Author: christopher Harper

Preparing for Camping and Fishing Season with a Trailer Mover

June has arrived and that means that families all over the country are preparing for daytrips, long weekends and full vacations.  Many folks who have fallen in love with the great outdoors are preparing to upgrade their boats, jet skis or RVs in order to make the most of the upcoming vacation season.

This seasonal increase in interest has camper and trailer manufacturers working harder to keep up with the higher volume of sales.  If employees on the assembly line don’t have the right equipment to assist in the manufacturing process this increase in business could lead to an increase in employee injuries though.  Employees who need to manually maneuver trailers down an assembly line are at risk of suffering serious musculoskeletal strains and injuries that could require extensive medical care.

A piece of equipment like the trailer mover from DJ Products can instantly increase the efficiency of employees on the assembly line while simultaneously reducing the risk of injuries.  The trailer mover is powerful enough to haul trailers and full sized RVs over short distances without putting any undue strain on the operator.

The small frame size and tight turning radius of the trailer mover allows assembly line employees to navigate trailers and RVs around tight corners and through cramped quarters.  This ability to keep the trailers under complete control minimizes the chances of damage and keeps the product in the best condition during the assembly period. 

Investing in a piece of equipment like the trailer mover is the perfect way for a trailer and RV manufacturer to keep up with potential increases in business during vacation season.  The trailer mover allows valuable employees to remain injury free and ensures that the final product can be delivered to the showroom floor in ready to sell condition.

Transport Trailers and Boats with the Trailer Caddy HD

Although tractor trailers have wheels they cannot be driven everywhere. There are times when instead of doing the hauling, a tractor trailer itself needs to be hauled.

The Trailer Caddy HD Chain Drive tractor trailer pusher is a powered pusher designed for pushing or pulling trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering.

Most often used with RVs, campers, equipment trailer, and boats, a Trailer Caddy can be used to transport these items across show rooms or down assembly lines, as well as in or out of storage. A Trailer Caddy can be of great use to individual owners or campers and trailers as well as to those who own and rent out this equipment.

Other equipment you may have used in the past probably allowed you to push an RV or a boat, but how did you feel afterwards? If you felt any strain or pain and it wasn’t too serious, chances are you forgot about it but you never know when this kind of strain will lead to a more challenging injury.

You really don’t want to take any chances with your health when transporting this kind or equipment. The powered Trailer Caddy HD Chain Drive tractor trailer pusher is less bulky than the traditional electric puller product, and that is useful because if you think about it, the trailer or boat itself is already bulky. The relative compactness of the Trailer Caddy HD does not mean that it is ineffective; instead it results in fewer accidents, lower maintenance costs, and minimal damage to surrounding parts and equipment due to the maneuverability and control the operator has using the Trailer Caddy tractor trailer pusher in tightly confined areas.

Motorized Cart eliminates strains and pains from pushing heavy materials, food and linen supplies.

DJ Products of Minneapolis has introduced a walk behind self-propelled motorized cart that carries large amounts of food, materials, and linens. Called the PartsCaddy®, the unit is design for moving heavy loads from one point to another in hospital environments, eliminating the manual pushing of heavy carts food, materials, and linens. Motorized Cart

Continue reading “Motorized Cart eliminates strains and pains from pushing heavy materials, food and linen supplies.”

Battery Powered Cart: PartsCaddy

Heavy-duty, battery powered cart for moving equipment, materials and parts.

DJProducts of Minneapolis has introduced a heavy-duty, walk behind, battery powered platform cart that pushes or pulls equipment, materials, and parts. Called the PartsCaddy®, the unit is design for moving heavy materials from one point to another in manufacturing, distribution, or office environments. Battery Powered Cart

Continue reading “Battery Powered Cart: PartsCaddy”

How Could YOU Use the Wagon Caddy Tow Tractor?

Wagon Caddy Tow Tractor
How could you use the Wagon Caddy Tow Tractor?

Of course an electric cart mover would benefit your warehouse by speeding up material handling — but it can also bring fundamental improvements to the way you operate. With our Wagon Caddy tow tractor, more of your employees can handle heavy loads. And they can move things easily through tight spaces anywhere in the warehouse. It opens up a ton of possibilities to get more done.

Make Picking and Stocking a Breeze

Moving up to 3000 lbs. at up to 5 mph, the Wagon Caddy tow tractor makes material handling easier and simpler. Whether a worker needs to move one small box or a heavy load of equipment, he or she can load it on the Wagon Caddy and hop on for the ride. Less walking, less carrying, and less strain — in other words, more productivity with fewer injuries.

Get More Out of All Your Employees

Not all your employees need to be strapping young men and women. Hire smart and reliable people and the Wagon Caddy lets you worry less about muscular strength and physical conditioning. Just about anyone can operate our electric cart movers.

Make Warehouse Logistics Easier

With maneuverable motorized carts for hauling materials around the warehouse, your logistics get easier. You can plan on easily moving heavy, awkward-to-carry items from point A to point B. Employees can even ride on the Wagon Caddy tow tractor and navigate through narrow spaces. Simply put, this electric cart automates and speeds up labor — and that productivity boost makes warehouse management easier.

Check out the versatile and powerful WagonCaddyR/W and call our Sales Engineers at 1-800-686-2651 for more info.

 

How Force Affects Pushing and Pulling Activities

Pushing and pulling tasks are among the most common industrial activities. Pallets of goods need to be moved from one point to another and equipment needs to be moved to a usage point. Workers at factories, hospitals, distribution centers, grocery stores and many other businesses engage in pushing and pulling activities numerous times a day. The Ergonomics of Manual Material Handling – Pushing and Pulling Tasks provides a useful overview of the costs and consequences of neglecting ergonomics in common industrial tasks that involve pushing and pulling. Click here to read the white paper published by Darcor, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomic casters and wheels, and Ergoweb, an ergonomic web resource.

While often taken for granted, wheeled carts and equipment are integral to the operation of nearly all manufacturing and distribution facilities as well as many businesses. Musculoskeletal disorders from pushing and pulling injuries cost American businesses billions of dollars each day in medical, insurance, disability and downtime costs. Ergonomically-designed carts, wheels and casters can significantly decrease the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.

To be effective, ergonomic design for push/pull tasks must consider:

  • Human factors such as height, weight, age, gender, strength, posture and physiological capacity.
  • Task factors including distance moved, forces required to initiate and sustain movement, direction and nature of movement and task duration.
  • Cart/equipment factors such as size, weight, stability, caster/wheel specification and handhold type, height and orientation.
  • Floor/ground factors including surface characteristics, slope and contaminants.

Contrary to popular belief, horizontal push force is more significant than load weight in pushing and pulling tasks. Proper wheel or caster selection and equipment design can enable workers to move thousands of pounds safely and efficiently. Caster/wheel choice alone can reduce push force significantly. Rolling resistance refers to forces that resist movement and defines the amount of force a person must generate and apply to move wheeled equipment.

This force — called the starting or initial force by ergonomists — is always greatest at the start, just before movement begins. Fortunately, starting force must only be exerted briefly. Once acceleration is achieved, less force — called the sustained or rolling force — is required to maintain movement. The final major force that affects cart movement is turning force which can occur while the cart is in motion or during positioning.

Next time: How ergonomics mitigates force.

How Ergonomics Mitigates Force

Horizontal push force is a more significant factor than load weight in pushing and pulling tasks. In moving a wheeled piece of equipment or a load on a wheeled cart, three main forces come into play:

  • Starting or initial force is the effort required to initiate movement. It requires the greatest effort because it must overcome inertia.
  • Sustained or rolling force is the effort required to keep the load in motion and requires significantly less effort if a steady speed is maintained.
  • Turning force is the effort required to turn the load and can be significant as the load is moved into a new direction, often requiring asymmetric body postures and muscle exertion which carry a greater risk of injury.
  • Stopping or positioning force is the effort required to bring the load to a halt or position it in a specific place. Positioning can require significant, multidirectional force, exposing the worker to hazardous postures and muscle exertions.

Ergonomics mitigates these forces through design that seeks to minimize stress on the worker’s body and reduce wasted movement and effort. By reducing unnecessary movements and awkward postures, the force exerted by a worker is more efficiently utilized, thus reducing the amount of force necessary to move a load. This reduces both the time and effort needed to complete a task and the risk of worker injury. To ensure that equipment can be easily used by all members of the workforce, ergonomic design is often adjustable to fit a greater number of workers or is targeted to accommodate the weakest members of the workforce.

Ergonomics works to reduce inertial and dynamic forces, friction and physical interference to decrease the amount of force required to move a load. Considerations in ergonomic design generally include:

  • Floor materials, pitch and slope
  • Load weight, type and quantity per shift
  • Cart or equipment size, weight and design
  • Wheel or caster type, construction, materials, number and placement
  • Handhold type, height, width and placement
  • Control type and placement
  • Route, number of turns, obstacles and amount and type of maneuvering
  • Frequency, duration and repetition of task
  • Body postures required to operate equipment and perform tasks
  • Height, weight, strength and gender of typical worker

Pushing vs Pulling Manual Carts

Pushing and pulling are the two most frequent actions workers execute in the course of doing their jobs. So in maneuvering manual carts, which is easier for the worker and creates less risk of injury — pushing or pulling?

Experts say pushing is preferable to pulling for a number of reasons. Research has demonstrated that people are able to exert higher push forces than pull forces. Given that horizontal push force, not the weight of the load or equipment, is the most significant factor in determining the effort required to move a load, that’s a significant consideration in selecting equipment.

Think of what happens to the body when you push something. Your entire body is used to create push force. In pushing an object, your body is more centered which allows you to concentrate force. Limbs are generally held closer to the body, limiting the possibility of extension injuries.

Pulling on the other hand, creates tremendous stress on individual body parts. When you pull an object and you are facing the direction of travel, one arm is stretched behind your body. This places the shoulder and back in awkward postures, increasing the potential for painful injury through overextension or awkward twisting. If you use two hands to pull an object you must have your back to the direction of travel. Walking backwards without a clear view of your path is an invitation to an accident. On an incline momentum can increase unexpectedly and the cart can careen into the worker or “run over” his feet.

There are times when pulling is the only way to maneuver a manual cart into the proper position, but at all other times pulling should be avoided. Pushing is the safer, more ergonomic way to move a manual cart.

Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Material Handling Shows

It’s spring and time for our industry’s annual material handling shows. Circle the date on your calendar and start making travel plans. Here’s the low-down on what’s planned:

MHIA  —  April 21-24  —  Cleveland, OH

The  Material Handling Industry of America will host its North American exposition, NA 08: Solutions that Make the Supply Chain Work, at the I-X Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Participants will have the opportunity to inspect and operate the latest manufacturing, distribution, material handling and IT solutions designed to increase supply chain productivity and profitability. Exhibits of products and services will be organized into four Solution Centers: manufacturing and assembly, fulfillment and delivery, information technology and knowledge which will showcase educational, benchmarking and research resources.

  • Sustainable, green solutions will receive special emphasis at the show. Andrew Winston, a nationally recognized expert on green business, will present the keynote address on Tuesday morning, April 22. The corporate environmental strategist will speak on Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build High Performance Supply Chains.
  • More than 70 education sessions will be offered addressing best practices, new equipment developments and leading trends.

MHEDA  —  May 3-7  —  Orlando, Florida

Accelerate in ’08 is the theme of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association 53rd annual convention and exhibitors’ showcase. The convention will be held at Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando in the theme park capital of the world, Orlando, Florida. At the show the emphasis is on education and networking, with ample opportunities to explore new technology and trends, improve business knowledge and skills and network and socialize with material handling peers. Fun activities for spouses and kids are planned for those who want to make this a family affair.

  • An exciting variety of educational presentations, round tables and workshops are planned on innovation, business growth, leadership, sales, marketing, customer service, financial and people management. Among several dynamic speakers will be Brian Beaulieu, an economist with the Institute for Trend Research, speaking on Planning for Change and Steven Little, Senior Consultant with Inc. Magazine, who will speak on Growing Your Business in the 21st Century.
  • At the May 5 Exhibitors Showcase you can check out the latest trends and developments in material handling. Hundreds of manufacturers and consultants from around the world will be on hand to showcase and demonstrate their products and services.
  • A golf tournament and biking tour are among numerous optional tours available for the fun-seeking. Ticket discounts to area theme parks are also available.

Webcast: World-Changing Material Handling Trends

The challenges facing American business and our world are mind boggling: recession, labor shortages, global warming, war, the brain drain. Politicians are ranting, people are discussing, and everyone is worrying about what to do. Solutions run the gamut from fantastic to ludicrous. Given the realities of moving and managing resources, surprisingly few of the ideas being bandied about in the press seem realistic. Modern Materials Handling magazine suggests that the most realistic solutions are coming from the world of logistics. The magazine has assembled a panel of experts to discuss some of the most promising solutions to the world’s problems and the trends in material handling that will make them possible.

Trends that will change materials handling — and the world is the subject of an upcoming webcast sponsored by Modern Materials Handling magazine. The live webcast will begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Tuesday, August 29. Click here to register for the material handling trends webcast.

Editor-in-Chief Tom Andel will moderate a panel that will include:

  • John Hill, TranSystems/ESYNC, who will discuss enticing new talent to the logistics workforce through supply chain execution technology.
  • Ron Giuntini, OEM Products-Services Institute, will provide insight into the material handling implications of the service vs product model and its effect on both the economy and environment.
  • Col. Alan Will of the U.S. Marine Corps will share logistics best practices learned on the front lines in Iraq.
  • Dr. John Usher, PhD, a professor with the University of Louisville Department of Industrial Engineering, will describe a future in which Direct Digital Manufacturing will redefine material handling in production environments.