Tag: electric tuggers

Manual Handling Injury Prevention with WasteCaddy Products

Accident at work
Staff Injuries are Costly to All Parties Involved

Preventing worker injuries is more than just the right thing to do. As one of our clients described to us, temporary staff replacements for injured regulars are “more expensive, and worse, they are really inefficient because they are not familiar” with the job’s demands. This client was a property manager who also said that staff injuries directly led to dissatisfied tenants.

Whatever industry you’re in, you can protect human resources and property by using WasteCaddy products to prevent injuries from manual tasks like pushing dumpsters.

From Small Trash Container Movers to Large Dumpster Towing

WasteCaddy products simply use a battery-powered motor to push or pull heavy loads at up to 3 mph. Even on ice or inclines, the employee keeps firm and precise control over the direction and speed.

These are powerful little haulers — even the WasteCaddyLite can haul dumpsters weighing up to 10,000 pounds, and we have larger options as well.

Our dumpster pushers prevent injuries in multiple ways. Primarily, the automation takes away thousands of pounds of stress and exertion. Ergonomics run down to the small details as well, such as the comfortable steering grip design.

OSHA recommends ergonomic programs for retail, grocery, and other businesses with employees who need to use manual force to push and maneuver heavy equipment like dumpsters. WasteCaddy can be the central component of reducing injuries among your workers such as lower back strains, rotator cuff injuries, tendonitis, and other musculoskeletal disorders.

If you have employees moving dumpsters by brute force, you are at elevated risk of worker’s comp claims. Talk to the ergonomics experts at DJ Products for help choosing automated equipment.

Power Tug Can Prevent Physical Strain

The dictionary definition of the verb “tug” includes phrases like “to pull hard, to struggle, to exert oneself laboriously, to pull or strain hard at, to carry with difficulty” but we want you to know that working with power tug from DJ Products will not require struggle. Effort is needed and it is necessary to be alert when operating a DJ Products material handling solution (as it is necessary for using any other kind of machine), but it should not be a struggle.

In fact, DJ Products specializes in offering small, maneuverable tug that still have plenty of power to handle most push or pull applications. We know that space is precious in a warehouse environment so we design our tuggers so they can be used effectively in small spaces. These carts can carry a variety of items and help employees push or pull almost any heavy cart, be it a flat bed of steel or a cart full of cookie dough.

We call them power tugs because they are empowering. Rather than straining and struggling with loads that can cause injury to the human musculoskeletal system, your employees can be more productive and have few concerns that they will be prone to injury. In addition to minimizing the risk of injury, a tugger like the CartCaddy5WP can reduce the drudgery of physical labor. And while we cannot promise that all of your employees will be happy, we can say that having the right equipment to get the job done can be a factor in improving workplace morale, boosting overall job performance and decreasing employee turnover.

Electric Tuggers Improve Ergonomics in Material Handling

Improving the ergonomics of material handling decreases worker injuries, improves workplace efficiency and leads to a healthier bottom line. Medical costs, insurance premiums, workers’ compensation payments and lost man-hours soar when ergonomics are ignored. Material handling is one of the most injury-intensive industries, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Every effort you make to fit the demands of work tasks to the capabilities of your workers (i.e., ergonomics) will decrease costs and ultimately improve profit margins.Material handling requires many actions that can result in serious and expensive musculoskeletal injuries. Repetitive motions, awkward postures and the application of force as workers lift, push, pull, carry and handle materials create daily opportunities for injury. Attention to ergonomics in designing tasks, workspaces and equipment can dramatically decrease the physical demands and injury potential of many material handling activities.Carrying and lifting are the two actions that present the greatest potential for worker injury when handling materials. Today we’ll address tips for ergonomic carrying; on Friday, we’ll share tips for lifting ergonomically.Carrying tasks place stress on the back and shoulders and create contact pressure on the shoulders and hands. When repeatedly strained or overstressed, the effort and force needed to carry materials can cause injury. To decrease injuries caused by carrying, follow these suggestions:

  • Eliminate unnecessary carrying.
  • Minimize the distances materials must be carried and use electric tuggers to carry materials over longer distances.
  • Organize work tasks so that physical demands and work pace increase gradually as muscles warm up.
  • Rotate workers or alternate carrying with non-carrying tasks to prevent overstraining the body and give muscles a chance to rest between efforts.
  • Wear properly fitting gloves to improve grip stability.
  • Reduce load weights and test loads for stability and balance before carrying.
  • Slide, push or roll materials. These actions place less stress on the body than carrying.
  • Use conveyors, slides or chutes to move materials.
  • Use electric tuggers to transport heavy loads.