Day: November 24, 2018

Hotel Bedding Trends Are Consumer-Driven

Tech is Impacting Warehouses and Warehouse Operations
Hotel Bedding Trends are Consumer Driven

Our powered hospitality carts make hotel supply movement more efficient, but how much attention are you paying to what’s actually being loaded on them? Increasingly health-conscious guests are demanding high levels of cleanliness and top hotels are ensuring that their properties meet and exceed consumer standards.

As hotels strive to recreate the experience of sleeping at home, they’re conscious of the fact that not all retail products are practical for their beds. Experts weigh in on the optimum ways to adopt current bedding trends.

Linens

If you want to add color to the rooms, stick with paint and accessories. Classic white sheets are still accepted as a sign of cleanliness by hotel guests.

But consumer expectations don’t stop with sheets. Blankets, comforters and anything else that goes on top of a mattress should be washable. Kim Deetjen of TruEx Collins Interiors explains that many hotels are triple-sheeting beds with a protective top sheet over a duvet.

Pillows

According to Pacific Coast Feather Company’s Brett Rife, a choice of soft or firm pillows is no longer limited to luxury hotels. Full-service and midscale hotels are recognizing that offering a selection of pillows is part of personalized service.

Memory foam pillows are enjoying a surge in popularity, but this is one trend that hotels are avoiding. Foam doesn’t have the durability to sustain the numerous washings required for hotel bedding.

Beds

Bedskirts and box-spring covers complete a polished look, but they’re high-maintenance. Platform beds and upholstered foundations provide an option that’s stylish and attractive but requires less work.

Powered Hotel Supply Movement Solutions from DJ Products

Our powered hotel movement supply carts help improve housekeeping productivity while reducing workplace injuries. Visit our website to learn more from one of our sales engineers.

Tips for Hiring Seasonal Warehouse Staff

Thinking Smarter About How We Travel and Transport Never Hurts to Think About.
Tips for Hiring Seasonal Warehouse Staff

According to CNBC, experts are predicting a prosperous holiday season for retailers this year. That translates to a greater need for temporary employees to pack orders, handle industrial tugs and fill other positions in your warehouse.

Unfortunately, low unemployment rates are likely to make qualified workers even harder to find. Use these tips to fill your seasonal hiring needs while maintaining high productivity.

Start Early

You have only one chance to take advantage of robust holiday business, so don’t put off the hiring process until the last minute. Create a game plan with timelines and required qualifications that allows you to bring in temporary workers at least three weeks before the big push starts.

Contact Previous Temporary Employees

Previous employees will already be familiar with your operations and procedures. When you can bring in experienced help that’s work-ready from day one, it’s a win-win for both of you.

Crunch the Numbers

With high-tech tools such as warehouse management systems, it’s easier than ever to analyze past years’ business and project this year’s trends. Pay particular attention to times when you may have been understaffed.

Maintain High Standards

Companies sometimes sacrifice quality for convenience when adding seasonal staff. Don’t let the temptation to cut corners keep you from using the same hiring criteria for permanent and temporary employees.

Be Honest

Some job-seekers accept seasonal employment hoping to get a foot in the door for a permanent position. Be specific about the time frame of the job and don’t discuss the possibility of full-time employment unless it truly exists.

Industrial Tugs Improve Year-Round Safety and Productivity

Electric industrial tugs from DJ Products can be used effectively by a single worker and don’t involve a complicated learning curve. Contact us for more information.

Fuel Gelling – What to Know When Cold Weather Arrives

Fuel Gelling - What to Know When Cold Weather Arrives
Fuel Gelling – What to Know When Cold Weather Arrives

When rigs stop running in frigid weather, bringing your semi trailer mover to a screeching halt, fuel gelling is often the first thing blamed. Typically, however, it has to be -15 degrees before fuel begins to gel, so what gives?

Is it Really Gelling?

With gelling, ice crystals form from condensation, followed by paraffin wax dropping out of fuel. Only after that does gelling occur. This often starts in fuel filters, when trucks haven’t run long enough to warm fuel. Though many are quick to blame poor fuel and failure to have the right additives, it’s ultimately the result of poor planning.

With the Right Tactics, You Can Avoid the Gelling ‘Blame Game’

Plan ahead.
People driving in the northern states/Canada don’t have issues with gelling because they manage the predictable. Don’t rely on ‘winter blends.’ Know what you’re getting. With frigid temperatures YOU WILL need water-absorbers and kerosene/jet fuel, since additives only work down to 5-degrees. Take control: watch 10-day weather forecasts and TELL fuel suppliers the percentage of kerosene you want:

10 degrees: 10% blend

0 degrees: 20% blend

-5 to -10 degrees: 30% blend

-15 degrees: 40% blend

-20 degrees: 50% blend

Tanks on location?
Keep 80% kerosene on hand for upcoming temperature dips to mix with current tank gallons on-hand.

On-the-road purchases?
ASK for kerosene percentages.

Maintain en-route
Vacuum or drain the condensation buildup (water) from the tanks every night.

Crank-up the heat
Consider the addition of an in-tank fuel heater plumbed via heater core or an electric/coolant-fueled heater.

No shortcuts
Do NOT change micron ratings on fuel filters.

Don’t let downed rigs gum up the works. Keep things moving with proper planning and the help of a semi trailer mover from DJ Products today.

Extreme Cold Impacts Semi Truck Performance – What to Know

Extreme Cold Impacts Semi Truck Performance - What to Know
Extreme Cold Impacts Semi Truck Performance – What to Know

As climate change continues to fuel winter temperature extremes, trucks and truckers shoulder an increased burden. Though your powered trailer movers will push on through such extremely cold temperatures, your hauler may not, pulled down by the weight of fuel gelling.

Frozen in Time

With extremely cold temperatures, diesel fuel and diesel exhaust fluids freeze. More than an inconvenience, this poses a rather large problem as the regeneration process necessary from an emissions control standpoint cannot sustain at certain temperatures. What’s your best chance of keeping vehicles on the road?

Weighty Matter

In colder climates such as in Minnesota and Canada, drivers understand the risks of temperature extremes, swapping their usual fuel for a winter-weight diesel fuel mix and additives that allow them to keep their vehicles moving. Fleet drivers in warm to moderate climates, however, are often ignorant of this need, watching their progress literally freeze as soon as they go north and their vehicles come to a stop.

Half Empty/Half Full

When driving in winter conditions, it is strongly advisable to keep the fuel tank at least half full. This will allow drivers to keep rigs running long enough for the vehicle to hit the temperature necessary to go into its regeneration cycle. Otherwise, haulers may get stuck due to emission controls.

When Push Comes to Shove

In normal weather this is not an issue, however sub-zero weather requires more energy (fuel) to sustain the vehicle’s temperature necessary for regeneration. Idling overnight or warming the block with a heater are not enough – the vehicle must be driven, even if it’s just a few yards at a time.

Are your operations stuck? Get things moving with a powered trailer mover from DJ Products today.

Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation

Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation
Tips for Preparing Your Trucking Fleet for Winter Operation

Your yard trucks may be ready to roll for the winter shipping season – but is your fleet? Frigid winter temperatures and icy driving conditions put fleet vehicles under additional stress. Luckily, a few minor preventative maintenance tasks can help you avoid costly downtown and emergency repairs during the cold winter months.

Winter Fleet Maintenance Checklist:

Winterize

Winterizing with seasonally-enhanced fuels will help vehicles operate in temperatures as low as -30° F with a cold filter plugging point of -55° F. Special additives can increase both horsepower and fuel efficiency as much as 5%, alleviating common cold weather hauling hassles. Ditto for replacing fluids such as motor oil, wiper fluid, power steering and brake fluids with more winter-friendly options.

Swap It & Drain It

Regularly drain water separators and replace water-absorbing filters that can plug-up during cold snaps and create cold engine startup issues (fuel gelling) as well as water damage in sub-zero temperatures to fuel pumps and injectors.

Be Proactive with Wearable Components

Cold temperatures are tough on wearables like belts, hoses, and brake pads. Perform maintenance now to avoid shivering roadside later. Battery testing and maintenance (and a glow-plug check on diesels) are also wisely performed at this time.

Keep Things Clean

Prep vehicles for snow, ice, and salt, ensuring longevity with a thorough pre-season cleaning and protective waxing. Wash the exterior regularly, including cab, body, and undercarriage to prevent damage from corrosive salts.

Dress Up Your Digs

Confirm winter heater/defroster operation and outfit your rigs with winter comfort and safety gear like warm blankets, water, food, flares, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, and more for safety in an emergency.

Gear up for the challenges of the winter driving season with the help of yard trucks from DJ Products today.