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.

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.

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.

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.

Ignoring Ergonomics Can Lead to Injury

We discussed “The Scientific Roots and Business Applications of Ergonomics” to give you some background on this topic and help you to understand why employers need to think of ergonomics as more than a buzzword; it is a useful science that can make your workplace more productive and profitable. DJ Products designs material handling solutions that are not simply designed to get the job done or move objects from one place to another; they are designed to help your employees avoid painful injuries as they do their work.

The injuries that result from ignoring ergonomics are very real. Some can take an employee away from work immediately; others result in wear and tear over time and gradually make it more difficult for employees to complete tasks.

These kinds of injuries are caused not just by repetitive motions but also by forceful motion, which Empowher.com defines as including “actions like lifting things that are too heavy, working on bolts that are rusted on, or a squeezing motion that is too frequent for comfort or too hard for the hand.”

Here are some of the conditions you can help your employees to avoid:

Lumbar (lower back) injuries– “caused by bending, lifting, pulling, pushing and twisting improperly.”

Tennis elbow– the elbow becomes painfully inflamed after the forearm has been repeatedly rotated with too much force or too often

Rotator cuff injury – it becomes painful to move the shoulder and arthritis may result from repeated arm movements, especially repeated use of the arms over the head

Tendinitis– various joints become painfully inflamed because of bad posture and repetitive movements

Hospitals: Help Your Staff Treat Summer Injuries

Summertime and the livin’ is easy…people like to spend time outside, getting into summer sports and being more active. We all hope for the best but we know that an increase in activity increases the chances of injury. For this reason, hospitals need to stay on alert and be ready for patients who arrive and need help after a baseball game, water skiing, a race, or an impromptu tumble down a hill.

During the summer, you need all of your staff ready to work and assist. You will want your employees ready to work and not injured themselves from attempting to hurry while transporting supplies needed for patients that arrive with injuries. DJ Products makes powered carts including a Powered Dirty Linen Cart, Powered Housekeeping Cart and a Motorized Clean Linen Wire Cart that can keep work moving efficiently and allow employees to navigate tight corners safely.

Our products can also reduce the chance that your employees will experience muscle strain or musculoskeletal injuries as they push or pull carts with heavy loads through hospital corridors. All of our products are battery powered “walk-behind units” that allow for better operator control than traditional wheeled carts. Because of this operating flexibility, our electric cart movers can be used in more applications than standard material handling equipment.

Check out our products online and if you have questions, you can call our Sales Engineers at 800-686-2651 and ask for a recommendation on your proper solution. One of our Sales Engineers will be more than happy to explore custom applications where our base products match primary criteria.

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.

Invest in Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions

They say you have to spend money to make money but deciding which expenditures are worthwhile is certainly not easy. Business owners have to concern themselves with the bottom line, often cutting costs to make sure that they don’t wind up on the red. But one area where you might want to consider spending more instead of cutting back is material handling solutions. You may think that not investing in things like industrial power movers or motorized carts will save money because you spend less…but what you are not considering is how much inadequate equipment can cost you in the long run.

Your workers have their own budgets and bottom lines to be concerned about and they may remain silent about the pains and strains of manually pulling and pushing heavy carts and other wheeled equipment because they don’t want to ruffle any feathers. Unfortunately, this means that there may suffer micro-tears and muscle strain that over time gets worse until one day there is an injury that warrants medical attention. In some workplaces, the thought of having just one or two key workers out on medical leave is enough to send management into a panic. It is one thing if employees fall ill or get injured away from the job; having employees suffer injuries at work that could have been prevented with the right equipment is another matter entirely.

Our material handling solutions are not one-size-fits-all: DJ Products will work with you to customize our products so they suit the needs of your workers. Call is at 800-686-2651 to speak with a Sales Engineer today.