Day: June 14, 2016

Bigger isn’t always Better

Staying operational in rough economic waters sometimes means having to make some big changes – one of those changes that some distribution centers are making is to open more locations.  Opening more locations doesn’t really sound as though it would be a good way to cut costs and increase the bottom line; but if those new locations are smaller and better equipped to serve the customer – it can certainly be a way to turn more of a profit.

Many companies are looking to eliminate extremely large facilities that carry high overheads in terms of rent and utilities in favor if smaller, lower cost buildings that are able to deliver service at faster speeds.  One large centralized location that is capable of carrying plenty of inventory does have some advantages, but multiple locations that are strategically placed can have many more benefits when it comes to provide quick and accurate service to customers.

It can be quite a bit easier to keep track of product in a smaller and well organized building, everything needs to be processed and put away upon arrival because your employees won’t have the extra space for product to sit around on pallets.  With your entire inventory put exactly where it needs to be up receipt, there won’t be any room for error – inventories will be easier to control and orders won’t be lost due to misplaced product.

Bigger isn’t always better in terms of equipment either and when distribution centers shrink down in size to become faster and more effective, they often need their material handling equipment to do the exact same thing.  In a small and fast pace environment, you can’t afford to have over-sized, unreliable and outdated equipment – you need carts and lifts like those offered by DJ Products; equipment that is small, easy to use and that will last an entire shift (or more) on a single charge with no fear of failure.

Your employees will be moving at lightning speeds in order to process customer orders; they’ll need safe, effective and reliable equipment to help them perform their job properly – equipment like the carts and lifts offered by DJ Products.

Safety Breeds Productivity

Too many warehouses and material handling companies view safety as secondary in order of importance compared to customer service – but a clean, safe and clutter free workplace can have a huge effect on productivity.

Organization is key in being able to deliver optimal customer service as orders can be pulled, stationed, packed and shipped much more quickly and efficiently in an environment that is clutter free and safe.  There is also a much lower chance of injury in an environment that is organized, properly equipped and well designed.

Warehouse and plant managers shouldn’t wait for fire or safety inspection time to roll around to get their operations organized and clean – the possibility for greatly increased productivity and, in turn, an increase in the bottom line along with a loyal customer base are readily available for business that can provide lightning quick and pin point accurate service.

Employees who work in atmospheres where the equipment is outdated and unreliable are more likely to have to perform the brunt of their jobs manually; this can lead to oversights and errors that may affect the accuracy of orders and of your inventory.  It can also result in material being left in areas that weren’t necessarily meant for storage, potentially leading to accidents or injuries.

Upgrading your material handling equipment to battery powered carts that are quiet, ergonomic and long lasting will allow your employees to work at a faster pace without having to worry about resorting to manual handling when the equipment fails.  Nothing hurts moral and performance worse than equipment failure during the picking or stocking of a large order when the pressure is on to perform.

Electric Carts from DJ Products have the power to last for an entire, fast paced shift of shipping/receiving without any worry about failure.  This means that your employees can fully receive stock orders and put them away, or pull and stage large orders without interruption – with the right equipment; your warehouse will be clean, organized and operating at the highest possible level of efficiency.

Surviving and Thriving during Mergers and Acquisitions

Having to cutback, downsize or merge with a competitor has become the reality for many logistics and storage companies if the want to keep their doors open.  There just currently aren’t enough customers and enough money/product moving around in order to keep every company busy enough to justify, or even allow, them to operate at the level that they had prior to the economic downturn.

Mergers with competitors can pose a whole host of issues in terms of operations; the most obvious would seem to be the personal and computer program interactions.  Adopting a brand new and potentially very different system of daily operations and having to interact with a bunch of new personalities can be a daunting task, but few people view just how much difference their can be in the warehousing and storage aspect and it’s profound affect on the employees involved.

Differences in equipment, inventory control and shipping and receiving practices can be difficult obstacles to overcome.  In order for a newly developed company with employees from two different backgrounds to be successful, some operational changes may be a necessity.  Customers coming from both businesses will need to see accuracy and speed at least comparable, if not improved, to what they were used to in order to feel confident with the new situation.

Increasing speed and accuracy may require upgrade changes in equipment as well as operations.  Outdated, inefficient and unreliable machines could spell doom to a company who is attempting to keep current customers from leaving during a period of transition.  The proper material handling equipment will more than pay for itself in a very short period of time with reduced fuel/energy costs and increased employee productivity; and the capability of delivering goods quickly and accurately will keep customers loyal and could possibly increase your bottom line.

DJ products offers affordable, reliable and easy to use solutions for material handling, the exact type of equipment needed for a warehouse to maintain, or exceed customer expectations during the transition period of a merger.

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.

The most Common Accidents are often the most Avoidable

When a warehouse or material handling accident is mentioned it often conjures up images of something serious, like a large rack collapse or a forklift that’s been driven off of a dock.  Though these are accidents that certainly can and do occur, they are in reality much more rare than the most common type of accident seen in warehousing – the trip (or slip) and fall.

When your employees have to physically carry materials from one location to another (locations that are often on different levels), lines of vision can get impaired making it difficult or impossible to see obstacles, spills or alterations in the surface that could lead to a nasty fall.  The potential for injury when a fall occurs, when the subject is carrying something, is greater due to the fact that the person can’t easily brace themselves for the impact because their hands are occupied.

These potentially dangerous accidents could easily be avoided if your material handlers were using equipment that was ergonomically designed for moving material rather than having to manually move it.  DJ Products carries a wide array of equipment that is safe and reliable and that will greatly lessen the chances of dangerous accidents in your warehouse.  The lifts and carts from DJ Products will quickly move material (much more than could be manually moved by an individual) and will put it in the proper position for your employees to lift.  Since the lifts are doing the work, your employees can focus and concentrate on the path they are traveling which will drastically reduce the chances of a trip or slip and fall accident.

When you can effectively eliminate the most common accidents from your work environment, you make it a much safer place for your employees.  You’ll lose less man hours to injury and increase your employee’s productivity, which can also do wonders for your bottom line.

Increase Productivity and Morale

There are more ways to improve your business than by just raising your prices, heavier margins and a more profitable business can be had through a number of situations – especially when your business involves moving a lot of bulk material.  Increasing productivity, speed of processing and developing strong customer relations are even better ways to grow your business than simply arbitrarily increasing prices.

When you have the proper material handling equipment for your staff, you can drastically increase employee productivity.  Quotas can be made on a much more regular basis because your employees aren’t struggling through the tasks which they need to complete.  Both your shipping and receiving departments can run more smoothly and efficiently with the use of ergonomically designed, powered carts; outgoing shipments can be picked, staged and packed with less physical effort in a much sorter time span and stock shipments can be received and put where they belong with less physical effort and in the shortest time possible.  By fulfilling orders quicker and more accurately you can generate customer loyalty, which could also lead to referral business generated from your happy clientele.

You’ll also reap the benefits of happier and healthier employees who can complete their regular work in a timelier and less stressful manner.  Employees will feel a heightened sense of accomplishment as a result of performing their job well and workplace moral will increase.  Employees who work in positive atmospheres are more likely to have a desire to be successful in their jobs and those who work with proper equipment are less likely to miss time as a result of injury.

Efficiently operating warehouses and rock solid relationships with customers and vendors are what keeps many business afloat during difficult economic times, having the right material handling equipment is a big step toward increasing workplace performance and being able to service the customer in the best way possible.

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.

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! 

Benefits of Ergonomic Design in Material Handling Equipment

Life lessons come in all kinds of packages and often from unusual sources. Astute businessmen are quick to take lessons learned in other industries and apply them to their own operations. That’s why we’ve been talking this week about a three-year study of musculoskeletal injury risk factors in the trucking industry (see our April 27 and 29 posts). Any time workers are forced to work in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time or repeat uncomfortable actions over time, undue strain is placed on the body’s sensitive musculoskeletal system, increasing the risk of serious injury. The result is the same whether you drive a long-haul truck across country or spend your shift moving material back and forth across a factory floor. The trucking industry study only serves to remind us that material handling operators face the same physically-challenging, musculoskeletal risk factors, just in a different setting.

Musculoskeletal injuries in the workplace account for the greatest number of worker’s compensation claims in the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which places the annual price tag of such injuries at more than $60 billion. But the true cost of back injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other stress and repetitive motion injuries is far greater than the direct medical/insurance cost. Poorly designed material handling equipment that forces workers to stretch and strain decreases productivity, negatively impacts product quality, lowers morale, and increases absenteeism. The true annual price tag for workplace injury and illness is estimated in excess of $171 billion.

A national leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic solutions to material handling applications, DJ Products specializes in making the finest, most versatile, electric and motorized cart tugs in the industry. Ergonomically designed to take the stress and strain off workers, our products have earned as many kudos from customers for their role in increasing production efficiency as they have for improving worker health and safety. Here are just some of the ergonomic design features that make DJ Products’ material handling equipment stand out from the competition:

  • Exactingly-engineered ergonomic controls place operating controls at the precisely optimal position for easy use and maximum operator control while eliminating carpal tunnel injury.
  • Versatile adjustable tug arms allow carts to securely attach to the bottom of any cart or load, even those loads that overflow the cart bed.
  • Our scissors-lift option allows each worker to raise or lower materials to his personal, optimal work height.
  • Safe, smooth 180-degree pivoting is ensured with our unique tug arm, eliminating the risk of dangerous jackknifing while maneuvering heavy loads.
  • Energy-efficient electric battery-powered operation guarantees safe, quiet, green operation through two full shifts before recharging.

For complete information on the full line of DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, visit our website today.

CartCaddyHD Chain Drive Cart Mover Increases Productivity

When companies purchase material handling equipment they usually consider the product and where and how it’s going to be moved. What they leave out of the equation is people. But as Bob Trebilcock reminds us in a March 24, 2009 posting on Modern Materials Handling online, it’s people who move products and supplies from point to point. Neglecting to consider the impact of workers on production will invalidate your productivity assessments.Trebilcock mentions programs some companies have implemented to improve worker morale and health that were showcased at the recent annual meeting of the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association. He talks about one manufacturer’s installation of a company cafeteria for worker use to cut down on driving time during lunch breaks and to provide workers easy access to nutritious food. He mentions a firm that opened an onsite medical clinic and pharmacy to improve employee health, conduct medical screenings and reduce medical costs to its self-insured health plan.What surprised us here at DJ Products is that Trebilcock failed to mention the health, cost and productivity benefits of using ergonomically-designed material handling equipment such as the CartCaddyHD Chain Drive cart mover. Moving to ergonomic material handling equipment has been proven to drastically reduce on-the-job musculoskeletal injuries, improve worker morale and significantly increase productivity. Equipment costs are generally recouped within the first year, but savings in medical, health insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs continue, as do savings from increased productivity. If a company is concerned about its workers’ health and safety, a move to a cart mover should head the list of improvements to be made.A leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic material handling equipment, DJ Products produces a wide variety of cart movers and battery-powered cart movers for every application. From heavy industrial/manufacturing and assembly line settings to the busy, narrow corridors of hospitals and hotels, DJ Products’ ergonomic material handling equipment is improving workers’ health and safety and increasing their productivity across America.DJ Products’ designs its cart movers to take the strain of labor off the backs (and legs and arms and shoulders) of workers and put it where it belongs, on the material handling equipment they are using. Workers avoid the aches and pains that can make them less productive. Ergonomic equipment is less tiring to operate, keeping workers alert and productive for the entire length of their shift. Ergonomic equipment is easier to operate, allowing workers to complete each assignment more quickly, increasing shift productivity.If you really want to do something that will benefit your workers and increase productivity, make the switch to a cart mover. Visit the DJ Products website and let one of our ergonomic equipment specialists tell you how.