Injury Prevention Archives

Prevent Injuries with Our Warehouse and Distribution Center Safety Tips

Plastic Pallets for a Safer Workplace

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Nowhere is this more applicable than in a warehouse or distribution center, where our Trailer Dolly and these practical tips can help prevent costly workplace injuries.

Don’t Miss the Forest for the Trees

Some workplace incidents, such as forklift accidents, can result in serious and even life-threatening injuries. As a result, companies often focus on prevention of these types of occurrences.

Unfortunately, minor injuries, such as sprains and cuts, may be overlooked and considered an unavoidable side effect of warehouse work. In reality, such injuries can add up to the point where they create a negative impact on employee morale, workplace productivity and company profitability.

Injuries that fall in this category include:

- Sprains and strains from overexertion and repetitive movements, frequently affecting the lower back
- Cuts and splinters, which are easily treated but can lead to serious infections when exposed to the non-sterile environment of a warehouse or distribution center
- Slips, trips and falls may cause minor embarrassment and major physical injuries

Tips to Prevent Workplace Injuries

1. Switch to Plastic Pallets

Many musculoskeletal injuries come from lifting heavy items. Plastic pallets are lightweight, well within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, and their smooth lines eliminate splinter hazards.

2. Institute a Program of Ergonomic Evaluation and Training

Handling small items can still cause injury if a worker is using poor form. Provide ongoing training in ergonomic practices and have managers review common daily tasks to see where there’s room for improvement. Check with your insurance carrier for any safety training programs they may offer.

3. Equip Workers with Protective Gear

The body’s extremities are some of the more vulnerable areas. Sturdy, rubber-soled boots protect feet from cuts and bruises as well as help prevent slips and falls, while plastic gloves safeguard cuts and splinters in hands and keep others from occurring.

Trailer Dolly and Other Eco-Friendly Material Handling Solutions

Boost workplace morale by demonstrating your commitment to employee safety. Contact us at 800.686.2651 to learn which of our comprehensive selection of tugs, movers and pushers is best suited for your specific application.

Top Tips for Preventing Back Injuries in the Warehouse Workplace

Health and Safety is Key

Your back is meant to last a lifetime, but a workplace injury can result in a lifetime of chronic pain instead. Here’s a look at proper warehouse equipment and other ways to minimize the risk of back injuries in your warehouse.

Tips for Preventing Back Injuries in the Workplace

• Muscle tightness restricts flexibility, increasing the likelihood of tears and sprains. Take frequent breaks to stretch and move around.

• Poor posture puts undue strain on the spine. Make it a point to keep head, shoulders and pelvis in line, with feet about shoulder-width apart. Gently tighten abs and buttocks, but refrain from overall tension.

• Wear sturdy and supportive footwear. Appropriate work gear will protect your feet as well as your back. Place rubber mats at work stations and other areas where employees stand for long periods of time.

• When sitting, keep your back firmly against the chair’s backrest with feet flat on the ground and knees aligned with hips. Adjust the height of the chair as needed so you can comfortably rest your arms at elbow height. If you handle transportation in-house, these guidelines apply to truck drivers as well.

• Keep heavy loads on shelves and other elevated surfaces whenever possible to alleviate strain when lifting.

• Twisting, pushing and pulling are the main causes of musculoskeletal injuries. Use appropriate warehouse equipment when transporting product to loading docks and other areas.

Improve Workplace Safety with Electric Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

With battery-powered warehouse tugs, pushers and movers such as our popular CartCaddyLite, a single employee of any size, age or sex can easily move heavy loads. Our warehouse equipment is also ergonomically designed to prevent repetitive motion injuries.

Call 800.686.2651 to learn more from our sales engineers.

Save Manpower Hours, Stop Injuries with the WasteCaddy

Pushing Dumpster up an Incline can cause injury and be a 2 man operation.

Trash rooms may be fairly low-tech, but they’re the site of most injuries that happen to maintenance employees. Improve workplace safety and conserve manpower with an electric WasteCaddy dumpster pusher from DJ Products.

Here are the top reasons why you need a WasteCaddy for your workplace.

1. Increased Efficiency

It takes a minimum of two people to move a dumpster manually, so using a dumpster pusher automatically boosts efficiency by 50 percent. As one of our clients puts it, “It’s like having another employee on staff.”

2. Ease of Operation

• The WasteCaddy quickly attaches to a dumpster’s existing bracket, or you can fasten one of ours. Can’t attach items to your dumpster? We’ll work with you to create a method that suits your needs.

• Does the dumpster need to be moved through narrow passages and around sharp corners? Our WasteCaddy pivots a full 90 degrees to negotiate the most awkward areas.

3. Cost-Effective

• Our clients estimate that they save 16 man-hours per month.

• With the average workers compensation claim averaging more than $40,000, the WasteCaddy provides an 8-to-1 return on investment.

4. Lower Risk of Injury

Workplace injuries are frequently caused by overexertion from lifting heavy weights or stress from repetitive movements. With the WasteCaddy, an employee of any size, age or gender can move dumpsters weighing up to 5,000 pounds, because the ergonomic design reduces stress on muscles and joints.

We have a full line of dumpster pushers to solve any of your workplace needs. Visit our website and use the handy online chat feature to learn more from our friendly and knowledgeable sales engineers.

Minimize Lifting Injuries with Dumpster Movers

Prevent Accidents From Happening!

How much time and money did workplace injuries cost you over the past year? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one-third of injuries involving lost time were the result of lifting.

Shoulder and back injuries are most often caused by overexertion and repetitive motion strain. Using a dumpster mover from DJ Products reduces injuries by eliminating these risk factors.

Do You Have Lifting “Best Practices” in Place?

There are currently no federal regulations for lifting standards, so it’s up to you to establish safety criteria for your workplace. The National Institute for Occupational Safety has created a “lifting equation” based on weight of the load, distance traveled by the lift, and physical motions of the employee.

Difficult Nature of Lifting Injuries

Most back injuries, such as pulled muscles or fractured vertebrae, occur to the lower spine. Recovery can take months, and it may involve surgery and physical therapy. Even with treatment, back injuries can result in chronic pain.

While you have a legal duty to maintain a safe workplace, negligence is not a requirement for filing a workers compensation claim. This fact increases the need to be proactive regarding injury prevention.

Maintain Efficiency and Reduce Injury Claims

Our popular WasteCaddy dumpster mover lets a single employee of any size, age and gender move loads of up to 5,000 pounds. The pivoting fifth wheel arm makes it easy to maneuver bulky dumpsters around corners and through narrow passages.

We have a full line of battery-powered dumpster movers to fit your needs. Visit our website and let our sales engineers help you find the best solution for you workplace.

Give Your Operation a Lift with Material Handling Tugs

Are you still utilizing pallet jacks and forklifts to transport loads in your warehouse or plant? Investing in power material handling tugs from DJ Products can pay long-term dividends thanks to increased efficiency and fewer work-related injuries.

With space often at a premium, the smaller, more manageable tugs offer quicker movement of material from place to place. Weight of the load is distributed over the drive wheels, increasing traction that allows for easy transport of even the heaviest materials. This also means that a single person can handle loads that usually require two or more people.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, a full 50 percent of work-related musculoskeletal disorders are back injuries. Each incident results in anywhere from seven to 21 days off the job. Material handling tugs provide an ease of operation that sharply reduces the danger of injury. They also include ergonomically designed features such as variable speed twist grips, eliminating factors that cause repetitive stress.

Safety is a prime standard in the design of our tugs. Emergency stop switches let operators quickly shut down if necessary, preventing injury as well as damage. Your employees will work with a greater sense of confidence, resulting in an overall boost in morale.

Our DJ Products line of material handling tugs includes the PartsCaddy and CarpetCaddy that can accommodate unusually shaped or oversized loads. No matter what your needs, you’ll find a style that fits. Our Sales Engineers are ready to help you find your perfect solution at 800-686-2651.

Tag: Injury Prevention