Safety and Ergonomics - 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.

Ergonomics and Obesity in the Workplace

In “Safety 2012: Ergonomic Strategies for Managing Obesity in the Workplace,” EHS Today provides tips for employers who may have noticed that expanding waistlines have had an impact on some employees’ ability to get their work done. While you cannot tell your workers how to eat or make sure that they are getting enough exercise outside of work, you can provide ergonomic material handling equipment, like cart movers, to prevent injury on the job.

According to EHS Today, “increased obesity in the workplace means more arthritis, larger waist circumferences, additional work limitations, compromised grip strength, decreased lower limb mobility and medical risks.”

In addition to this, “Obesity also can impact self-esteem, motivation, absenteeism, presenteeism, premature mortality and more.”

Having the right equipment to safely complete job tasks, not only cuts down on the possibility of injury; it can also augment worker morale. If the matter of providing the right ergonomic solutions is handled sensitively, there will be no need to indicate that worker obesity is a factor. As an employer, you can simply provide safer equipment to aid employees in being more efficient. Ergonomic solutions can benefit all employees because no matter how much an employee weighs, he or she is subject to injury.

In addition to reducing the possibility of employee injury, you will also be decreasing the likelihood that your products will be damaged or mishandled.

You can call us at 800-686-2651 and our Sales Engineers will be happy to recommend the right material handling solution for your workplace and help you decide if you need custom applications.

Hospital and Nursing Home Workers Have High Rates of Work-Related Injuries

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has initiated a new program to help people who work as nurses and at residential care facilities. Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nurses and residential care workers had “one of the highest rates of lost workdays due to injuries and illnesses of all major American industries.” So while people in these industries are caring for others, they are not always taking care of themselves.

According to OSHA, “Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants had the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders of all occupations in 2010.” OSHA’s National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities was created to help change that. After all, it is difficult to be a caretaker when you are injured. And the high proportion of people in this field who get injured means that their colleagues who aren’t injured have to pick up the slack. This can lower the morale and physical fitness of non-injured employees and increase the chances that they too will get injured.

While some of the illness among those who work in the nursing and caretaking professions can be linked to exposure to hazardous materials and disease, “The data further indicate that an overwhelming proportion of the injuries within this sector were attributed to overexertion as well as to slips, trips and falls.”

Employers can invest in powered movers such as the motorized hospital cart mover from DJ Products to help lessen the risk of employee injury. Motorized carts like these help employees move linen and other goods throughout the hospital and DJ Products offers motorized cart pullers and motorized cart pushers, depending on your need.

Use Our Ergonomic Load Calculator to Improve Workplace Safety

DJ Products offers you material handling solutions that give the opportunity to improve work functions for your employees. And since we know that having employees who are working proficiently and avoiding injury is exactly what you need, we also offer some things to make it easier to complete the work your work as well.

Our Ergonomic Load Calculator is designed to assist the Ergonomist, Safety and Health Specialist, and other professionals interested in improving health and safety practices in their workplace. Perhaps in the past you “guesstimated” what it would take to move certain loads or you relied on previous data. While there is nothing wrong with relying on experience, it also helps to update figures and make certain that you are calculating based on current needs. Conditions may have changed since last you checked or you may have assigned new employees to certain tasks and you need to be certain they will able to complete the work.

The calculator is designed to estimate the amount of horizontal force necessary to move loads (on wheels) using inputs from particular workplace environments. These forces are those required to move loaded carts, castered equipment or machinery on wheels, or product being propelled down an assembly line. The calculator will combine conditions related to the state of the “vehicle health”, floor condition, terrain and footing as well as the weight of the load being moved in estimating these forces.

If you do not have the resources to call in a consultant to help you, you can use a tool like our Ergonomic Load Calculator to make your workplace safer.

Electric Cart Pushers Can Help Hospital Employees Work Efficiently

People who work in a hospital spend a lot of time there but they certainly don’t want to spend a lot of time in the hospital as patients. You can help prevent your employees from experiencing strain and pain as they transport cart through a hospital using an electric cart pusher. You can keep productivity up and avoid having workers on medical leave with the right material handling solutions.

The CartCaddyShorty electric cart pusher is battery powered electric cart pusher designed to have enough power to maneuver a cart through a hospital. It is designed for easy maneuvering and pivoting of your loads. While the CartCaddyShorty electric cart pusher is small, it still has plenty of power to handle most push or pull applications within the hospital industry. This little machine packs a big punch and can usually last for 16 hours or two shifts.

Hospitals are busy environments where efficiency is key. If you work in a hospital, you don’t want to spend time having to make a lot of adjustments to the equipment that has been purchased to make your job easier. The CartCaddyShorty has a spring hitch option and customized attachment—this means that workers will not need to fabricate multiple attachments for the cart or your equipment. Since the CartCaddyShorty’s attachment springs down and upward and attaches firmly to the bottom of the cart, an operator can easily get to work pushing, pulling or maneuvering the cart.

Call us today at 800-686-2651 and talk to a Sales Engineer who’d be happy to give you a recommendation on the material handling solution that will work for your hospital or medical facility.