Tag: Warehousing

Practical Tips for Warehouse Managers

Have you heard of management by wandering around? Just like it sounds, the tactic involves randomly walking around to learn about your employees and the productivity of your workplace.

For warehouse managers, this tactic holds particularly fruitful because you need to watch over your employees as well as your inventory and equipment.

Consider the benefits to warehouse productivity that comes from strategically walking around:

  • Get a complete picture. Walk around at different times and randomize your path, and you can make more accurate assessments.
  • Make discoveries. See things from different angles, and you may spark an idea that boosts productivity or efficiency. You might see how one worker accomplishes a task more efficiently than with another person’s method.
  • Gain trust and respect. You don’t want to be seen as simply someone in an office. Walking among the employees helps build camaraderie, and that leads to more open and honest communication.
  • Avoid calling employees into your office. Some employees feel stress and anxiety when called into your office. If you have to talk to someone, they may be more comfortable with a casual chat in the warehouse, if appropriate.
  • Shake up your work day. Improve your own productivity by breaking up your work day. Walking around adds variety to your day, helping you focus more on work when you get back to the office. Plus, it always helps to add a little physical activity to your day.

Warehouse managers need every advantage possible. Just as our motorized cart movers can have an incredible impact on your efficiency and productivity, so can smart management.

Speed is Crucial, but Not At the Cost of Safety

Your business depends on your employees’ ability to receive and then distribute your product to your customers.  The quicker and more accurately this can be done, the better – unless of course it puts those valuable employees at an increased risk of injury.

In order for your warehouse or distribution center to operate as smoothly and efficiently as possible, your equipment needs to be just as safe as it is fast or you actually run the risk of slowing the order filling process while you deal with the circumstances surrounding the injury.  Losing one of your valued employees to injury can seriously hamper your efforts even if you are a reasonable large company – in a very small environment where each person is critical to operations, that loss of one person can be crippling.

Forklifts, reach trucks and electric jacks all come with a very long list of warnings because material handling can be a very dangerous job if safety guidelines aren’t properly followed.  Employees are required to travel reasonably long distances with loads of product that often weigh thousands of pounds – attempting this on a machine that isn’t designed for safety can lead to very serious injuries or even death.

The lifts and carts from DJ Products are designed to be the safest material handling equipment that your employees can use.  Built in design features ensure that every employee, regardless of height or size can move and lift material in such a way that any chance of injury is dramatically decreased when compared to manual material handling

It just so happens that the safest material handling equipment available also happens to be among the most efficient.  DJ Products equipment is capable of transporting heavy loads quickly, quietly and safely regardless of the distance between the loading dock and the storage rack – and you’ll be able to use your electric cart for a full eight hour shift on a single charge, so there is no need to worry about equipment failure.  Remember that the fastest equipment isn’t always the most efficient, and when it comes to fulfilling orders and keeping your business competitive efficiency trumps speed every time.

Material Handling Product Sales Are Booming – All The Way to 2018

The proper material handling equipment helps companies operate more efficiently and protects employees from accidents and back injuries. It reduces the damage that can occur to materials during movement and storage. Increased competitiveness in all industries requires every business to look for ways to maximize their available space, improve customer service, and lower indirect labor cost. Research by the Freedonia Group shows more industries are implementing advanced automation equipment and investing in material handling equipment to ensure their continued success.

Mike Deneen is a senior industry analyst for the Freedonia Group. Deneen says much of the strong gains for material handling equipment will be in the area of large-scale factory automation and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that contribute to automated warehouse environments. He expects U.S. demand for AGVs and robotics to increase by about 6 percent, with durable goods manufacturers accounting for half of the material handling equipment demand through 2018.

In addition to manufacturers and global distribution companies seeking to reduce labor cost, more small service and trade companies are also recognizing the benefits of energy efficient products like car pushers and electric lift trucks. These easy-to-use pieces of equipment can move cars and trucks of up to 20,000 pounds on a flat surface, increasing productivity for mechanic shops and car dealers, while protecting employees from injury and keeping vehicles damage-free. With a low-maintenance design and simple 36 volt, 3 battery system, these car pushers have little maintenance cost.

DJ Products has a full line of energy efficient caddies and tugs for any size business. Contact our knowledgeable Sales Engineers at 800.686.2651 to discuss which solution best fits your individual material handling needs.

Managing Your Supply Chain During Unpredictable Events: Car and Vehicle Pushers

Managing Your Supply Line
Managing Your Supply Line

Any number of unpredictable events can put a kink in your supply chain and put your patience and problem solving skills to the test. While you can’t avoid warehouse problems, you can take concrete steps to make sure that you are equipped with the right tools to handle any challenge. DJ Products can provide you with the equipment (such as Car and Vehicle Pushers) and warehouse management tips to help you be prepared and avoid interruptions to your business.

One of the biggest challenges involved running a warehouse is making sure that it operates as smoothly as possible even during emergencies. While major companies use a variety of data to try and predict disasters and limit time to recovery, even the most accurate models can’t foresee what Mother Nature may unleash on your factory or other key components along the supply chain.

You can employ a more effective risk management strategy by making sure that you have the equipment to quickly move products and supplies during an emergency. From car and vehicle pushers to shopping cart retrievers, we specialize in offering a wide range of powerful and affordable tools that will allow you to quickly and easily move cars, carts and even airplanes. Not only do our products aid in the day to day operations of warehouse across a variety of industries, they also serve as vital tools during emergency situations.

While many warehouse management tips may focus on people centered skills, we believe that the most important tip is to equip your employees with the tools they need to do their best work. Providing pulling and pushing equipment will allow everyone to reach peak performance. 

Teens Searching for Summer Jobs Must Think Outside the Box

If you have a teenager looking for a summer job, you know how grim their prospects are this year. Some employment experts are predicting that this will be the worst summer job market since the 1950s. Jobs usually held by teen-aged workers have been snapped up by laid off, furloughed, out-of-work adults looking for any way to make ends meet until the economy turns around. Tomorrow morning when you pick up your cup of coffee, take a look at the person manning the drive-through. You’re more apt to see a mature face than some fresh-faced high school kid — and the money-hungry collegiate workforce has yet to hit the summer job market. With traditional summer employers cutting back, teens and collegiates will have to think outside the box to earn money for tuition, car parts, clothes and dates this summer.

This is definitely a summer where teens and college students will have to look beyond the mall and local fast food franchises to find employment. It’s time to think outside the box! In years past, employment experts might have suggested that teens look for jobs in manufacturing. Unfortunately, the economic crisis has slowed U.S. manufacturing production, sending home thousands of U.S. workers and glutting the manufacturing workforce. There’s little opportunity in manufacturing this year for unskilled, part-time, summer laborers. But there is potential opportunity in fulfillment, distribution and warehousing, job experts say.

Not only do businesses benefit from cheaper labor when they employ teens and collegiates, but there can be advantages to building early working relationships with tomorrow’s prime workers. Summer jobs provide an opportunity for college students to try out potential careers while giving employers a chance to size up future workers. Many teens and collegiates return to a company summer after summer and eventually seek full-time employment. Savvy employers use these opportunities to pre-train future staff and benefit by gaining educated, top-notch employees ready to hit the ground running as soon as they earn their degree.

Distribution, fulfillment and logistics companies that utilize DJ Products’ highly-adaptable, ergonomically-designed material handling equipment won’t have any trouble giving this summer’s hungry teen workforce an opportunity to grow their work skills. Ergonomically-designed to adjust to the physical size and abilities of any worker, DJ Products equipment can be successfully used by male or female teens and college students without risk of injury. Intuitive controls, superior safety features, adaptable design, and premium construction make DJ Products’ motorized carts and electric tugs easy to use, minimizing training time and maximizing production — the perfect combination for summer workers! 

Freight Solutions for Small and Medium Sized Warehouses

A forklift is a great asset for moving palletized freight or heavy loads from point a to point b in your facility, but not every plant or warehouse that handles heavy loads has the storage capacity or room to maneuver for a forklift to be a viable option.  In many of these establishments, employees are manually handling these heavy loads and workers are risking injury every single day in order to perform their job.

You don’t need extra wide aisles in order to operate a powered machine that can move heavy equipment or loads from one end of your warehouse to the other; you can get the same power delivered by a full sized fork truck in the smaller and easier to maneuver CartCaddy4SC powered hand truck from DJ Products.

The CartCaddy4SC allows workers to quickly, safely and easily handle loads up 4,500 pounds in situations where a full sized forklift would be too big a piece of equipment.  The CartCaddy4SC can also be an incredible compliment to a full sized forklift in high volume warehouses that require multiple large loads to be handled at the same time but that don’t have the budget, need or space to merit having two forklifts on site.

Just like all of the material handling equipment from DJ Products, this powered hand truck is built with both functionality and safety in mind.  This piece of equipment is easy to use, quiet, ergonomically designed and can run for a full eight hour shift with regular use on a single charge.

Your business can operate much more smoothly and safely with the proper equipment for the job and if you need heavy loads moved in tight quarters or need to safely get heavy equipment or stock from one place to another while your forklift is in use elsewhere – your business could certainly benefit from having a powered hand truck on site.

Warehouse Productivity Tips

How your warehouse functions and makes use of its available space can have a tremendous impact on your profit. To anyone not familiar with your business, managing the storage, movement, and shipment of goods and material may appear simple. But you know otherwise. Regardless of the size or purpose of your warehouse, there are a few basics tips that can improve productivity.

Organize to optimize

Real estate and monthly leases can be costly. You do not want wasted space or to have workers tripping over non-essential items and having to move materials more times than is absolutely necessary. Streamline order pulling and restocking based on which products move, or need to move, most often.

Consider ROI when buying equipment

Order picking and shipment is the most important logistic process in your warehouse. Products and shipment sizes vary. Versatile material moving equipment like cart movers can work in tight spaces and move any cart. By having reliable and easy-to-use material moving equipment readily available, you reduce back strains, injuries, and damage to product.

Re-evaluate and re-slot

Do not stay with a process that is not working just because it was a good way to do things previously. Many companies get locked into a slotting method that can’t adjust as their company and orders evolve. By reducing the travel time in order picking, you can reduce labor cost, damage to product, and reduce injuries.

Our knowledgeable and courteous Sales Engineers can help you improve efficiency in your business and warehouse with the material handling equipment that is best suited to your needs. You can reach them at 800.686.2651 or by using the online chat feature.

Five Warehouse Management Tips: Industrial Cart Mover

Warehouse Management Tips
Warehouse Management Tips

Looking to boost warehouse efficiency this quarter with an Industrial Cart Mover? Management can take steps to provide immediate and ongoing benefits. Here are 5 warehouse management tips for faster, safer, smoother operations:

Prioritize Cleaning

In a clean warehouse, workers have a safer and more efficient workplace. Encourage employees to clean spills and messes immediately, and stick to a routine cleaning schedule.

Be Open to Feedback

Some of the best warehouse management tips come from your employees. They may spot inefficient or troublesome aspects of the warehouse that managers may not realize. Good feedback channels include daily or weekly meetings, suggestion boxes, and performance reviews.

Generate Data to Analyze Efficiency

Data can help you spot inefficient employees or specific tasks that are taking too long. When you have the data, you can make adjustments and measure the results. Consider adding more feature-rich warehouse management software that can automatically generate reports.

Speed Up Picking and Moving

Employees on the floor spend the bulk of their time in transit — finding, picking, and moving. To speed up these actions, you can rearrange inventory to prioritize different items. Better yet, add an industrial cart mover to facilitate picking and moving and prevent your workers from getting hurt or slowing down.

Fill Receiving with Experienced Workers

Lastly, pay the receiving position some respect and fill the job with warehouse veterans. Rookie receivers make mistakes that create chain reactions of inefficiencies. Senior employees make the best receivers.

Our motorized cart pushers and pullers like the CartCaddy5WP can make your warehouse run better.  Talk to a Sales Engineer at 1-800-686-2651 for more info and follow our blog for more warehouse management tips.

Tips to Improve Warehouse and Distribution Productivity

There are three key areas to consider in improving productivity at your warehouse, distribution facility or fulfillment center:

  1. Information flow must match physical flow. When the flow of information matches the physical flow of goods, inventories can be better managed and storage, pick-and-pack and retrieval operations can be streamlined, increasing productivity. It is important to realize that optimal inventory does not necessarily mean minimal inventory. To efficiently manage inventory and the flow of goods, look beyond weekly order statistics. Today’s global market demands consideration of complex logistics. If goods must be shipped from distant or multiple locations, maintaining a higher inventory of certain products can enable faster and more efficient customer response. Gathering maximum information about each specific facet of your operation allows you to discern customer and supplier patterns and the interrelationship of the many logistical factors that connect them. Developing a thorough understanding of “the big picture,” puts you in position to more effectively and efficiently direct the flow of goods through your facility.
  2. Know and improve your total operation first. Before implementing new technology, particularly before engaging in the requisite evaluation that precedes a major change in your operation, make certain you have a thorough understanding of every aspect of your present operation. Current processes should be honed and improved to maximum efficiency and productivity before embarking on the time, expense and training involved to implement new technology. A thorough understanding of your total operation will enable you to make optimal use of current processes and pinpoint areas that can best profit most from new technology.
  3. Automate where possible. As labor becomes more expensive and laborers become harder to find, automation is the key to increasing productivity. With the Baby Boomer generation reaching retirement age, the traditional U.S. workforce is beginning to shrink. There are fewer people available to replace the retiring workforce, and fewer young people are seeking jobs in warehousing, distribution and fulfillment. A smaller available workforce will be in a position to demand higher wages. Increased automation and, where automation is not possible, the use of equipment that allows a single worker to accomplish more tasks in less time can decrease necessary workforce and labor costs while increasing efficiency and productivity.

Electric Lift Table Puts Work Materials at Optimal Height

We all know how much faster and easier a job is when all our materials are at optimal height and within easy reach. It’s a minor annoyance when we have to lift a heavy object or stretch for tools when we’re at home doing the weekend warrior bit; but when we have to lift and stretch hour-after-hour on the job, that minor annoyance can quickly become a painful injury. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overexertion injuries from repetitive lifting and awkward reaching cost employers an average of eight days of workers comp time per injury. That’s a pretty high price to pay for avoidable injuries.

Lifting injuries that cause pain and damage to the lower back are a leading safety issue in manufacturing, assembly, fulfillment, pick and pack, and numerous other industries. Ergonomics is the solution. Ergonomics is the science of designing equipment and tasks to safely accommodate the breadth of variety in the human work force. Ergonomic material handling equipment addresses safety issues created when workers of various sizes must perform the same work tasks. By making the individualization of work platforms possible, ergonomic material handling equipment minimizes the risk of injury from lifting, stretching and straining. DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed lift tables, scissors lifts and adjustable carts and platforms allow each individual worker to position materials at his personally-optimal work height.

Unfortunately, many plant operations were set up before manufacturers realized the importance of ergonomics in protecting workers’ health and safety, increasing productivity and managing costs. Fortunately, DJ Products manufactures a complete line of mobile adjustable lift tables, scissors lifts, carts and platforms. Our compact, battery-powered, electric lifts allow workers to lift materials and perform tasks at optimal work height, eliminating injury-inducing stress and strain. Contact DJ Products for complete information. We manufacture a full line of material handling products and can design an ergonomic solution to your unique problem.