Author: christopher Harper

Healthcare Business Trend Projections for 2016

Friendly Male and Female Doctors Isolated on a White Background.
Healthcare

Healthcare spending has grown at slower rates in recent years, and that trend looks to continue in 2016 and beyond. PricewaterhouseCoopers has released new projections from its Health Research Institute that estimate 4.5% net growth in 2016 — a relatively steep drop from a decade earlier.

The HRI report examines key factors that are curbing medical spending:

  • Cost-sharing increases for patients reduce the likelihood of seeking treatment
  • Telemedicine offering virtual visits and reduced costs
  • Comparison shopping and health advisers steering patients to lower-cost services

Other factors are increasing health spending in non-traditional ways:

  • Increased data security expenditures
  • Incorporating a swath of new specialty drugs

Healthcare Consumers Shifting to Retail and Ambulatory Care

Hospital administrators need to redouble their efforts to reduce operating expenses in order to compete. Drugstore clinics and physician’s offices can offer similar care at reduced costs, luring patients away from hospitals.

Controlling Costs Key in a Competitive Market

Hospitals can take numerous short-term and long-term steps to reduce costs:

  • Educate the public and promote healthy lifestyles
  • Use data and analytics more strategically
  • Adopt virtual care options whenever possible
  • Leverage new tools and equipment

On that last point, we are seeing hospitals improve care with efficiency and quality using equipment such as motorized hospital carts. Better tools for employees can streamline daily operations while also enhancing patient care. For example, motorized hospital carts may boost employee morale and help retain talented staff.

The decisions made now can help position your healthcare facility for better profitability in the volatile times ahead. For more info on motorized hospital carts and other tools to boost efficiency, visit DJProducts.com.

Ergonomic Controls Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Constant numbness in the hands, sharp shooting pains in the wrist and up arms, loss of grip strength or even the ability to maintain a grip on objects, loss of feeling in fingers — the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are frightening and the pain is great enough to wake you up at night. Left untreated, the condition is debilitating and can cause permanent damage to your hands.

Because of the serious and debilitating repercussions of carpal tunnel syndrome DJ Products designs all of its material handling equipment with ergonomic controls, handles and handholds. Our goal is to provide ergonomically-designed material handling equipment that protects the health and safety of workers by eliminating the potential for debilitating musculoskeletal injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful, progressive condition caused when the median nerve, the key nerve in the wrist, is continuously compressed by swollen tissue. The median nerve controls sensations and impulses to the muscles on the palm side of the hand, thumb and all of the fingers except the pinkie. The median nerve runs from the forearm into the hand through a narrow bony passage at the wrist called the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel also houses tendons that allow the wrist and hand to move. When repetitive motion activities or repeated stress from pushing and pulling heavy carts irritates wrist tendons, they swell, pressing on the median nerve. The result is numbness, weakness and pain that radiates from the fingertips up the arm.

When workers continue to perform daily tasks that irritate wrist tendons, pressure on the median nerve becomes constant, eventually causing permanent damage. Without nerve support, the individual gradually loses fine motor and may even lose gross motor control of his hands and fingers. He may lose the ability to sense hot and cold. Muscles at the base of the thumb atrophy, and hands can become deformed. Left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome can cause life-altering disability.

Repetitive motion activities on the job and strain from pushing and pulling heavy equipment are the leading causes of carpal tunnel syndrome in the U.S. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in a 1998 study 3 out of every 10,000 U.S. workers were affected by carpal tunnel syndrome. On average, each worker missed 10 days of work and incurred medical bills of $30,000. Treatment of chronic cases requires surgery and an average 6 to 8 weeks for recovery. Utilizing equipment with ergonomically-designed controls and handles can effectively eliminate the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Volunteer to Speak at High School Career Day

High schools are starting to schedule annual Career Days. DJ Products encourages business owners and managers to call your local high school guidance department and volunteer to make a presentation. There’s been a lot of press over the past year about dwindling work forces in the material handling, manufacturing, fulfillment and warehousing industries. The need to educate young people about the career potential in our industries has been repeatedly stressed by industry leaders at national association conferences. We need to work now to encourage America’s youth to pursue careers that will benefit and ensure the future of material handling and the U.S. industries so vital to American commerce. High school Career Days give local business leaders a perfect opportunity to talk to America’s future workforce and encourage teens to seek careers in material handling, manufacturing, fulfillment and warehousing.

Partnering with high schools through Career Day, internships and technical training programs are among the nationwide efforts being made to draw future workers to material handling and other industrial careers. A unique partnership in Rock Hill, South Carolina could serve as a model for similar programs across the country. In sponsorship with the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) and the Material Handling Education Foundation Inc. (MHEFI), Rock Hill Schools are set to open the Don Frazier Supply Chain Training Center at the end of April. A new addition to its Applied Technology Center, Rock Hill’s new entry-level pilot program will allow high school students to learn by doing in a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, 4,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center, according to a MHIA press release.

Named for industry pioneer and program supporter Don Frazier, founder of Frazier Industrial Co. headquartered in New Jersey, the Don Frazier Material Handling Technical Training Program will provide hands-on learning in material handling and supply chain jobs to high school students in grades 9 through 12. Numerous local and national industry leaders and suppliers contributed to the start up of the Rock Hill program. Modeled after the prestigious Lehigh Career and Technical Institute program at Lehigh University near Allentown, Pennsylvania, it is hoped that the pilot program will serve as a model for the development of similar programs at high school technical centers across the country.

Ergonomic Tuggers Features Increase Carts’ Versatility

DJ Products’ ergonomically designed tuggers have numerous features designed to improve ease of use, safeguard your workers’ health and safety, and increase the versatility of the product. Here’s a rundown on just a few of the innovative features that set DJ Products’ CartCaddies above the competition:CartCaddy power carts and tuggers are equipped with a standard 36-volt system. Three 12-volt batteries provide 16 hours of continuous use – two full shifts — before recharging is necessary.Our motorized products are designed as walk-behind or ride-behind units to provide maximum operator control and safe sight lines. Variable-speed twist grips allow operators to instantly control the speed of the unit to match their own pace. Walk-behind units are capable of forward and reverse speeds from 0 to 3 mph; ride-behinds can achieve speeds up to 6 mph.DJ Products’ tuggers feature an ergonomically-designed variable-speed twist grip to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome while allowing the operator to maintain smooth control of the vehicle, even during intricate maneuvering.A safety stop switch is conveniently positioned at the back of the handle bar box on our CartCaddies. When depressed, this essential safety device immediately stops the unit to prevent operator injury.Compactly designed, our CartCaddies can easily maneuver in small, tight spaces, in heavily-trafficked corridors, and along busy production lines.Our spring hitch option and customized adjustable attachment provide maximum flexibility, allowing DJ Products’ tuggers to adapt to a wide variety of applications. With our customized attachment, there’s no need for expensive fabrication of multiple attachments for each cart or piece of equipment. Our CartCaddy products attach to all types of heavy carts and equipment quickly and easily, eliminating the considerable expense of installing tow arms or receivers. Our compact, highly maneuverable dolly movers can even accommodate applications where the product overhangs the framework of the cart without the need to modify each dolly. The CartCaddy’s adjustable attachment springs down and upward, attaching firmly to the bottom of any cart or piece of equipment.An electric lift option allows loads to be easily raised and lowered as needed, preventing potential worker injury from lifting and straining.DJ Products’ CartCaddy pullers and movers can pivot a full 180 degrees under the customized mover arm. This allows the operator to safely and smoothly turn loads a full 90 degrees without repositioning the cart and without fear of jackknifing when maneuvering heavy loads.These are just some of the superior use and safety features you’ll find available on DJ Products’ full line of tuggers. For complete information and detailed specifications on our complete product line, click here to visit our website.

What Is Material Handling?

Say the words “material handling” and many people think of forklifts carrying pallets across a warehouse floor. But material handling is so much more. There isn’t an industry or business that doesn’t handle materials, whether it’s steel on an auto assembly line or boxes of paper in an office. If you buy, sell or use anything (i.e., materials), it has to be moved and that, in its most basic essence, is material handling.

Efficient material handling can reap huge rewards for businesses. It can markedly increase efficiency, eliminate unproductive and duplicate efforts, improve production completion time and decrease worker accidents and injuries — all of which decrease costs and improve your bottom line. The key to maximizing your material handling investment is versatility. Material handling equipment that can be easily tasked to multiple uses, used by workers of any age or size, and that can maneuver easily in any environment, whether across an open floor or down a crowded corridor, will give you maximum return on your investment.

DJ Products is the nation’s premier manufacturer of ergonomically-designed electric carts and motorized cart pushers, the most versatile material handling equipment on the market today. DJ Products makes carts, pushers and movers for a wide variety of applications, from heavy industrial environments to hotel and hospital settings to retail establishments. We make heavy-duty tugs capable of moving 20,000 pounds of heavy equipment down an assembly line. We make compact cart pullers that can quietly move linen carts down a crowded hotel corridor or maneuver diagnostic equipment around a cramped hospital room. We make specialized equipment for the automotive industry that can just as easily maneuver cars, trucks or even trailers across a storage lot as around a showroom floor. And that’s just a sampling of the uses customers have found for our products.

But it’s ergonomic design that sets DJ Products’ equipment apart. Ergonomic design ensures that the equipment, not the worker, carries the load, significantly decreasing the risk of expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries to employees. Ergonomic design assures optimal equipment management by any operator, no matter his or her age, physical size or strength. Adjustable features, strategically located and carefully designed controls, superior maneuverability in tight spaces, and excellent safety features are built into every DJ Products cart, pusher and mover.

Visit the DJ Products website today for complete information about our full line of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment.

Safety Is No. 1 When Choosing Material Handling Equipment

Productivity and safety are the two top concerns when business owners buy material handling equipment, with safety being paramount. Unsafe equipment will drag down productivity, while safe equipment will enhance productivity. To handle materials safely, loads must be under the operator’s control at all times. Load capability and handling, maneuverability, control placement and design, wheel placement, tire composition, operator line of sight — there are a whole host of design elements that determine the safe operation of material handling equipment.

Manufacturing material handling equipment that is as safe to use as it is easy to operate drives the design of DJ Products’ material handling equipment. Our products are ergonomically designed to take the physical strain off workers’ muscles, allowing them to work more efficiently and more comfortably. By making equipment adaptable to the worker, ergonomic design allows workers of various body types, ages, and physical skills to perform on an equal footing. Ergonomic design maximizes employee performance by eliminating awkward work postures that lead to the tired and cramped muscles that erode job performance and can lead to injury and disability. When workers are forced to contort their bodies into less than optimal postures to operate equipment, muscles become more quickly fatigued. Not only does fatigue lead to slower task production and longer and more frequent breaks, it increases the risk of injury. Ergonomic design eliminates these problems and ensures each worker a safe and comfortable work environment.

To maximize operator control and line-of-sight, DJ Products’ material handling equipment is designed so that the operator walks or rides behind the loaded equipment. This affords the operator maximum visual sight lines to ensure plenty of time for maneuvering and safe stopping, particularly in crowded or heavily trafficked environments. Conveniently-positioned, ergonomically-designed controls allow easy operation and instant safe stopping power of DJ Products’ battery-operated and motorized carts and cart pushers.

A unique safety feature of DJ Products’ carts and movers is our strategically-designed mover arm that allows our cart movers to pivot a full 180 degrees under the arm once it is firmly attached to a cart or piece of equipment. This allows the operator to turn and maneuver carts and equipment safely without risk of jackknifing the cart while carrying a heavy load.

To find our more about the specific safety features that make DJ Products’ material handling equipment a national favorite for a wide variety of applications from manufacturing assembly lines to hotels and hospitals to grocery stores, visit our website today. 

DJ Products Trailer Mover Perfect Solution for RV Industry

The economy is driving people in search of inexpensive travel and vacation options and, in many cases, inexpensive housing. RVs seem to fit the bill. Record-setting attendance at RV shows has led to strong first quarter sales in the recreational vehicle industry. With young adults aged 18 to 34 comprising the fastest growing segment of RV owners, industry watchers expect RV sales to remain strong well into the future. RVs are the perfect vehicle for active folks who appreciate the outdoors and are looking for an easy, eco-friendly way to travel. The ability to take off for a quick weekend or mini-vacation is as appealing to young adults as it is to busy families and retirees.

Increasing RV sales are creating a ready market for DJ Products’ popular TrailerCaddy trailer mover. More RV buyers mean more RVs moving across sales lots and in and out of showrooms. DJ Products’ trailer mover is the perfect solution for manufacturers, dealer lots, trade shows and service centers. Our versatile TrailerCaddy is designed to push and pull trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. DJ Products’ ergonomic design provides powerful pulling strength while protecting workers’ health and insuring their safety. Our ergonomically-designed material handling equipment is built to prevent the physical strain that occurs when workers are forced to muscle around large trailered equipment. Ergonomic design ensures that the equipment, not the worker, takes the strain of moving and maneuvering heavy equipment.

DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy makes easy work of pushing and pulling all kinds of recreational vehicles, including RVs, campers, equipment trailers and boats. Our electric-powered trailer mover is the perfect solution for moving recreational vehicles down an assembly line, around a manufacturing plant, across sales lots and showrooms and into trade show spaces. The compact design of DJ Products’ powered TrailerCaddy allows superior, precise movements, making quick work of maneuvering large recreational vehicles through crowded spaces and into display areas without fear of damaging surrounding vehicles. As RV sales continue to increase, you can expect to see more manufacturers and dealers turning to DJ Products’ handy TrailerCaddies to move recreational vehicles.

DJ Products makes a full line of compact, ergonomically-designed material handling products designed to do the job while protecting the health and safety of workers. Our products are cost effective to purchase and inexpensive to operate and maintain. Most of our customers report recouping their capital investment within the first year of ownership. To find out how DJ Products’ motorized carts, movers and pushers can benefit your business, talk to one of our ergonomic specialists today. 

Driver Demographics Affect Musculoskeletal Injury Risk

EHS Today online, a magazine for environment, health and safety leaders, published an interesting April 24, 2009 article comparing truck driver demographics to risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries. As in any job that requires long hours in a single position, long distance truck drivers are at increased risk for musculoskeletal injury on the job. According to a recent study by Atlas Ergonomics, truck drivers lose more workdays per musculoskeletal injury incident than any other group of workers. Fortunately, risk factors can be predicted and workers protected.

The three-year study of 28,301 commercial truck drivers was conducted from 2005 to 2008. Drivers were primarily engaged in driving and delivering loads with less than 10% of drivers’ activities involving the unloading of freight. A direct relationship was found between injury risk and the physical characteristics of the both the worker and truck cab. The driver population studied was predominately men of slightly taller stature and weight than average.

  • The study found that height caused the greatest discomfort while driving. Taller drivers were forced to contort their bodies to fit into cab spaces, while shorter drivers had to stretch to reach controls.
  • Weight, particularly obesity, significantly increased injury risk factors. Obesity increased driving discomfort to severe levels and, in many cases, resulted in sleep apnea and other sleep disorders that impaired alertness.
  • Driver age was spread across all age groups from young, new drivers to near retirees. Discomfort increased with age and length of service, three to five years of seniority producing greater risk. Injuries to workers 65 and older resulted in longer work absences after injury.
  • While women drivers constituted just 8% of the study group, their smaller stature resulted “in elevated levels of discomfort across all body parts,” according to study results. Muscular strength may also have played a role but was not specifically studied.

While operating material handling equipment is significantly different from long-haul trucking, there are important similarities when workers are forced to maintain steady postures for long periods of time or repeatedly perform the same actions over a shift. The findings of the Atlas Ergonomics study has instructive lessons for material handling equipment purchasers who want to decrease the risk of worker injury in their workplace. We’ll talk about that next time.

Highlighting the Lindbergh Aircraft Tug For Towing Small Aircraft

Lindbergh Aircraft Tug
Lindbergh Aircraft Tug

Lindbergh Aircraft Tug

Anyone who works with small aircraft knows that towing and moving planes can be difficult and taxing without the right equipment. The Lindbergh Aircraft Tug uses advanced technology to produce a simple, one-person solution with incredible and reliable performance. When you need to park aircraft in a cramped hangar or tow the plane across bumpy terrain, the Lindbergh Aircraft Tug gets it done for you.

Unlike gas-powered devices, the Lindbergh Aircraft Tug relies on powerful 12V batteries for smooth acceleration and braking. The long-lasting battery powers a day’s work and quickly recharges in any standard 110V outlet. Premium features like the heavy-duty steel frame and non-marking tires bring great value in terms of both performance and durability.

Operating your aircraft tow tug requires little more than walking alongside it and slowly, gently maneuvering it in and out of your hangar. The same technology used to bring comfort and safety to the rigorous work of warehouse material handling inspired the comfortable and easy-to-use grip and handlebars on the AircraftCaddy. The twist grip even works for righties and lefties alike. When it’s time to fly, you can pack up the handlebar system for easy storage.

The AircraftCaddy provides everything you need for simple, powerful performance:

  • Tow aircraft in inclement weather or across harsh terrain
  • Available in weight-rated sizes ranging from the 4K Jr. to the 35K model
  • Quiet motor ensures safety and easy communications on the ground
  • Operates smoothly at speeds of 0–2 mph

Make life easier in and around the hangar with an aircraft tow tug that works the way you need it to. Talk to a Sales Engineer at 1-800-686-2651 to discuss ordering and custom options for any size aircraft designed for small owner/operators, up to corporate FBO’s.

Powered Movers Can Address Safety and Ergonomics

In “The Safety Paradox: How Safety and Ergonomics Help and Hurt Each Other at the Same Time,” the writer observes that while safety and ergonomics can lead to the successful completion of a task, these concepts can also make a task more difficult to complete.

“…safety almost always adds more steps into any given task. Thereby decreasing efficiency and lowering the ergonomic quality.
After performing a task analysis, ergonomics may also call for the omission of certain steps or features that may inadvertently be safety related.”

If safety and ergonomics can get in the way of each other, should you try to apply these principles in your workplace? We would say, yes. Remember that when they are applied in the right way, the concepts of safety and ergonomics can work well together. At DJ Products, our mission is to provide material handling solutions that are ergonomically correct, safe and cost effective. Our power tugs and electric utility carts can reduce the injuries that come from manually moving heavy carts and equipment. Rather than adding extra steps to a task, these solutions make it possible to complete that task more efficiently and with less strain.
Our products are battery powered, “walk behind” units that can be maneuvered even in tight, difficult spaces. Since our motorized cart tugs and more manageable than traditional electric equipment like forktrucks, walkies or motorized riding tugs, your employees will not need to use more costly and cumbersome equipment that was designed for a different material handling task.

In the end, your employees are probably less concerned with safety and ergonomics and as concepts and are more concerned with getting their work done and avoiding injury. Material handling solutions from DJ Products provide real-live applications of the concepts of safety and ergonomics that can make your workplace safer and more productive.