Tag: Food industry

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.

 

 

Working in the Crowd

Some positions require material handling equipment that is powerful enough to tackle heavy loads reliably, but that is small and easily maneuvered to where it can weave in and out of tight corners among crowded areas.

Consider feeding times in places like hospitals, nursing homes and institutions – many of the residents of these environments are incapable of visiting a cafeteria so there food must be delivered.  In buildings that have potentially thousands of residents who are on a tight schedule, feeding time can be a very busy time.  Individually carrying meals to the residents is completely impractical, but large manual carts could be too cumbersome to move throughout hallways where there will be residents/patients and other members of the staff constantly moving.

These aren’t atmospheres where the hallways can be tied up for extended periods of time for food service; meals need to be delivered on schedule, quickly and without blocking access to other areas of the unit.

This is where equipment like the Parts CaddyLite from DJ Products becomes a necessity.  This super efficient, quiet and powerful little cart is easy enough to maneuver that even crowded hospital hallways are easily navigated.  Food and supplies can be easily delivered without interfering with other necessary operations and without causing any excess noise that could potentially disrupt residents or patients.

The Parts CaddyLite is easy to use and designed with both efficiency and safety in mind.  With a variable speed adjustment, the job can be completed as quickly as is necessary, but without putting anyone’s safety at risk and the battery is capable of lasting for two whole shifts on a single charge – so reliability will never be an issue.  If your business requires that your employees be capable of delivering goods on time, without fail in an environment that has close quarters and crowds – the Parts CaddyLite will deliver every time.

Reduce Risk of Food Processing Plant Injury with Industrial Tuggers

A study from commercial insurer CNA that examined the risks associated with working in the food processing industry found that “the types of incidents most likely to cause worker injuries are manual material handling and physical stress; struck by and struck against; and falls on the same level.” The report also noted that while the industry has increased its use of power movers, there was still a reliance on manual transport that lead to injuries that may have been prevented.

As the reports also states, “Profitability in the food processing industry depends on the rapid production of final product and its timely shipment to customers. The continuous rapid movement of large amounts of raw materials and finished products throughout the production cycle exposes workers to injuries resulting from contact with moving objects.”

We know that you cannot afford to slow down operations. We also know that you would like to avoid costly worker compensations claims and the loss of productivity and morale that go along with those claims. So, try using a DJ Products powered mover, like the CartCaddyShorty for example.

The CartCaddyShorty can be used to transport a variety of heavy loads, including things like large quantities of cold cuts or a cart full of cookie dough. This small, but powerful tugger is one the most maneuverable tugs you’ll find today.

While you can continue to allow your employees to push heavy carts because they are ‘getting the job done,’ consider that ergonomically designed equipment will still help them complete their tasks with the added benefit of preventing strains and sprains that can harm your staff and your financial outlook.