Tag: ergonomics

Ergonomic Controls Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Constant numbness in the hands, sharp shooting pains in the wrist and up arms, loss of grip strength or even the ability to maintain a grip on objects, loss of feeling in fingers — the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome are frightening and the pain is great enough to wake you up at night. Left untreated, the condition is debilitating and can cause permanent damage to your hands.

Because of the serious and debilitating repercussions of carpal tunnel syndrome DJ Products designs all of its material handling equipment with ergonomic controls, handles and handholds. Our goal is to provide ergonomically-designed material handling equipment that protects the health and safety of workers by eliminating the potential for debilitating musculoskeletal injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful, progressive condition caused when the median nerve, the key nerve in the wrist, is continuously compressed by swollen tissue. The median nerve controls sensations and impulses to the muscles on the palm side of the hand, thumb and all of the fingers except the pinkie. The median nerve runs from the forearm into the hand through a narrow bony passage at the wrist called the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel also houses tendons that allow the wrist and hand to move. When repetitive motion activities or repeated stress from pushing and pulling heavy carts irritates wrist tendons, they swell, pressing on the median nerve. The result is numbness, weakness and pain that radiates from the fingertips up the arm.

When workers continue to perform daily tasks that irritate wrist tendons, pressure on the median nerve becomes constant, eventually causing permanent damage. Without nerve support, the individual gradually loses fine motor and may even lose gross motor control of his hands and fingers. He may lose the ability to sense hot and cold. Muscles at the base of the thumb atrophy, and hands can become deformed. Left untreated, carpal tunnel syndrome can cause life-altering disability.

Repetitive motion activities on the job and strain from pushing and pulling heavy equipment are the leading causes of carpal tunnel syndrome in the U.S. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in a 1998 study 3 out of every 10,000 U.S. workers were affected by carpal tunnel syndrome. On average, each worker missed 10 days of work and incurred medical bills of $30,000. Treatment of chronic cases requires surgery and an average 6 to 8 weeks for recovery. Utilizing equipment with ergonomically-designed controls and handles can effectively eliminate the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Safety Is No. 1 When Choosing Material Handling Equipment

Productivity and safety are the two top concerns when business owners buy material handling equipment, with safety being paramount. Unsafe equipment will drag down productivity, while safe equipment will enhance productivity. To handle materials safely, loads must be under the operator’s control at all times. Load capability and handling, maneuverability, control placement and design, wheel placement, tire composition, operator line of sight — there are a whole host of design elements that determine the safe operation of material handling equipment.

Manufacturing material handling equipment that is as safe to use as it is easy to operate drives the design of DJ Products’ material handling equipment. Our products are ergonomically designed to take the physical strain off workers’ muscles, allowing them to work more efficiently and more comfortably. By making equipment adaptable to the worker, ergonomic design allows workers of various body types, ages, and physical skills to perform on an equal footing. Ergonomic design maximizes employee performance by eliminating awkward work postures that lead to the tired and cramped muscles that erode job performance and can lead to injury and disability. When workers are forced to contort their bodies into less than optimal postures to operate equipment, muscles become more quickly fatigued. Not only does fatigue lead to slower task production and longer and more frequent breaks, it increases the risk of injury. Ergonomic design eliminates these problems and ensures each worker a safe and comfortable work environment.

To maximize operator control and line-of-sight, DJ Products’ material handling equipment is designed so that the operator walks or rides behind the loaded equipment. This affords the operator maximum visual sight lines to ensure plenty of time for maneuvering and safe stopping, particularly in crowded or heavily trafficked environments. Conveniently-positioned, ergonomically-designed controls allow easy operation and instant safe stopping power of DJ Products’ battery-operated and motorized carts and cart pushers.

A unique safety feature of DJ Products’ carts and movers is our strategically-designed mover arm that allows our cart movers to pivot a full 180 degrees under the arm once it is firmly attached to a cart or piece of equipment. This allows the operator to turn and maneuver carts and equipment safely without risk of jackknifing the cart while carrying a heavy load.

To find our more about the specific safety features that make DJ Products’ material handling equipment a national favorite for a wide variety of applications from manufacturing assembly lines to hotels and hospitals to grocery stores, visit our website today. 

DJ Products Trailer Mover Perfect Solution for RV Industry

The economy is driving people in search of inexpensive travel and vacation options and, in many cases, inexpensive housing. RVs seem to fit the bill. Record-setting attendance at RV shows has led to strong first quarter sales in the recreational vehicle industry. With young adults aged 18 to 34 comprising the fastest growing segment of RV owners, industry watchers expect RV sales to remain strong well into the future. RVs are the perfect vehicle for active folks who appreciate the outdoors and are looking for an easy, eco-friendly way to travel. The ability to take off for a quick weekend or mini-vacation is as appealing to young adults as it is to busy families and retirees.

Increasing RV sales are creating a ready market for DJ Products’ popular TrailerCaddy trailer mover. More RV buyers mean more RVs moving across sales lots and in and out of showrooms. DJ Products’ trailer mover is the perfect solution for manufacturers, dealer lots, trade shows and service centers. Our versatile TrailerCaddy is designed to push and pull trailers that require lifting on one end before maneuvering. DJ Products’ ergonomic design provides powerful pulling strength while protecting workers’ health and insuring their safety. Our ergonomically-designed material handling equipment is built to prevent the physical strain that occurs when workers are forced to muscle around large trailered equipment. Ergonomic design ensures that the equipment, not the worker, takes the strain of moving and maneuvering heavy equipment.

DJ Products’ TrailerCaddy makes easy work of pushing and pulling all kinds of recreational vehicles, including RVs, campers, equipment trailers and boats. Our electric-powered trailer mover is the perfect solution for moving recreational vehicles down an assembly line, around a manufacturing plant, across sales lots and showrooms and into trade show spaces. The compact design of DJ Products’ powered TrailerCaddy allows superior, precise movements, making quick work of maneuvering large recreational vehicles through crowded spaces and into display areas without fear of damaging surrounding vehicles. As RV sales continue to increase, you can expect to see more manufacturers and dealers turning to DJ Products’ handy TrailerCaddies to move recreational vehicles.

DJ Products makes a full line of compact, ergonomically-designed material handling products designed to do the job while protecting the health and safety of workers. Our products are cost effective to purchase and inexpensive to operate and maintain. Most of our customers report recouping their capital investment within the first year of ownership. To find out how DJ Products’ motorized carts, movers and pushers can benefit your business, talk to one of our ergonomic specialists today. 

Driver Demographics Affect Musculoskeletal Injury Risk

EHS Today online, a magazine for environment, health and safety leaders, published an interesting April 24, 2009 article comparing truck driver demographics to risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries. As in any job that requires long hours in a single position, long distance truck drivers are at increased risk for musculoskeletal injury on the job. According to a recent study by Atlas Ergonomics, truck drivers lose more workdays per musculoskeletal injury incident than any other group of workers. Fortunately, risk factors can be predicted and workers protected.

The three-year study of 28,301 commercial truck drivers was conducted from 2005 to 2008. Drivers were primarily engaged in driving and delivering loads with less than 10% of drivers’ activities involving the unloading of freight. A direct relationship was found between injury risk and the physical characteristics of the both the worker and truck cab. The driver population studied was predominately men of slightly taller stature and weight than average.

  • The study found that height caused the greatest discomfort while driving. Taller drivers were forced to contort their bodies to fit into cab spaces, while shorter drivers had to stretch to reach controls.
  • Weight, particularly obesity, significantly increased injury risk factors. Obesity increased driving discomfort to severe levels and, in many cases, resulted in sleep apnea and other sleep disorders that impaired alertness.
  • Driver age was spread across all age groups from young, new drivers to near retirees. Discomfort increased with age and length of service, three to five years of seniority producing greater risk. Injuries to workers 65 and older resulted in longer work absences after injury.
  • While women drivers constituted just 8% of the study group, their smaller stature resulted “in elevated levels of discomfort across all body parts,” according to study results. Muscular strength may also have played a role but was not specifically studied.

While operating material handling equipment is significantly different from long-haul trucking, there are important similarities when workers are forced to maintain steady postures for long periods of time or repeatedly perform the same actions over a shift. The findings of the Atlas Ergonomics study has instructive lessons for material handling equipment purchasers who want to decrease the risk of worker injury in their workplace. We’ll talk about that next time.

Business Survival Strategies that Work

This week we’ve been talking about what it will take to survive in today’s challenging economy. We’ve shared marketing ideas from industry experts and our own playbook that have allowed companies to not only survive past economic downturns but thrive in highly competitive markets. The secret to survival in a bear economy is to develop a corporate attitude that is innovative enough to envision new applications for your products, flexible enough to act quickly when a new opportunity presents itself, and customer-oriented enough to anticipate customer needs and respond quickly to customer requests. Our ability to succeed in these areas has made DJ Products a nationwide leader in the innovative design and manufacture of ergonomic motorized carts and powered cart movers.

Through the example of our own company’s experiences, we’d like to demonstrate how businesses can apply the principles of innovation, flexibility and customer service to survive today and position themselves to thrive tomorrow.

Innovation. Innovators in the material handling field, DJ Products realized the value of ergonomic design before it became a popular cause. We realized that ergonomics was likely to become increasingly important as a worker health and safety issue with the power to drastically reduce health care, insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs. But beyond that, we saw in ergonomics the potential to improve the speed and efficiency of production across a broad range of business environments.

Flexibility. DJ Products has exhibited the flexibility to imagine and develop new markets for products originally designed primarily for industrial settings. The most compact, light-weight versions of our CartCaddy movers are employed daily in health care and hospitality settings. Their small size and easy maneuverability in tight spaces makes them perfect for crowded hospital corridors and hotel hallways. We’ve found applications for our motorized car/truck pushers in the boating industries and recently designed a specialized version for use by auto racing pit crews.

Customer Service. We’re Old School in our belief that customer service must always be our first priority. We pride ourselves on our ability to customize our products to meet specific customer needs. We’re so convinced you’ll like our products, we offer a free trial program before you buy.

Take a page from the DJ Products’ handbook. Companies that emphasize innovation, flexibility and customer service will survive and can even thrive in these challenging economic times.

Applying Six Sigma to Ergonomics Drives Production Gains

Businesses that practice Six Sigma recognize the roll ergonomics can play in creating and sustaining productivity gains. Adoption of a comprehensive ergonomics program that combines implementation of ergonomic practices with use of ergonomically-designed equipment can lead to significant production gains, both immediate and sustainable in the long term. This is in addition to the obvious benefits ergonomics offers in improved workplace safety and reduced injury levels and their attendant costs.

In our last post, we began discussing how Six Sigma’s disciplined, process-oriented, five-step approach to problem solving can be applied to development of a comprehensive ergonomics program. We covered defining problem areas and goals, measuring existing stressors, and analyzing collected data to identify root problems and potential risks. Today, we continue our discussion of Six Sigma’s five-step process and its application to creation of a comprehensive ergonomics program.

Improve. Develop solutions to address the identified root causes of production area problems, set performance standards, and define responsibilities of both workers and managers. Remember to talk to the workers who actually perform the tasks and use the equipment. They can provide valuable input and often offer useful, practical solutions to production problems. Implement your improvement action plan, including necessary staff and management training.

Control. To ensure that productivity gains are sustained over the long term and that they continue to improve, it is important to monitor the established ergonomics program to ensure that performance standards and personnel responsibilities are being maintained. Measurement data should be regularly collected and analyzed to ensure that productivity improvement goals are sustained.

Too often ergonomics programs fail because they are not fully supported by top level management. Particularly now, when manufacturers and other businesses, beset by myriad economic concerns, are forced to run lean, many have shunted plans to implement an ergonomics program to the future. There is general lack of understanding of the significant productivity gains that accrue with implementation of an ergonomics program. By increasing productivity, ergonomic processes and ergonomically-designed equipment can improve your bottom line noticeably. And that is in addition to the proven savings realized from the immediate decrease in workplace injuries and accompanying decrease in medical, insurance, workers’ compensation and lost man-hour costs when ergonomics are employed. Making a comprehensive ergonomics program part of your company’s Six Sigma strategy guarantees it the credibility and top level management support necessary for success and sustainability.  

For information on ergonomic equipment designed to solve your material handling problems, contact the ergonomic engineers at DJ Products.

How to Assess Your Ergonomic Material Handling Needs

Poorly designed workstations and task habits can result in serious health and injury problems for your employees. Back injuries, followed by neck and shoulder injuries are the most commonly experienced injuries in material handling settings. Proper ergonomic equipment design and tasking protocols can prevent potential injury.

Ergonomics is the science of fitting the task to the worker, instead of the other way around. Musculoskeletal injuries can result when workers have to pull, push, lift or stretch in the performance of their tasks. Assessing your ergonomic needs can be as simple as having a conversation with your employees.

Begin by closely examining the workplace and tasks. Review error and accident reports to identify potential problems. Observe how employees actually perform their tasks. Talk to the people who actually do the work. They have the best insights into what is and isn’t working effectively. Ask the following questions:

  • Are you in a comfortable position throughout the performance of your job tasks?
  • Do you experience discomfort, aches, pain, fatigue or stress? At what point in your tasks? Specifically what are you doing when you experience discomfort?
  • Is the equipment appropriate, easy to use and well maintained?
  • Are you satisfied with your workspace and tasks?
  • Are there frequent errors? What are you doing when these occur?
  • Do you have any suggestions for improving your workspace or tasks?

Analyze the responses you receive. Small solutions such as repositioning of task elements can often make a significant difference in worker comfort. Even when large-scale solutions are required, such as equipment purchase, the cost will be quickly defrayed in decreased medical, insurance, workers’ compensation, disability and lost man-hour costs.

On our website, DJ Products provides a useful Ergonomic Load Calculator you can use to help determine your ergonomic equipment needs. Our expert staff can recommend ergonomic product solutions for your most difficult material handling tasks. Visit the DJ Products website to view our complete line of electric and battery-powered ergonomic carts and tugs.

Ergonomic Products Will Lead Material Handling Gains in U.S.

The material handling industry is on the cusp of a major worldwide growth spurt. Increased automation at home and growing industrialization abroad, particularly in automobile production, are expected to increase worldwide sales of material handling products and systems by 5% a year for the next five years (see our Sept. 22 & 24 posts). Products that maximize worker efforts while decreasing the physical strain on workers will enjoy an ever-increasing share of the market. Particularly in the U.S. where a declining workforce coupled with escalating medical, insurance and workers’ compensation costs will drive a move toward more efficient material handling products, ergonomically-designed equipment and systems are expected to capture an increasing part of the material handling market.

DJ Products is well situated to help you meet the material handling challenges of tomorrow. We manufacture ergonomically-designed material handling carts and tugs designed to maximize work effort and safety. Our energy-efficient electric and battery-powered carts and tugs are less costly, smaller and more maneuverable than the traditional equipment used to move carts and equipment such as forklifts which kill 100 U.S. workers a year and result in 20,000 serious injuries.

All of our products are battery-powered walk-behind units that allow maximum operator control, even in tight, difficult spaces. The flexibility of our ergonomic equipment allows it to be used not only in manufacturing settings, logistics centers and  warehouses, but in hospitals, hotels and motels, and in the retail industry.

We make a number of efficient vehicle pushers for the automotive industry, including some for use on production lines. Our vehicle pushers can be used to push vehicles down and assembly line or move them from station to station. Padded to prevent dents, scratches and cracks, our vehicle movers preserve the paint and integrity of vehicles during production and processing. From our handy car/vehicle pusher to our heavy-duty truck pusher which is capable of moving 10,000 pounds, we make versatile automotive material handling products useful in every aspect of the automotive industry.

For complete information, specifications and videos of our ergonomically-designed carts, tugs and movers in action, visit the DJ Products website.

Ergonomic Equipment Benefits Aging Workforce

America’s workforce is aging. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of workers aged 65 and older increased 101% from 1977 to 2007, nearly twice the rate for total employment — and that doesn’t even reflect the aging Baby Boomer population, the first wave of which is just hitting 65 this year. Slightly more than 50% of older workers now work full-time. From 2006 to 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects older workers aged 55 to 64 to increase by 36% and workers over the age of 65 to increase by 80%.

The graying of America’s workforce means that business and industry will increasingly need to accommodate the physical strength and endurance limitations of older bodies. Ergonomic equipment and practices will become increasingly important, both to protect workers’ health and welfare and to enable workers of variable abilities to perform the same job. Ergonomics allows businesses to fit the job to the person — no matter the worker’s size, age, gender or physical abilities — instead of forcing the worker to torque his body into unnatural and uncomfortable positions to make the equipment work or get the job done.

Manual material handling injuries account for approximately 35% of workers’ compensation claims. Injuries to the back and upper extremities caused by reaching, lifting and carrying result in an estimated 44% of all lost time injuries. As workers age, the risk of injury increases. The bottom line is that without ergonomically-designed equipment and the institution of ergonomic practices at workstations, you can expect your injury rate — and medical/disability costs — to increase as the age of your workforce goes up. However, ergonomic equipment can level the playing field.

Ergonomic equipment that helps to lift, position and move materials and finished products takes the burden off workers, insures worker safety, and increases worker productivity. Ergonomic equipment improves worker safety and productivity when bending, twisting and reaching are required. Ergonomic design can also allow the height and tilt of containers to be adjusted for easier access. Ideally, you should utilize ergonomic principles in every aspect of your workplace operations to promote worker safety and productivity. As a bonus, you’ll build good morale and save money.

DJ Products is the national leader in ergonomically-designed motorized and battery-operated material handling carts and cart movers. We offer a complete line of powerful, compact, ergonomically-designed material handling products for every application. Contact us today for personalized help meeting your material handling needs.

Election Ushers in Era of ‘Ergobamanomics’

In the wake of Barack Obama’s election, U.S. industry should brace itself for a re-emphasis on ergonomics in the workplace. We are about to enter the era of “Ergobamanomics,” predicts senior editor Austin Weber, coining the phrase in his November 6 post on AssemblyBlog, a function of Assembly magazine which serves the manufacturing product assembly market.

“We’re going to have a government that makes sure workers aren’t put at unnecessary risk,” Obama said while stumping on the campaign trail this summer. It seems likely that increased federal emphasis on the development and implementation of ergonomics standards and legislation will be part of the Obama administration’s plan to revitalize and improve U.S. industry. In numerous studies, ergonomics has been proven to significantly reduce workplace injuries and improve worker health and safety.

While workplace health and safety policy changes may not be immediate — president-elect Obama will, after all, have his hands full with more pressing problems in the first few months of his presidency — a solid Democratic majority in Congress makes it likely that tighter ergonomic standards will see quick passage in the near future. Some industry experts believe that a return to the OSHA standards of the Clinton administration could easily be enacted by Congress within the first six months of the new Obama administration.

The sweeping OSHA ergonomics changes ushered in by the Clinton administration in 2000 were quickly repealed by Republicans when George Bush took office in 2001. OSHA’s scaled-back ergonomics plan of 2002 revised the controversial Clinton-era regulations to focus primarily on the reduction of repetitive stress injuries. During his 2004 Senate campaign, Obama said he supported reviving the more comprehensive Clinton OSHA ergonomic standards. During his presidential campaign, Obama has repeatedly promised to renew the government’s commitment to improving the health and safety of all American workers.

Critics fear that a return to Clinton-era OSHA ergonomics standards would place an additional onerous burden on struggling American businesses. Tighter ergonomics standards could necessitate retooling and restructuring of production tasks. Training programs would have to be developed and executed. Increased record-keeping of repetitive stress and musculoskeletal complaints and injuries would also add to time-consuming paperwork and reporting demands, critics charge.

Despite industry fears, ergonomically-designed equipment and work procedures have the proven capacity to increase production efficiency and substantially cut injury rates. Results are both immediate and long-term, resulting in instantaneous and sustained reductions in medical, insurance, workers compensation and lost work hours while reaping considerable gains in worker satisfaction, production efficiency and improved product quality and customer service.

For more information on how ergonomically-designed equipment can improve your business, talk to the experts at DJ Products.