Author: christopher Harper

Why Embrace a Culture of Safety in Your Warehouse

Warehouse Safety Checklist Being Filled Out By Worker.
Improving Warehouse Safety

Warehouses are filled with equipment and situations that can easily lead to injuries or accidents. However, there are ways to make this type of work environment safer. Choosing better equipment, such as a trailer dolly, and encouraging safety awareness are just a couple of ways to reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Find out more about the importance of promoting a culture of safety in your warehouse.

Increased Productivity

Making changes to increase safety leads to higher productivity. With a lower risk of injuries and accidents, employees can focus on doing their jobs. There’s also a lower chance of downtime when you have safer equipment, which also helps boost productivity levels in your warehouse.

Improved Efficiency

A safer workplace results in better efficiency. Having the right equipment can help ensure that tasks are completed more efficiently while also keeping the risk of accidents lower overall. This allows workers to get more done in a shorter timeframe.

Higher Employee Satisfaction

Taking steps to provide workers with a safe environment helps improve employee morale. Workers who are satisfied with their jobs are much less likely to leave or take extra time off. This helps maintain productivity levels and reduces the risk of high turnover rates.

Reduced Costs

Creating a culture of safety in your warehouse helps keep certain costs down. Workers’ compensation, the cost to recruit and train new employees frequently, decreased productivity, increased downtime, and other costs can add up when you have an unsafe work environment.

How to Provide a Safer Work Environment

Making sure employees are trained on safety issues can go a long way toward ensuring a safer environment. Keep workers up-to-date on safety training as needed. Providing protective equipment and making sure workers know how to use it is also important. Using equipment that boosts safety also helps. Motorized trailer dollies, for example, can help eliminate the need for forklifts and other types of equipment that are linked to a higher risk of accidents.

If you’re looking for a trailer dolly to help increase warehouse safety, please contact DJ Products. Our experts can help you choose the right solutions for a safe workplace environment.

Improve Warehouse Ergonomics with a Few Tips and a Motorized Trailer Dolly

Warehouse Worker Moving a Pallet - Improve Warehouse Ergonomics
Improve Warehouse Ergonomics

You may have heard the term “ergonomics,” but how much do you understand about it? Ergonomics comes from the root érgon, which means “work” in Greek. Simply put, ergonomics is the study of interaction between humans and equipment. Our motorized trailer dolly is ergonomically designed to make it easier for workers to move trailers and other wheeled equipment.

According to the National Safety Council, overexertion is the second leading cause of workplace injuries. Use these tips for improved warehouse ergonomics to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injuries that can become chronic.

Tips for Improving Warehouse Ergonomics

1. Simplify material handling tasks wherever possible.

Are your workers performing a lot of manual tasks? For example, handling containers can involve lifting, lowering, filling, emptying, and carrying. Each one of these procedures places significant strain on the musculoskeletal system.

Our full line of material handling equipment is ergonomically designed to take the load off your employees. We have tugs, movers and pushers ranging from our CartCaddyLite to our motorized trailer dolly.

2. Implement effective work habits.

Is safety a major element of your workplace culture? When you demonstrate a commitment to the safety and well-being of your workers, they’ll follow suit. This is also a great way to improve employee morale.

Here are some programs you can use to make safety a priority:

  • Repetitive motion greatly increases the chances of injury. Institute a job rotation schedule to reduce undue stress.
  • Develop a comprehensive training program centered on proper material handling techniques.
3. Set up an ergonomically designed workplace.

Even when employees are stationary, they can become injured from bending, twisting or stretching. Here are some elements to consider:

  • Place all materials at work level.
  • Equipment such as workbenches should be adjustable to accommodate all sizes of workers.
  • Workstations should have enough clearance for employees to move and turn freely.
  • Make suspenders, back braces and other wearables readily available.
Choose Our Motorized Trailer Dolly for Enhanced Workplace Safety

Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers reduce the risk of workplace injury while improving productivity. Use our handy online chat feature to learn more from our friendly and knowledgeable Sales Engineers.

Trailer Caddy Testimonials – Our Customers Weigh In on Our Motorized Trailer Dolly

Image of a packed trailer yard in need of a motorized trailer dolly.
The Motorized Trailer Dolly Improves Efficiency

When you need a reliable way to pull or push trailers, vehicles, or other heavy loads around, a motorized trailer dolly offers the ideal solution. DJ Products has a wide range of these dollies available for use in multiple industries and settings. Here’s what some of our customers have had to say about our products in testimonials.

Sony Pictures

The famous movie studio was relying on tractors to move equipment and other oversized items and heavy loads around sets. The company needed a motorized trailer dolly and gave the TrailerCaddy a try to help make this more efficient. Sony Pictures now relies on this motorized trailer dolly to move trailers and equipment around sets much more easily.

Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office

The water patrol unit at the sheriff’s office in St. Paul needed a better way to move trailers, boats, and other equipment around. They turned to DJ Products for help and started using the TrailerCaddy. The office appreciates that the trailer dolly’s battery power lasts for several hours before needing to be recharged. This has allowed them to move boats and other equipment around when needed.

Trac Intermodal

Trac Intermodal relies on the TrailerCaddy to move equipment around its warehouse. Prior to using this motorized dolly, the company was depending on a 2-axle truck. This ended up costing a significant amount for fuel. Trac Intermodal has been able to save money using the motorized trailer dolly. The company likes that this solution is also reducing wear and tear on the 2-axle truck.

Explore RV

This RV company needed a good solution for moving heavy RVs around its lot, while lowering the risk of injuries to workers. DJ Products was able to help with the TrailerCaddy. The company has been able to use this electric-powered, motorized trailer dolly to move all sizes of RVs around without a high risk of accidents and injuries. Explore RV also loves how much more efficient the TrailerCaddy is, allowing employees to move RVs from one spot to another in shorter amounts of time.

Looking for a trailer dolly for your business? Contact DJ Products, and we’ll help you find the best solution for moving heavy loads, trailers or vehicles around.

Replace Your Manual Material Handling Equpment with a Motorized Tug

Top-Down View of a Warehouse Worker Using a Motorized Trailer Dolly.
Improve Efficiency with a Motorized Tug

The mantra, “Work smarter, not harder,” certainly applies to warehouses and distribution centers. Excessive manual labor puts a serious strain, literally and figuratively, on your employees, here’s why you should consider replacing your manual material handling equipment with one of our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers, such as the motorized trailer dolly.

The High Cost of Workplace Injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs, occur when the physical demands of a task go beyond the body’s capabilities. Injuries can arise from a single incident, or they may be the result of repetitive strain over time.

Each year, workers compensation claims due to MSDs total nearly $33 billion. Add in the indirect costs of reduced productivity, lost time and increased turnover, and it’s easy to see why employee safety should be a priority.

Types of Manual Material Handling Equipment

  • Retrieval aids include basic transport equipment such as hand trucks and flat platform trolleys. While these devices are an improvement over carrying boxes and materials, they can be easy to overload and difficult to maneuver.
  • Pallet jacks come in one-handed pull and two-handed push varieties. The former allows limited visibility, while the latter solves that problem but requires increased muscle activity to operate.
  • Carts incorporate flat surfaces, bins and shelves on which materials are loaded. Height-adjustable carts that minimize the amount of lifting needed are generally preferable.

Benefits of Motorized Tugs for Material Handling

  • Manual material handling equipment sometimes takes the efforts of two workers to operate efficiently. All of our motorized tugs can be used safely and effectively by a single employee, which particularly comes in handy with our motorized trailer dolly.
  • All of our equipment is ergonomically designed to prevent chronic stress that can lead to repetitive motion injuries.
  • Our movers are strong enough to handle tough jobs but compact for easy handling and maneuverability.
  • Battery power eliminates noxious fumes and noise pollution.

Are You Ready for Our Motorized Trailer Dolly?

DJ Products has a full range of electric tugs, movers and pushers to accommodate any application. Contact us at 800.686.2651 and let our experienced Sales Engineers help you find the solution that’s right for your company.

Video: CarCaddy Increases Safety and Pushes Cars More Efficiently

The battery-powered CarCaddy Car Pusher eliminates the safety hazard of manually pushing vehicles at auto service shops and vehicle dealerships. The unit dramatically increased employee safety while streamlining processes for European Auto Motors. There is no longer a need for three or four employees to push cars by hand; now the job can be done with one person to maneuver the CarCaddy and another inside the vehicle to steer. This car pusher is most commonly used for the following applications:

  • Vehicle manufacturers: push vehicles short distances down a production line from station to station
  • Auto service centers: push vehicles in and out of service bay
  • Car dealerships: maneuver vehicles as inventory changes

If you have questions or would like more information, contact a sales engineer: 800-686-2651.

Video: TrailerCaddy – The Short Distance Trailer Mover Solution

The TrailerCaddy 6K 36V is the perfect trailer mover for Explore RV. The unit can pull any trailer on the lot; from the smallest bumper pull to the largest 5th wheel. It performs well both indoors and outdoors – whether in a showroom or trade show or outside in inclement weather conditions; over snow, sleet or ice.

The most common applications for the TrailerCaddy 6K 36V is moving trailers at RV or camper dealerships, military bases, and vehicle maintenance locations at government repair centers. The battery-powered solution moves large trailers up to 50,000 lbs. and has a 6,000 lb. hydraulic lift kit to lift up king pin, ball or pintle hitch trailer connection

If you have questions or would like more information about our TrailerCaddy solutions, contact a sales engineer: 800-686-2651.

Video: TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor Customer Testimonial – Quality Bicycle Products

The TrailerCaddy Terminal Tractor lets staff easily maneuver trailers in and out of loading dock doors at Quality Bicycle Products in MN. Watch the video below to hear how the unit has provided a cost-savings to the company. Benefits:

  • No need for licensed CDL drivers – anyone can operate
  • Convenient – the unit is always available for use
  • Cost-effective – eliminates the need for a service company to move your trailers
  • Low maintenance compared to a diesel truck

Contact a sales engineer at DJ Products to schedule your free demo: 800-686-2651.

Video: Improving Safety and Efficiency with the CartCaddy

Staff at Interglass Corporation were looking for a better way to transport multiple heavy glass sheets at their warehouse. Previously, it would take three or four employees to manually move these carts loaded with glass. Luckily, the battery-powered CartCaddy proved to be a perfect solution; now one person can efficiently and safely maneuver these carts without issue. The unit quickly connects to any cart and can handle heavy loads up to 10,000 lbs. If you have questions or would like more information, contact a sales engineer: 800-686-2651.

Video: CartCaddy Ideal Solution for Unique Application

At DJ Products, our sales engineers are problem solvers. We’re used to hearing about and solving unique customer applications. All of our units are fully customizable, allowing for adjustments to fit virtually any application – even very unique circumstances.

For example, Walker Art Center staff was in search of a solution to pull a 3,500 lb. sliding door safely, without putting staff in harm’s way. The battery-powered CartCaddy ended up being an ideal fit – the strap attachment connects to the door and can be easily maneuvered with the variable speed twist grips. The unit can be used in two ways to either pull the door open or push it closed.

If you have questions or would like more information, contact a sales engineer: 800-686-2651.

Video: CarCaddy Vehicle Puller 6K Eliminates Manual Pushing

Manually pushing vehicles by hand causes back pain, strain and risks long-term injury. The solution? The CarCaddy Vehicle Puller 6k: the battery-powered unit safely maneuvers vehicles up to 6,000 lbs. in tightly confined spaces, such as this private owner’s auto garage. The hydraulic roller arms easily and safely grab the vehicle’s front two wheels without damaging the bumper or car body. This operation eliminates cumbersome straps, hooks, and brackets needed to lift and pull a vehicle. If you’re interested or would like more information, contact a sales engineer: 800-686-2651.