christopher Harper, Author at DJ Products

Looking to Save Money in Your Warehouse? Look for New Packaging Solutions

The shift toward dimensional weight shipping rates has triggered a cascade of changes on warehouse management. Many warehouses are sidestepping the higher rates by using polybags or Tyvek mailers instead of boxes.

Along with the potential savings, soft bags present a new set of challenges compared to the familiar and reliable process of handling rectangular boxes.

As Alexander Communications points out, polybags require new technology for picking and scanning. The ultimate cost savings, however, should drive warehouse managers to analyze whether products can be mailed in polybags and how to make the process effective.

Key considerations for using packaging solutions to circumvent dimensional weight shipping charges:

Scanning and sorting solutions must be able to handle irregular shapes.

Material handling can become more efficient because more items can fit in a cart and be transported with motorized warehouse tugs.

Warehouses can often find ways to ship some, if not all, products in bags. Using both bags and boxes does not necessarily present an insurmountable challenge.

Customers can be charged dynamic rates based on actual shipping — or flat rates that protect your margins when boxes must be used.

Be sure to not overlook the changes that polybag shipping will have on material handling inside the warehouse. Instead of a pallet with several large boxes, you may have a cart weighted down with many more products in polybags. Warehouse tugs automate this movement to streamline the process and protect workers from injuries.

When cost savings are on the line, the boost in productivity from warehouse tugs can maximize the benefits of new packaging solutions. Visit DJProducts.com for more info about industrial cart movers.

How to Attract and Keep Young Talented Workers to Your DOD Contracting Business

One of the most overlooked warehouse management tips is attracting and keeping young talented workers in a department of defense contractor scenario. This may even seem like a non-issue because the standard has always been to give someone a job, give them a fair rate of pay, and they would then stay there until they retired.

But that mindset no longer works for a modern job force under 30 years of age. You have to learn and understand the nature of this modern workforce in order to keep them on the job for the long haul.

Family Friendly

Although you are employing one single person, the family comes along for the ride. Competitive businesses allow such things as paternity leave, flexible schedules and telecommuting, to name a few. Making your business family friendly makes for long term employment.

Growth Within

In this case, one of the most important warehouse management tips is to give the opportunity for growth within the company. These younger employees are more apt to enroll in higher education, gain knowledge and experience, and move on to another job if a growth opportunity does not present itself within a reasonable time.

Perks

In this day of modern communication, which is nearly constant, get Wi-Fi for computer access to allow these younger employees to stay connected during lunch hour and breaks.

Many employees may also have kids that need daycare or nannies, and that can be a valuable perk if offered on-site.

For more information on this or products that will aid your DOD warehouse, contact DJ Products, makers of trailer movers, tuggers, dumpster movers and aircraft tugs.

The Amazing Trend of “Green” Cars for Dealerships

Hybrid/green car trends

Hybrid sales increased not too long ago as awareness over environmental harm from car emissions grew. In the last couple of years, though, car makers have backed away building to feed this market. With the recent steep drop in gas prices, consumers have been more willing to spend their money on traditional gas powered less efficient cars rather than on hybrids or EV models. One car maker, Lexus, however has remained committed to manufacturing hybrid “green” vehicles.

Lexus Hybrids Lead the Way

Two of the vehicles that Lexus sells the most include the NX class and RX class, which are both hybrids. Sales of the RX 450h hybrid are up 34 percent this year, while sales of the NX 300h hybrid are up 24 percent. Roughly one out of every ten vehicles that Lexus sells is a hybrid, and the company doesn’t plan to slow down production of these models any time soon.

Lexus also stands out from the rest of the competition by offering hybrid versions of all of its best-selling car models, as well as a hybrid-only model in the CT 200h. As other car manufacturers move away from hybrids, Lexus has been able to maintain steady sales of its hybrid models. This trend is expected to continue, although other car makers may start focusing on hybrids again when gas prices begin to increase.

DJ Products sells material handling products for all types of vehicle parts warehouses and for car dealership lots. If you need a reliable Car Caddy for your factory, warehouse or dealership lot, please visit DJ Products. In addition to our Car Caddy, car pushing equipment, you’ll also find we sell other electric and motorized tug solutions.

Electric Aircraft – the Newest Trend in Aviation

What’s new for aircraft power sources?

Ground vehicles are not the only form of transportation making strides in eco-friendly technology. Before long, your aircraft tugs may be pulling electric planes and helicopters in and out of hangars.

What’s New in Alternative Power Sources for Aircraft?

Rapidly developing technology is advancing a number of potential green alternatives to traditional fuel-dependent aircraft. Options in development include super capacitors that may be able to partially or completely replace batteries, along with range extenders such as fuel cells and multiple energy harvesting.

Electric power is finding its way into all levels of aircraft, ranging from gliders and sailplanes up to helicopters and airliners. Hybrid vehicles feature electric nose wheel drives that turn aircraft into electric-powered vehicles on the ground.

Benefits of Electric Aircraft

• Electric aircraft are quieter, enabling near-silent take-off and landing of feeder aircraft.

• Electricity burns cleaner, reducing air and ground pollution.

• Dependence on foreign oil sources is greatly reduced.

• Aircraft contribute less to global warming.

• Aircraft safety is greatly improved. For example, electric backup could allow a helicopter to complete a controlled landing in the event of a system failure.

• Leisure aircraft can be completely powered by solar cells in hangars.

• The aircraft industry has expanded and modernized, creating additional applications for new electrical components and systems.

Electric-Powered Aircraft Tugs: Another Eco-Friendly Solution

Battery powered electric aircraft tugs from DJ Products are powerful enough to handle vehicles up to 35,000 pounds, but they are easy enough for one person to maneuver. Visit our website and use our convenient online chat feature to get assistance from one of our helpful sales engineers.

“Where do you get off …?” Why DJ Products Talks About Economy, Politics

We cover a lot of ground in the DJ Products’ blog: general material handling news, business and production tips, product specifications and applications, industry trade shows, ergonomics, government regulations, and manufacturing forecasts. To the apparent annoyance of some of our readers, we also discuss the economy and politics.

It’s our view that today’s astute business person is interested in a broad view of the business world, as opposed to a narrow, industry-specific perspective. Because he/she realizes that American business does not exist in a vacuum, the savvy business person is interested in not only what’s in front but what’s coming over the horizon. It’s the economic and political landscape of our country that shapes that future view.

One of the purposes of this blog is to provide a forum for discussing those broader forces that affect U.S. business. If our readers just wanted to learn about DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers, they could visit our website. But we think they want more, and we’re not the only ones. Many industry bloggers stray off their own narrow subjects to address the greater concerns of business. And, like us, they get the occasional reader comment, “Where do you get off ….” talking about the economy or politics or whatever annoys the reader.

Mike Botta addressed this issue in his March 2 post on the Industrial Equipment News blog. Botta labeled it “Stimulosis Psychosis,” which he defined as “a rare disorder that causes people to temporarily lose touch with today’s economic, political and business realities.” Botta has run into the same issue we have: Blog readers complaining that they prefer to get their economic and political news from other sources. It seems to be a question of bona fides. While we agree that we are not national experts in the field of economics or politics, who better to discuss how the broad concepts bandied about in Washington will actually affect the businesses forced to apply them than the business owners tasked with the job?

An excellent case in point is national ergonomics standards. Ergonomics standards have waxed and waned with Washington’s shifting political winds: in with Clinton, out with Bush, coming in again with Obama. While business owners generally support ergonomic measures because they increase production, lower overall costs and improve worker health and safety, the state of the economy has many worried about the expense of implementation and reporting procedures if the feds get involved.

Politics and the economy are all part and parcel of doing business in America. It’s like Botta, who writes about industrial equipment, says in his blog, “No Industry = No Equipment.” Without a viable U.S. industrial community, material handling firms have no market for their equipment. A healthy industrial community is dependant on a healthy economy and, right now in particular, a healthy economy is dependant on politics.

2010 Applied Ergonomics Conference Slated for March

Scheduled for March 22-25, the 2010 Applied Ergonomics Conference (AEC) to be held in San Antonio, Texas is slated to be North America’s biggest and most impressive gathering of ergonomics experts, applications and equipment providers. What sets AEC apart from other ergonomic conferences is its emphasis on the practical application of ergonomic principles and discoveries to real world industrial problems. This is not an esoteric meeting of high-brow academics, though you’ll find the more practical of their ilk in attendance. This is a working man’s conference. A meeting of industrialists, ergonomic experts and others involved in day-to-day efforts to improve the health and safety of American workers through the application of ergonomics to real world problems.

The 2010 AEC conference will be held at the Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa with early registration discounts available through January 15, 2010. Ergoweb is offering a special 50% discount to its followers until this Friday, December 18 on registrations for the conference and host hotel. (~~Click here for registration form and more information from ErgowebM~~ [Expired].)

Keynote speakers scheduled include Y. Ian Noy, vice president and director of Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, and Guy Fragata, senior advisor for Ergonomics Patient Safety Center of Inquiry. Multiple educational tracks and numerous informational exhibits by leaders in the ergonomics industry will also be featured at the conference.

As a leader in the design and manufacture of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment, DJ Products is intimately involved in solving daily ergonomics problems in a wide variety of U.S. industries including manufacturing and heavy industry, hospitality, hospital and health care, automotive and commercial retail. We understand the critical need for ergonomic systems and ergonomic material handling equipment that protects the health and safety of American workers. To find our more about our full line of ergonomic motorized carts and tugs, visit the DJ Products website.

How to Hire Only the Very Best Matches for Your Business

Hiring the Very Best

People with the right job skills for your warehouse may not already work in a warehouse. They might be office managers, bartenders, auto mechanics, community college students, or something else altogether.

Risk management expert David Leng has tips for sourcing better job applicants:

Ask HR and marketing to work together on job ads

Use an employee referral program

Promote from within as a motivator for everyone

How Do You Know Who to Hire?

Be thorough, track applicants throughout the process, and keep your eyes open:

Loyalty should be valued. Avoid workers who change jobs frequently. Give full consideration to workers with a disability or other hindrance to finding another job — as Leng says, they may actually miss work less and work harder.

Character matters when you need hard workers, self-starters, and team players. Conduct personality tests and other assessments.

Insight from current employees helps hiring managers to understand who will be a good fit for each position.

Get More Out of Existing Employees

The expense of hiring — HR, training, payroll — makes it very attractive to get more out of current employees. You can rely on overtime and even less-skilled temporary workers if you provide the right tools to maintain energy levels, morale, and job performance.

Industrial tugs that remove physical strain can let your best warehouse employees get more done, with fewer injuries and lost work time. It’s more cost-effective to outfit your workers with ergonomic tools like industrial tugs than to add additional employees to an injury-prone job involving manual labor.

For information about cart pushers, platform carts, and other kinds of motorized industrial tugs, visit DJProducts.com.

Power Tugger Helps Greenhouses Grow Their Bottom Line

In an interesting online article on Nursery Management & Production, John Bartok, Jr. schooled nursery and greenhouse owners in the value of using material handling equipment to streamline their operations. Faculty emeritus of the University of Connecticut’s Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering, Bartok noted that labor is the biggest cost in plant production. He recommended “incorporating material handling techniques and mechanization into a growing operation” to improve nurserymen’s bottom line.In selecting material handling equipment for nursery operations, Bartok cautioned growers to consider the following to which we’ve added our comments based on DJ Products’ years of experience in the material handling business:

Consider available production space. Small spaces require small-scale equipment like DJ Products’ CartCaddy power tugger that maneuver easily in narrow aisles and can pivot loads a full 90 degrees without jackknifing.
Select equipment that will reduce peak labor requirements. Manually transporting plants uses valuable personnel resources. DJ Products’ power tugger and electric carts can transport loads of heavy plants quickly and easily, eliminating the need to hire additional workers during peak seasons.
Bartok said growers can save by reducing walking. By his calculations, at a labor rate of $10/hour, each trip to the end of a 100-foot greenhouse adds 15 cents to a grower’s costs. Using DJ Products’ power tuggers to consolidate trips and maximize productivity can keep costs down.
Bartok recommended purchasing standard equipment that is expandable. Good advice, but we’d add versatile. The more tasks a single piece of equipment can perform in your operation, the more productive it is.
Ensuring employee comfort increases productivity. Ergonomically designed DJ Products’ CartCaddy power tuggers and movers are built to eliminate musculoskeletal stress and strain.

Ergonomically designed, compact material handling equipment like DJ Products’ CartCaddys power tugger can help nurseries and other retailers and wholesalers increase production and decrease costs.

Power Tuggers Can Prevent Injury and Increase Productivity

If your employees need to transport heavy items over short distances, your workplace could definitely benefit from using industrial tuggers.

According to Safetycommunity.com:

“At a major food processing plant, workers had to manually push heavy meat carts to maneuver them between processing stations. Concerned about injury risk and worker safety, plant executives turned to DJ Products for ergonomic solutions to their material handling problem.”

The experts at DJ Products recommended the CartCaddyShorty power tugger, a motorized cart mover designed to push, pull and maneuver carts that require turning.

Safetycommunity.com highlighted the importance of finding ergonomic solutions when workers need to transport goods. An employer may think that obtaining a regular cart with wheels will solve the issue, but if that cart has not been specifically designed to help a worker maneuver without twisting the body in harmful ways, this could cause even more problems.

In addition to meat, these tuggers can carry a variety of items such as a bin full of washers, a flat bed of steel or a cart full of cookie dough.

The CartCaddy Shorty was engineered so that an employee carrying a heavy load would be able to move, turn, and maneuver it in tight spaces, such as those in a meat processing plant. Not only does this help prevent injuries, it also helps to ensure that the food being processed gets transported between stations without having a cart tip over. This tugger is the smallest, most maneuverable tug available on the market, and still has plenty of power to handle most push or pull applications.

A tugger can also increase overall productivity. A single employee can now negotiate heavy carts, which may have previously required multiple operators to maneuver. As a result, the operators eliminated from these tasks are available to take on other responsibilities.

Hospitals: Help Your Staff Treat Summer Injuries

Summertime and the livin’ is easy…people like to spend time outside, getting into summer sports and being more active. We all hope for the best but we know that an increase in activity increases the chances of injury. For this reason, hospitals need to stay on alert and be ready for patients who arrive and need help after a baseball game, water skiing, a race, or an impromptu tumble down a hill.

During the summer, you need all of your staff ready to work and assist. You will want your employees ready to work and not injured themselves from attempting to hurry while transporting supplies needed for patients that arrive with injuries. DJ Products makes powered carts including a Powered Dirty Linen Cart, Powered Housekeeping Cart and a Motorized Clean Linen Wire Cart that can keep work moving efficiently and allow employees to navigate tight corners safely.

Our products can also reduce the chance that your employees will experience muscle strain or musculoskeletal injuries as they push or pull carts with heavy loads through hospital corridors. All of our products are battery powered “walk-behind units” that allow for better operator control than traditional wheeled carts. Because of this operating flexibility, our electric cart movers can be used in more applications than standard material handling equipment.

Check out our products online and if you have questions, you can call our Sales Engineers at 800-686-2651 and ask for a recommendation on your proper solution. One of our Sales Engineers will be more than happy to explore custom applications where our base products match primary criteria.

Author: christopher Harper