christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Couple Quits Job and Travels in a Cargo Trailer

Traveling on a Freight Train?

What used to be the retiree’s dream has become a new model for happiness among younger couples. Sell what you don’t need, buy a trailer, and hit the road for adventure and freedom.

The blog “Pay Gas, Not Rent” chronicles the unique experiences of one 27-year-old couple. The former teacher and social worker from Alaska became intrigued by the tiny house movement and decided to customize a cargo trailer into a home.

Singin’ and Travelin’ Across the Country

Curtiss O’Rorke Stedman and Kelly Tousley left their jobs and home behind to see the continent while finding excitement and relaxation on the road. Stedman performs Americana music a few days a week for most of the couple’s cash, while the biggest chunk of income going toward gas and lodging.

Trailer living has grown in popularity as young people decide to do away with physical belongings and focus on experiences. As long as a trailer has a bed, bathroom, and basic cooking equipment, it can make a home.

The Changing Market for Trailers

Sales of trailers are up, such as Airstreams and basic cargo trailers, as more people decide to live in them full-time. If your business is seeing increased action on trailers, it might just be time for a trailer caddy to help maneuver and store them efficiently.

A powered trailer caddy can handle loads up to 50,000 pounds with ergonomic steering. Any employee can walk along and move trailers into parking spaces or service areas. For dealerships and distributors, a trailer caddy can revolutionize how you handle inventory. Contact DJ Products for more info about car, truck, and trailer movers.

Midair Small Craft Crash Causes Concern Near Historic Lighthouse

Small Aircraft Accident

In a tragic turn, three pilots died in an unusual small plane collision off the coast of Southern California earlier this month. After three days of searching, divers found two of the bodies, and with additional searching the third pilot and more wreckage were found two days later.

The crash occurred near Angels Gate Light, a lighthouse and a registered historic site in Los Angeles Harbor at the San Pedro Breakwater. Flight students often take off from the Torrance Airport and fly around the coastline in the area.

One of the pilots was Mary Falstrom, a 72-year-old woman flying alone. Her husband expressed a warm outlook that she died doing what she loved. The day of the crash she was piloting a Citabria stunt plane.

The other plane was a Beech 35 Bonanza piloted by two men, aged 61 and 81. Reports indicate that all pilots involved were fit and experienced.

Casting a pall over local aviation, the crash is a sad ending for the pilots and their families. Falstrom was involved in the Ninety-Nines organization of female pilots and volunteered at the aviation museum at the Torrance Airport.

DJ Products supports private aviation with our small aircraft tugs and other systems for moving planes and equipment. We are saddened by stories such as this one and we hope small aircraft operators stay safe and careful for every flight.

Follow the DJ Products blog to stay aware of the latest aviation news and learn about our small aircraft tugs and aviation equipment that can help keep everyone safe and productive around the hangar.

Auto Recalls Hit Dealership Pocketbooks

Big Payouts From Auto Recalls

In a battle of legal and ethical concerns, new and used car dealers across the nation are grappling with a crisis of dead inventory. At the center of the problem lies millions of Honda cars with recalled airbags.

Used cars with open recalls may be sold legally, but industry leaders and the Federal Trade Commission are pushing for transparency. Customers need to be warned about open recalls, and that often shuts down the sale.

On lots across the country, dealers are looking for ways to store used cars that cannot be sold. At the same time, dealers need new inventory pumped in to keep sales numbers afloat.

For dealers who need to move dead inventory to storage lots, part of the solution will be a motorized car pusher. These pieces of equipment can maneuver vehicles to service centers, around lots, and onto trailers. The operator walks along and steers while a battery-powered motor propels the car pusher up to 3 miles per hour.

In the case of the Honda airbags, the manufacturer says parts will be available to address the huge 2.2-million vehicle recall by late summer 2016. Dealers with stock on their hands may want a solution to set affected vehicles aside.

Of course, there will be more major auto recalls. The head of AutoNation has pledged not to sell vehicles with recalls, and CarMax offers online info about recalls. Whether new regulation is created or not, it seems clear that used car dealerships are moving toward restricting sales of recalled vehicles.

For more info about a motorized car pusher to assist with transporting vehicles, contact DJ Products.

Pentagon Changes the Face of Its Workforce Though Contractor Usage

Government Contracting

Since 2012, the Pentagon has faced congressional pressure to reduce DoD spending on civilians and contractors. While the DoD hit benchmarks the first few years of the mission, it has begun increasing its spending on contractors. The DoD projects an increase of $1.2 billion spent on contractors from fiscal year 2014 through 2016.

A showdown or new changes may be looming, as the civilian federal employee union AFGE fights proposed moves to re-classify civilians such as commissary employees and reduce their pay. A consulting group has recommended such changes to the DoD.

For DoD contractors, the increased spending means solid and steady work for now. The AFGE and some DoD spending watchdogs would argue that civilian employees should be performing more of the jobs carried out by DoD contractors and military personnel, however.

If the DoD agrees to change course and cut contractor spending, the next step would likely be contract reviews to determine the necessity and efficiency of the service provided by each contractor. Larger contracts would yield greater scrutiny.

The Pentagon has generally indicated a focus on overall DoD spending, rather than specific concerns for whether various roles are carried out by military, civilians, or contractors. For DoD contractors, this means that cost-effective bids are the surest path to retaining and securing work.

DoD contractor equipment may be one area to strategically spend on overhead to make tasks more efficient and require fewer personnel. Vehicle movers, aircraft caddies, and equipment carts with battery-powered motors from DJ Products are GSA-approved for defense contractors. Take a look at DJ Products DOD contractor equipment for more information.

Highlighting the Trailer Caddy Extreme

Trailer Mover

Got trailers to move? At DJ Products we have taken our easy and powerful material handling equipment and scaled it up for semi trailer movers. Loaded with features and designed for simple, ergonomic performance, the TrailerCaddyHD Extreme is your best and most affordable option for moving trailers indoors or out.

The Heavy Duty Dolly for Semi Trailers

One person can easily maneuver any trailer up to 50,000 pounds with the TrailerCaddyHD Extreme. Connect with your choice of hitch type and all the operator has to do is steer the caddy and walk along.

Ergonomic design makes our semi trailer movers comfortable to use, reducing the risk of back pain, shoulder injuries, and other ailments. Even in tight spaces or on rocky outdoor ground, you can move trailers with pinpoint control and easy maneuvering.

Move equipment in and around lots, get the job done faster to free up time and reduce the risk of injuries — this is equipment that improves your peace of mind and bottom line.

TrailerCaddyHD Extreme Specs

We built the TrailerCaddyHD Extreme for 48’ and 53’ OTR trailers as well as other heavy equipment such as toy haulers, horse trailers and boats.

Heavy-duty 36-volt motor

15,000-lb. hydraulic lift

0-2 mph forward and reverse with adjustable speed control

Safety stop switch

Options for ball hitch, king pin, and pintle

Optional 18” aggressive tread tires

Looking for other specs? Check out our other car, truck, and trailer pushers.

Semi trailer movers from DJ Products are a common-sense investment that can radically improve productivity on your lot. For more information on the TrailerCaddyHD Extreme and other semi trailer movers, visit DJProducts.com.

Hospitality Industry Continues to Fight the Battle with Bed Bugs

Bed Bugs in Hotels

Horror stories of bed bugs have been going viral lately, smearing the reputations of many hospitality brands. Hotels everywhere need to ask themselves: what is management doing to prevent bed bug infestations, and how would we respond to a complaint?

North Carolina Hotel Sued for Bed Bugs

Twenty-five bites, and a pillow containing hundreds of bed bugs. That was the horrifying experience of one woman’s stay at a Holiday Inn Express in North Carolina. She sued the hotel chain for $7 million.

Victims of bed bug attacks often report lingering effects of discomfort and paranoia. In one particular case, the victim was a recovering breast cancer survivor whose doctor feared an infection from germs carried by bed bugs. Needless to say, in such cases public sympathy goes to the customer.

Bed Bugs: A Matter of Housekeeping Policies

Nobody can avoid the risk of bed bugs being accidentally carried in. What hospitality management must do is practice constant vigilance, proactive cleaning, and fast response to sightings.

Housekeeping staff should look around mattresses, box springs, bed skirts, and all linens. Telltale signs include blood dots and brownish stains, often around the edges of linens.

The lookout for bed bugs does not need to slow down housekeeping services. Motorized linen carts can help staff tend to more rooms, quickly, and with less physical strain — freeing them up to be more thorough in visual inspections for bed bugs. Motorized linen carts with metal or plastic frames can also promote a cleaner transport system compared to canvas.

For more information on hospitality equipment including motorized linen carts to empower your workers, contact DJProducts.com.

How Ergonomics Directs Force

AircraftCaddy 4K-8K Aircraft Tow

Muscling an airplane out of a hangar and onto the runway takes a fair amount of physical effort. Exert just a little too much force while your body twists during maneuvering and you could be spending weeks at the chiropractor. Ergonomic design directs force with maximum efficiency. When applied to aircraft tugs like Lindy’s motorized AircraftCaddys, ergonomic design allows airplane owners and FBO ground crews to move aircraft with minimum physical effort, significantly decreasing the risk of muscle strain and injury.

Think about the forces at work when you push and pull an aircraft out of the hangar and onto the runway. Four forces come into play:

Starting force. The greatest effort is required to initiate movement. Considerable effort must be exerted to overcome resistance created by inertia, friction and gravity. Greater force is always necessary to start or stop a wheel turning than to keep that wheel in motion.
Sustained force. Also called rolling force, sustained force is the effort required to keep a moving object in motion. Once a towed aircraft is moving at a constant rate of speed, inertial resistance falls nearly to zero. Some effort may be required for maneuvering — slowing down, speeding up or turning — but little effort is required to keep the plane moving.
Turning force. When an aircraft is turned, two forces create difficulty. Inertia must be overcome to accelerate in a new direction, and friction between the ground and wheel must be overcome. Because momentum will want to keep the plane traveling in its original trajectory, significant force must be applied to change direction. Turning often results in asymmetric and uncomfortable body postures, over extension and overexertion that can result in injury.
Stopping force. As with starting, the same forces must be counteracted to bring a rolling object to a full stop.

Lindy’s motorized AircraftCaddys use ergonomic design to mitigate force and reduce injury risk.

Browse our selection of quality, American made aircraft tugs.

New Aircraft Designs Shelved to 2030

The Future of Aircraft

If you have been dreaming of the return of supersonic jets and the introduction of all-electric aircraft, there is no need to hold your breath. While the aviation industry has plenty of innovations and advancements on the horizon, bigger changes are mostly getting shelved until 2030.

Boeing, Airbus and others continue to periodically release new passenger jets, but the trend is clear: small tweaks and redesigns, not brand-new platforms.

The focus on new aircraft features:

Increasing fuel efficiency

Applying recent technologies to other models in a manufacturer’s line

Upgrading or changing engines on existing models

Demand is high, but risk appetite is low

Aviation sales are booming worldwide as airlines in the Eastern hemisphere blossom and all airlines enjoy low fuel prices for the moment. Manufacturers are shipping many thousands of their latest models every year.

For many makers, however, their last forays into groundbreaking new designs resulted in flops. At the Farnborough International Airshow, for example, Boeing indicated that their sluggish progress on the 787 Dreamliner made them more averse to investing in risky innovation.

The demand for new planes with new technology remains high, and thankfully there is plenty to like about the current offerings. Composite wings and fuel-efficient upgrades have provided significant advances. Boeing’s 777X will benefit from tech created for the Dreamliner, for instance.

In a decade and beyond, new planes will start arriving. In the meantime, you can get your hands on tech like our small aircraft tug to make moving planes in and out of the hangar simpler and more efficient.

Learn more about our small aircraft tug and aviation equipment at DJProducts.com.

We’re Watching Warehouse and Logistics Trends for 2016 for You

Warehousing Trends for 2016

Industry trends serve to prepare for changes. Every business adopts change and technology at different paces, but many trends will eventually inform the new reality for us all. In 2016, the warehouse and logistics industry looks forward to beneficial disruption — especially in terms of technology that boosts efficiency.

At DJ Products, we help warehousing and logistics providers with automated material handling equipment. Devices like our warehouse tugs and powered pushers help close the gap between operational efficiency and the rigorous demands of profitability.

For 2016, the folks at Logistics Viewpoints have already identified several major warehouse and logistics trends to watch:

Sustainability will eventually be a part of your mission. Private companies can avoid public pressure longer than larger, publicly-traded companies. But emissions standards and landfill reduction will become a necessary action — and there are ways to find ROI for those efforts.

Omni-channel logistics is your next big move in fulfillment. As legacy software gradually becomes replaced, omni-channel technology will become the norm and business strategies will adapt to integrate.

Warehouse automation keeps disrupting. Warehouses continue to innovate with robotic and motorized tools such as warehouse tugs and powered pushers. This tech is now necessary to meet the demands of e-commerce efficiently.

Crowdsourcing will disrupt transportation. For delivery and transportation, many warehouses would be wise to leverage one of the new Uber-inspired outsourced delivery innovators instead of investing in in-house fleets and TMS.

Follow our blog to stay on top of the trends in 2016 and beyond. Ready to implement automation tools for warehouse and logistics efficiency? Visits DJProducts.com to learn about our warehouse tugs and powered pushers.

Healthcare Industry Needs More Cybersecurity Professional

Under The Microscope

The healthcare industry finds itself under the microscope for serious cybersecurity risks. Health consumer data has been the top target of data breaches for years, and in 2015 approximately one-third of all data theft occurred in healthcare.

Top talent in cybersecurity gravitates toward tech and finance industries, leaving healthcare employers lacking in human resources. Tech Republic explains the cybersecurity worker shortage:

4 out of 5 cybersecurity jobs require both a bachelor’s degree and three years of experience.

In addition to IT skill sets, cybersecurity requires accounting and finance knowledge.

HIPAA and other regulations make the job description even more unique.

Cybersecurity demand has outpaced the talent supply in recent years, with jobs more than doubling since 2010.

Leveraging Technology for Your Healthcare Business

The health sector has vastly benefited from tech including telemedicine and electronic records. Making use of emerging tech requires a shift in personnel and expenses, however. Especially considering the enormous risks associated with being liable for a consumer data breach.

Most healthcare businesses need to shift additional resources toward IT and cybersecurity. One source of cost cutting: reducing operations expenses.

Powered hospital carts are a great example of a reasonable investment that boosts efficiency and potentially reduces labor costs. Nurses and janitors can use powered hospital carts to perform daily tasks more quickly.

Automated linen carts and medical equipment movers also reduce the risk of workers compensation claims and time lost due to injury, thanks to a reduction in repetitive stressful tasks.

Contact DJ Products to learn more about powered hospital carts that improve performance and your bottom line — so you can make wise investments elsewhere.

Author: christopher Harper