Tag: ergonomic material handling equipment

Warehouse Ergonomics Reduce Worker Injuries

Warehouse Ergonomics Reduce Worker Injuries
Warehouse Ergonomics Reduce Worker Injuries

Warehousing and storage may not sound like a particularly risky industry. But in fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in this segment suffer musculoskeletal injuries twice as frequently as those in general private industry.

Improve workplace safety and reduce injuries by implementing sound ergonomic principles for the more common physical tasks.

Placing and Picking

• Teach proper body alignment so employees aren’t forced to twist their back.

• If possible, organize the workplace so employees don’t have to reach up or bend down to perform activities.

• Use a dumpster puller or other battery-powered mover for heavy loads.

Packing

• Make sure employees maintain a neutral posture: straight neck and back, shoulders down, elbows at right angles, wrists straight.

• Minimize the need to apply force such as pinching, pushing, pulling or gripping.

• Use carts and conveyors to reduce manual movement of items.

Shipping and Receiving

• Enforce proper lifting techniques to engage knees and legs rather than the back.

• Use mechanical assistance whenever possible.

• Keep loads in the zone between knees and shoulders. Particularly heavy loads should be between knuckle and elbow height.

Boost Workplace Safety with a Dumpster Puller from DJ Products

Surprisingly, the trash room is the most dangerous spot in a workplace. Injury risks range from overexertion due to moving heavy loads to pinching fingers and hands in dumpster lids.

Satisfied customers say that our WasteCaddy is “like having another employee on staff.” A single employee of any age or size can perform an activity that usually requires two workers.

Call 800.686.2651 to get cheerful assistance from one of our knowledgeable sales engineers.

Reducing Pain of Worker’s Comp

“Ergonomics and Reducing the Pain in Worker’s Comp” is the topic of a workshop scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, January 20. Sponsored by the Northern Minnesota Safety Council, the workshop will be held at the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at 3801 Bemidji Ave. N, Suite 4, Bemidji, MN. Cost of the program is $25 per person; lunch will be provided. To register or for more information, visit the Center’s website at www.cri-bsu.org.

The workshop recognizes two forces that are coming together to reshape American industry: the high cost of health care and increased governmental regulation of workplace safety. With Congress on the verge of approving a national health care plan and the Obama administration in the midst of reviewing OSHA ergonomics standards in anticipation of ordering more stringent workplace safety standards later this year, the workshop should provide attendees with a more thorough understanding of the impact ergonomics can have on their business. The program will feature Joe Kapaun of Choice Therapy with expertise in onsite ergonomic systems evaluations and industrial rehabilitation.

Ergonomics has been proven to reduce workplace musculoskeletal injuries which account for the majority of worker’s compensation claims. Worker’s compensation claims cost American businesses more than $60 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The National Council on Compensation Insurance reports that more than 50% of those claims are for back injuries from lifting, pulling, pushing and straining. Ergonomically-designed material handling equipment significantly reduces worker injury from manual labor tasks, resulting in significant worker’s compensation savings. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated the estimated time-lost cost per injury at $26,000 per incident. Prevention of a single injury by implementing use of ergonomically-designed material handling equipment results in an immediate savings of $26,000. 

To find out how ergonomic material handling equipment can help you reduce worker’s compensation costs, visit the DJ Products website. 

Power Mover Could Take Bite Out of Prepping for Ida

The weather folks are in their glory, on full alert as hurricane Ida churns toward the Gulf Coast. Even up here in the far northern reaches of the Midwest (Little Falls, MN) where even mild fallout from Ida is highly unlikely, local weather broadcasters are dancing on screen in paroxysms of joy as they gasp the latest warning bulletins. It’s likely to be a few weeks before any real snow hits our neck of the woods, so I guess Ida gives the storm chasers something to do; but prevailing winds being what they are, I don’t think we’re in much danger of flooding up here.

All the hoopla in the press did give me a new idea to pass along to our sales team. I saw resort workers struggling to push stacked lounge chairs across pool aprons and into storage areas. You could see them struggling to muscle the heavy stacks of chairs against the wind. It occurred to me how easy the job with be with DJ Products’ versatile WagonCaddy power mover. We’ve already adapted our powered material handling equipment to help local schools maneuver metal bleachers around school gymnasiums and on and off playing fields. This application for the hospitality industry would be a snap!

Ergonomically-designed to take the strain off workers’ backs, DJ Products’ WagonCaddy power mover allows an operator to quickly and easily transport materials — like lounge chairs — parts or machinery without physical exertion. (Click here to see a video of the WagonCaddy in action.) Like all of our ergonomically-designed, powered material handling equipment, this tug is equipped with an instant safety stop to prevent injuries. A variable speed thumb twist allows the operator to smoothly move in forward and reverse up to 3 mph. Compact design allows for maneuvering in narrow corridors and tight spaces and the cart can pivot loads a full 360 degrees. For full details, visit DJ Products website.

What Can We Learn from Failure?

You’ve probably heard the old saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong.” Or “No pain; no gain.” Ask anyone who’s been in business a while and they’ll tell you, you learn from your failures. Those who struggle with a new idea, testing and tweaking it through multiple incarnations until they get it right enjoy a sense of accomplishment unknown to those who simply luck into an idea, though not to imply that there’s no joy in the occasional “gift.” Sometimes, but not often, we get it right the first time. Usually, though, success is a matter of hard work and sacrifice. Perhaps that’s what makes success taste so sweet.

Celebrating Failure: The Power of Taking Risks, Making Mistakes and Thinking Big by Ralph Heath (Career Press, 2009, paperback, 191 pages, $9.26 on Amazon.com) is a smart book and a quick read. Heath’s message is to stop punishing mistakes, yours and your employees’, and start learning from them. Emphasize the learning, not the error, and move on. By embracing our failures we strip them of power. As he points out, the people who make mistakes are the same people who succeed.

Trade-Off: Why Some Things Catch On, and Others Don’t by Kevin Maney (Broadway, 2009, hardcover, 217 pages, $15.64 on Amazon.com) explores why some ideas succeed and others fail. Maney contends the magic formula is a combination of targeting your market correctly and staying true to your goal. Many businesses fail because they don’t make the mutually exclusive choice between convenience (low cost + easy use) and fidelity (premium quality + exclusivity). As he notes, a low-end Mercedes won’t sell, nor would a 5-course McDonalds meal.

The bottom line is deciding what need you want to meet and staying true to your game plan. You can’t be all things to all people. Success often comes fastest when you narrow your goal to meet a specific need. That’s been our experience at DJ Products. Our ergonomically designed carts and tugs won’t do everything, but they do a superior job of getting things from point A to point B without straining taxing your workers. Find out more at DJ Products.com.

Charting the Future of Material Handling Solutions

Over the last several years the material handling industry has become an integral part of logistics and supply chain management. Today it stands poised to break out onto the global business stage. This is the vision of George Prest, head of the Charlotte, NC-based trade association MHI, the foremost advocate for the material handling sector.

Prest began implementing this shift when he became CEO of what was then Material Handling Industry of America just over two years ago. The organization became rebranded to MHI to advance its scope beyond domestic limits. He also presided over the launch of Modex, a biennial trade show incorporating all aspects of supply chain along with material handling. The next show is scheduled to open March 17, 2014 at the Georgia World Congress Center.

A key initiative has been the birth of the U.S. Material Handling and Logistics Roadmap. Industry members gathered with academics and consultants to brainstorm ideas regarding challenges to be faced over the next 12 years and action plans to address them. Their findings are in the process of being formalized and an early draft of the report began circulating in late 2013.

These events correspond with Prest’s belief that the future is something to be embraced, not feared. He’s excited about the changes in logistics and supply chain and how material handling is the thread that unites them.

DJ Products is proud to be part of such a vital and innovative industry. Our material handling tugs offer solutions for a variety of applications including hospitals, hotel, warehouses, factories and aircraft. Contact our Sales Engineers at 800.686.2651 to learn how we can help answer your material handling questions.