healthcare costs continue to spiral, companies are focusing on preventive measures to help reduce injuries and illnesses. In many cases, government agencies are offering financial incentives as encouragement for employers to implement workplace safety measures.

Promoting Ergonomic Safety in the Workplace

North Dakota administers an ergonomic initiative through the state’s Workplace and Safety (WSI) agency. The goal is to reduce the number of cumulative trauma injuries, which make up 35 percent of claims that were reported in North Dakota over the last five years.

One part of the initiative provides for a safety grant to be issued to qualified employers who participate in the program.

• The process begins when an employer submits an application.

• Once the application is approved, the employer selects a provider from the WSI network to perform an on-site assessment to identify problems, make recommendations and conduct training.

• If any equipment is recommended during the assessment, the employer completes the second part of the application requesting a safety grant.

• Upon approval of the application and completion of signed agreements between both parties, the employer purchases the equipment and submits the paid invoice for reimbursement.

Could You Use Your Safety Grant to Purchase a Dumpster Mover?

Many workplace injuries happen when moving heavy dumpsters by hand. One of our clients explains that a dumpster mover from DJ Products allows this task to be completed by a single person, so it’s like “having another employee on staff.”

Don’t let workplace injuries compromise employee productivity. Visit our website and let our friendly sales engineers help you find the right solution from our comprehensive selection of battery-powered movers and tugs.

Lower Your Risk of Warehouse Injuries with a Focus on Ergonomics

During the course of a typical working day, there are many modern distractions employees are faced with which can cause physical injury. Arm your employees with the knowledge they need to reduce warehouse injuries and accidents by incorporating warehouse ergonomics into their daily work routine.

Remove Warehouse Obstacles

Keeping areas clear of empty boxes and used containers is imperative to prevent injuries caused by slipping and falling.

Importance of Safety Equipment

The number one type of workplace injury is strains and sprains. A lot of these injuries can be prevented with the proper safety equipment available to the employee, such as a back brace, safety harness or equipment that helps them perform their job. Explaining to employees the reasons it is important to use aids will gain employee buy-in and increase overall morale, an important part of reducing employee turnover.

Ergonomic Education

Encourage your employees to learn about ergonomics. By definition, ergonomics is the applied science of workplace equipment design in order to reduce discomfort and fatigue. Having the right industrial equipment available that can move equipment or machinery is safer than an employee trying to manually move or push heavy equipment and risk straining muscles.

Incorporating Warehouse Ergonomics

In order to begin incorporating ergonomics, review the layout of your warehouse, the number of employees and available equipment and machinery. Specialists trained in ergonomics will be able to assist you in choosing the right equipment for your specific work layout.

DJ Products like this CartCaddy Shorty help to reduce employee injuries and workers comp claims. Check out our complete inventory of cart pullers and waste caddies today.

Transport Waste and Recycling Safely with Waste Container Movers

According to the Clean Air Council, “In 1960, each person in the US only generated 2.68 pounds of waste. In 1970, the figure was 3.25. However, Americans’ recycling has improved since 2000, when the average American generated 4.65 lbs of waste per day, and only 29% was recycled.” Whether the objects we’ve used are being thrown away or being recycled, they need to be safely transported from where we live to other facilities.

DJ Products is the world leader in providing battery-powered cart pusher and assist tug puller solutions to the manufacturing, hospital, distribution, and retail industries.
Many of our motorized carts are used in flat surfaces, but workers using our dumpster mover may need to move a dumpster or other large container on an incline. Safety is paramount in all situations where workers need to transport heavy objects but even more so if there is an incline involved. Employees that have to manually push a heavy trash or recycling container up large inclines to the street may become injured due to overexertion. You can prevent this when you invest in a DJ Products battery powered waste mover. In fact, our dumpster movers could make a task that might have once required three or four employees into something that one employee can do on his or her own.

A DJ Products WasteCaddy waste container mover has a powerful 36-volt motor can maneuver dumpster from 500 lbs. to 10,000 lbs. Our dumpster mover can help prevent employee injury throughout the year as employees move heavy containers on flat surfaces or inclines and if there is a need to push or pull a dumpster over asphalt and throughout snow and ice.

A Dumpster Mover Can Be a Lifesaver in the Summer Heat

DJ Products makes material handling solutions to eliminate strains and pains that can come as a result of pushing heavy loads using carts and other wheeled equipment that was not designed to work in concert with the human body. Many of our applications are used inside of warehouses, hospitals, hotels and other facilities that may offer air conditioning to counteract summer heat.

However, if your employees need to move waste containers, compactors and dumpsters, there is a good chance they will be doing this work outside, under the hot sun. So, in addition to helping protecting an employee from musculoskeletal strain, a DJ Products Dumpster Mover or Waste Container Puller will help them to not overexert themselves when the temperatures rise. Our powered movers are designed to aid in making work efficient so your employees will have a reduced risk of heat stroke and exhaustion since they will not be pulling and pushing heavy dumpsters or other waste containers using their own strength or poorly designed carts.

One of our dumpster movers or waster container pullers can turn a three or four person job into a one person job, whether the application is needed in an apartment building, a condominium complex, a shopping mall, hotel, or an office or manufacturing complex. And having a material handling solution such as this will also be of great benefit if it is necessary to push a trash container up an incline, be it a sidewalk or a ramp to get into a building.

To learn more about material handling solutions and to hear about how we can customize them for your specific needs, contact one of our Sales Engineers at 800-686-2651.

A Waste Container Puller Helps Workers Haul Trash

It was surprising to read that there is a city in Virginia with workers who were “dragging trash several blocks…to get to the new trash compactor.” We don’t know all the particulars so we are not passing judgment. A local news station had its employees up late at night filming this spectacle to bring attention to the issue. The city’s Solid Waste Management department is aware of the problem and is looking for ways to resolve the issue.

We wonder if a DJ Products Dumpster Mover or Waste Container Puller would be of use in a situation like this. We don’t know just how heavy the trash is or what it is being dragged in…but if it is being dragged in bags there is the possibility of breakage. And if this trash is being hauled in dumpsters then this likely requires more than one employee and takes up valuable time and energy. A DJ Products Dumpster Move makes what was a job for a few employees into a job for one. The WasteCaddyLite waste puller has a compact, ergonomic design that makes it perfect for maneuvering heavy waste containers in tight areas. Find this hard to believe? Check out this video of our Waste Container Puller in action.

Our waste container pullers can be used to move dumpsters and waste containers at apartments or condominiums, municipal buildings, hospitals, and businesses. And they are not solely for hauling trash–they can also be used to transport recycled materials.

If you are interested and would like to discuss our FREE DEMO TRIAL PROGRAM, please contact one of our Sales Engineers at 1-800-686-2651.

Ergonomic Solutions for Warehouse Order Fulfillment

If your business relies on a warehouse to ship goods to your customers then you know that getting orders is only half of the battle. Once you have secured a customer’s order, it is then up to you and your team to see to it that the order reaches that customer in good condition as quickly as possible. We have no doubt that you have stressed the importance of filling orders quickly to your employees…but have you given them the right equipment to make this happen? It is important to give your employees the supplies so they can carry out your vision.

When employees are working as quickly as possible but using outdated or inadequate machinery, they are more prone to injury. In addition to this, rickety carts, unstable dollies, and overused scissor lifts can result in spilled or damaged merchandise. Having employees out on leave because of injury and losing merchandise to accidents can eat away at your profits and you do not want that.

DJ Products offers and entire lineup for industrial ergonomic material handling solutions including:

• Carts with casters
• Carts with 4-swivel casters or wagon-wheel style of turning
• Carts in a straight line
• Platform Trucks & Scissor Lifts

Our ergonomic cart pushers, electric cart pullers and other solutions eliminate the strain of manually pulling heavy product, parts carts, or wheeled equipment. Your employees can continue to work efficiently with a reduced chance of injury or product damage.

Our products are not one-size-fits-all. Contact us at 800-686-2651 to discuss exactly what you need and the customization options that will work for your industry.

Hotels and Hospitals: Powered Carts Can Increase Efficiency & Reduce Strain

Employees in the hospitality industry as well as those working in actual hospitals can benefit by using a motorized powered cart to transport items like linens and cleaning supplies. If your employees are currently using carts that they push manually, consider the strain they may be under and consider switching to powered carts from DJ Products, such as a Powered Housekeeping Cart or a Motorized Clean Linen Wire Cart.

The Powered Housekeeping Cart and the Motorized Clean Linen Wire Cart can haul loads up to 700 lbs. The variable speed twist grips allow the operator to travel between 0-3 mph, forward or backward. Both of these carts can be used for an entire shift without re-charging. As long as they are charged, you do not have to worry that an employee will need to take time away from work tasks to wait while a powered cart charges. These carts can also be customized as needed for different environments.

Powered carts will not only help reduce strain and aches from repeated pulling, pushing and tugging–they may also reduce the time it takes for employees to complete their rounds. All of our products are battery powered “walk-behind” units, allowing better control by the operator, even in tight, difficult spaces. Allowing your workers to use ergonomically designed equipment, like motorized carts, can do a lot to reduce injury and the loss of productivity that goes with it. The proactive implementation of ergonomic policies can improve worker morale and make your operations much more efficient.

Be it a hospital or a casino or a hotel, you need to keep things going around the clock—linens need to be changed and rooms need to be cleaned on a continual basis. Powered carts can reduce the time it takes for employees to get this work completed and they will feel less strain as they finish their tasks.

Ergonomic Mobile Applications

We recently read about a mobile app that was designed to help improve ergonomics in the workplace. With this app, people can see photos different postures that might lead to injury at work and get information on ways to improve posture as well as learn about exercises they can do at work to reduce injury. This is a great way to increase awareness about the importance of correct posture.

However, before the term “app” was used to refer to programs created for mobile devices, it was part of word “application.” And for some people, a mobile app will not be enough to reduce injury in the workplace but a mobile application that they can use as they complete their work tasks can make all the difference.

A DJ Products Industrial Power Mover can eliminate the strain of manually pulling heavy products, parts carts and wheeled equipment. Our material handling solutions or “mobile apps” can also eliminate bulky, expensive lift trucks.

Our CartCaddy power movers comes in many different shapes and sizes to handle wheeled applications that operate with racks, carts, and casters. They are designed to move with employees so they do not have to overexert themselves to push or pull in ways that can damage the musculoskeletal system.

If you have seen a number of workers who need to go on disability due to injuries that relate to ergonomic issues, isn’t it time to apply a different kind of material handling solution?

Call us at 1-800-686-2651 so we can help you find material handling solutions that fit your workplace.

Ergonomically Correct Powered Movers Decrease Possibility of Injury

Would you prefer that your business spend money to safeguard against injuries or would you prefer to incur the costs and lost productivity that can stem from employee injury?

You cannot prevent employees from being injured off the job, but you can see to it that they have what they need to stay safe at your workplace. DJ Products provides solutions for material handling situations that eliminate the pain and strain of manually pulling and pushing heavy carts or wheeled equipment. Our powered movers and industrial tuggers Southeast Missourian , this fund “which keeps individual businesses from having to pay the injury claims of workers with previous injuries or health conditions who are re-injured on the job, is going broke. ” The additional three percent that Missouri companies add on to their workers’ compensation insurance has not been sufficient to keep the fund going. Although groups that represent employers in that state are trying to find ways to keep the fund going, there are no guarantees.

Whether or not you are required to pay into a second injury fund, you can take a more preventative approach to worker injury. Investing in ergonomically correct powered movers and industrial tuggers could reduce the chances that your workers will become injured and file for workers’ compensation.

GM Uses a Hologram to Examine Ergonomic Issues

General Motors has a global manager for ergonomics and The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne recently published and article stating that General Motors will spend $275 million in its state to build newer versions of some of its most popular vehicles. They added the interesting fact that “GM uses a three-dimensional hologram of an average worker to evaluate whether certain tasks in the assembly process are too demanding.”

You may not have global operations or one person in charge of ergonomics as GM does but you will likely need to consider some of the same questions that GM does.

• How far do your operators need to reach to perform work tasks?
• Can we afford to spend money to hire and train new workers if current employees suffer injuries?
• What would be the average cost of a worker’s compensation claim for our company? How will that affect our financial outlook?
• How can we make sure that our workers stay safe as they age?

Here at DJ Products, Inc. we specialize in finding electric or motorized cart tug solutions that either:
• Eliminate the strains and pains of manually pushing or pulling heavy carts, equipment, or materials.
• Are less costly, smaller, and more maneuverable then traditional electric equipment used for moving carts and equipment; like forktrucks, walkies, or motorized riding tugs.

You do not have to sacrifice your employee’s wellbeing to make your products or meet quotas. There are ergonomic material handling solutions that can get the job done. Call us at 800-686-2651 and a Sales Engineer will help you pinpoint the right application for you.