Tag: Material Handling

Introducing the Chain Drive Cart Caddy

How many of your employees does it take to move 50,000 pounds worth of product? If you’re using the Chain Drive CartCaddy from DJ Products, the answer is only one. This heavy-duty tug is one of the most powerful in our line of battery-powered material handling solutions.

Thanks to the 2,000 pounds of horizontal push and pull force generated by its 6 hp motor, this tug lets you do away with fork lifts and other traditional movers. Do your loads require a lot of turning and maneuvering through tight aisles? Addition of the Power Mover attachment allows for a full 90 degree turning radius.

Like all our products, the Chain Drive CartCaddy is designed with employee safety in mind. Features such as the variable speed twist grip help to prevent repetitive stress injuries that are all too common in material handling. There is also a safety stop switch on the back of the tug in case of emergencies.

Our Chain Drive CartCaddy is powered by three 12-volt batteries with enough life to usually last through two shifts. It smoothly accelerates up to 2 mph in both forward and reverse, preventing frustration due to lag time waiting for the mover to catch up with the operator.

Regardless of the size of your company or warehouse, we have a full range of material handling solutions to fit any applications. Let our friendly Sales Engineers assist you in finding the correct answer for your needs. Call 800.686.2651 or use our convenient online chat feature and become a member of Team CartCaddy today.

Ergonomic Mobile Applications

We recently read about a mobile app that was designed to help improve ergonomics in the workplace. With this app, people can see photos different postures that might lead to injury at work and get information on ways to improve posture as well as learn about exercises they can do at work to reduce injury. This is a great way to increase awareness about the importance of correct posture.

However, before the term “app” was used to refer to programs created for mobile devices, it was part of word “application.” And for some people, a mobile app will not be enough to reduce injury in the workplace but a mobile application that they can use as they complete their work tasks can make all the difference.

A DJ Products Industrial Power Mover can eliminate the strain of manually pulling heavy products, parts carts and wheeled equipment. Our material handling solutions or “mobile apps” can also eliminate bulky, expensive lift trucks.

Our CartCaddy power movers comes in many different shapes and sizes to handle wheeled applications that operate with racks, carts, and casters. They are designed to move with employees so they do not have to overexert themselves to push or pull in ways that can damage the musculoskeletal system.

If you have seen a number of workers who need to go on disability due to injuries that relate to ergonomic issues, isn’t it time to apply a different kind of material handling solution?

Call us at 1-800-686-2651 so we can help you find material handling solutions that fit your workplace.

Introducing New Hospitality Applications for Motorized Carts

Business owners must constantly be preparing for coming changes and watching for new trends and products. That’s the reason this blog devotes space to those issues, as we have in the past week. As the country’s leading manufacturer of ergonomically-designed motorized material handling carts, we’ve learned that staying competitive in U.S. industry requires not only the flexibility and willingness to embrace new ideas, but the innovative thinking to see new applications for your products in the workplace. Innovative applications of DJ Products’ ergonomic carts originally developed for health care and manufacturing markets have opened new opportunities in the hospitality industry. When you visit our website, you’ll find a new product category for Motorized Carts for Hospitality, Hotel, and Industrial Environments. 

DJ Products has found that many of the same tasks performed in hospital and industrial settings are also performed by employees at hotels, motels, resorts and casinos. All must push heavy carts filled with dirty linens or cleaning supplies. All sometimes need to move heavy equipment, whether it’s an EKG machine or a one-armed bandit. All need to move materials and supplies from one point to another, usually through narrow and crowded hallways. And all have to haul trash. With the click of your mouse, it’s now easy to find and examine all of these commonly used material handling products in one place by clicking on the new link to Motorized Carts for Hospitality, Hotel, and Industrial Environments from DJ Products home page.

Our expanded listing of motorized powered carts and equipment for the hospitality and hospital industries includes: housekeeping carts, dirty linen carts, wire carts for clean linens, powered and electric flatbed carts, a motorized dump hopper for trash and debris, and more heavy-duty motorized industrial carts and powered movers for handling bigger, heavier, more unwieldy loads. We even offer a motorized cart retro kit that can be adapted and installed on any cart, turning your old carts into money-saving models of ergonomic efficiency.

All of DJ Products’ material handling products are built to maneuver economically and safely in confined spaces. The ergonomic, walk-behind design of all of our products provides clear sight lines, ensures easy maneuverability and protects the health and safety of operators. Forward-thinking business owners who recognize coming trends are already embracing ergonomics as the wave of the future. To find out more about DJ Products’ ergonomically-designed powered carts and movers, visit our website and talk to one of our ergonomic engineers. At DJ Products, the future is now!

Highlighting the Roll Pusher

Moving square and rectangular objects around your warehouse can be difficult enough. How do you handle round items like rolls and spools? Our CartCaddy Roll Pusher takes the awkwardness out of transporting these often troublesome objects.

The size and weight of rolls makes them difficult to handle manually. Our CartCaddy has a front-mounted adjustable roller system that pushes against the bottom of the object being moved. This applies pressure to the tires, picking up traction, while the rollers turn in the opposite direction to move the object forward.

Ergonomically designed twist grips on the handlebars allow the operator to start forward momentum without accelerating too quickly. The object will slow down or speed up following the pace of the pusher. Thanks to the ease and smoothness of the operation, the job can be handled by a single employee.

The pusher operates on a 36 volt three-battery system that will generally last two shifts on a single charge. It’s powerful enough to handle loads up to 20,000 pounds. The rollers extend outside the profile of the pusher, making it easy to separate objects that are stacked alongside each other.

Team CartCaddy has a solution for your material handling applications, no matter how big or small. Our line of tugs and tows can handle loads up to 50,000 pounds and their ergonomic design helps prevent many of the most common workplace injuries. Call 800.686.2651 or visit our website and use our handy chat feature to get immediate assistance from our friendly Sales Engineers.

How Ergonomics Increases Productivity and Quality

In our last post we talked about how ergonomically designed material handling equipment improves worker health and safety by reducing expensive and potentially debilitating musculoskeletal injury. Business owners also realize measurable increases in worker productivity and product quality when ergonomic equipment and procedures are introduced into the workplace.

Most industrial equipment and work procedures were originally designed for occasional use, not the high-pressured, repetitive, long shifts found in the modern work place. By designing equipment that adjusts to the physical size and capabilities of each individual worker and by structuring work procedures to eliminate uncomfortable body positions during task performance, ergonomics decreases fatigue on muscles while increasing worker comfort. This enables workers to continue working comfortably without the frequent breaks they would otherwise need to stretch and rest tired muscles. Workers remain fresh and energized and can work comfortably through an entire shift. The result is decreased injury, better worker morale and increased worker productivity resulting in improved product quality. Ergonomics produces a win-win scenario for business owners and their employees.

Implementation of an effective ergonomic plan requires a three-pronged approach that involves engineering, administration and work practice modifications.

  • Engineering modifications may include changes in equipment and tools used, workstation modifications and changes in the way tasks are performed. Because engineering modifications produce the greatest reduction or elimination of physical risk, they also result in the greatest cost savings. Reduced physical risk reduces the medical, insurance, disability and lost man-hour costs of potentially debilitating musculoskeletal injury. On its website, DJ Products provides an invaluable Ergonomic Load Calculator that can be used to estimate the force needed to move loads in a variety of workplace environments and recommend ergonomic solutions to your material handling problems.
  • Administration modifications involve alterations to the work organization and/or workplace culture. While less expensive to implement, results are also less reliable in that they depend entirely on human compliance. Administrative modifications may include education and training in ergonomic procedures, restructuring job responsibilities to minimize repetitive tasks, worker/task rotation, increasing the frequency or duration of break periods for certain tasks, improving workers’ physical conditioning and developing oversight programs.
  • Work practice modifications include the development of ergonomic procedures for the performance of each individual task, worker training and oversight.

The initial investment in ergonomics may seem to be considerable, but the benefits — and long-term savings — far outweigh the costs and continue long after the initial investment is recouped.

Monday: How ergonomics saves money

Invest in Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions

They say you have to spend money to make money but deciding which expenditures are worthwhile is certainly not easy. Business owners have to concern themselves with the bottom line, often cutting costs to make sure that they don’t wind up on the red. But one area where you might want to consider spending more instead of cutting back is material handling solutions. You may think that not investing in things like industrial power movers or motorized carts will save money because you spend less…but what you are not considering is how much inadequate equipment can cost you in the long run.

Your workers have their own budgets and bottom lines to be concerned about and they may remain silent about the pains and strains of manually pulling and pushing heavy carts and other wheeled equipment because they don’t want to ruffle any feathers. Unfortunately, this means that there may suffer micro-tears and muscle strain that over time gets worse until one day there is an injury that warrants medical attention. In some workplaces, the thought of having just one or two key workers out on medical leave is enough to send management into a panic. It is one thing if employees fall ill or get injured away from the job; having employees suffer injuries at work that could have been prevented with the right equipment is another matter entirely.

Our material handling solutions are not one-size-fits-all: DJ Products will work with you to customize our products so they suit the needs of your workers. Call is at 800-686-2651 to speak with a Sales Engineer today.

Consolidation Mergers Can Strengthen U.S. Industry

Consolidation is the new industry watchword. As we discussed in our last post, industry experts expect consolidation to affect every sector of the U.S. economy as we struggle to climb out of the current recession. The good news is that some experts, particularly Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, are now cautiously predicting an end to the recession this year. Echoing a statement he made to Congress last month, Bernanke said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes this week that if the government’s shoring up of the U.S. banking system succeeds, “… we’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year.”

That doesn’t mean that U.S. business will return to its pre-crash ways. The hard lessons learned during the past year are expected to have a lasting impact on U.S. businesses. Savvy business owners are expected to continue leaner, more-efficient practices adopted during the recession to protect themselves against a still uncertain future. But we’re not out of the woods yet. Consolidation is playing a major role in weeding out weak and under capitalized players and broadening the scope of strong companies. Consolidation mergers could play a significant role in strengthening U.S. industry across the board.

In a March 16, 2009 article posted on SupplyChainDigest online, Materials Handling Editor Cliff Holste says, “SCDigest predicts the automated materials handling industry will soon see rapid consolidation …” Holste reports that a merger between two of the conveyor systems industry’s biggest suppliers is imminent, barring any last minute glitch. It could be the first of many. Holste and SCDigest believe the material handling industry is ripe for consolidation. Contributing factors include:

  • Over-abundance of suppliers in a shrinking market. Even before the recession, Holste reminds us that many industry watchers didn’t believe there was enough business to support all the players profitably. The recession just accelerated what might have been a slower winnowing of the ranks.
  • Consolidation allows companies to increase their product and customer scope while cutting expenses, primarily in personnel cuts across the board. Mergers “can goose profits of the combined companies,” Holste notes, while nearly halving expenses.
  • Well capitalized companies are buying out poorly capitalized ones resulting in stronger firms better able to withstand the economy’s financial roller coaster and provide long-term products and services to their clients. 

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. 

Light Glimmers at End of Tunnel

A light is beginning to glimmer at the end of the tunnel. Financial gurus are now predicting that the recession will ease by the end of the year. That’s the prognosis of financial experts assembled by Dow Jones Indexes to assess the effect of President Obama’s stimulus package and the government’s efforts to combat the economic recession.

Gus Faucher, director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Ecomony.com, told David Pitt of the Associated Press that he expects the economy to pull out of America’s longest post World War II recession by the end of the year, ending 24 months of trials and tribulations. Experts expect unemployment to peak at 10% by mid year, thanks primarily to the federal $787 billion stimulus package. Without government intervention, Faucher said unemployment increases would have continued throughout 2009, rising to 12% and possibly higher.

“That would take what is now a severe recession and actually turn it into a deep depression,” Faucher told the Associated Press. “We think the fiscal stimulus package is vital in turning around attitudes toward the economy.”

The assembled financial gurus also predicted a mid-year turn around in home sales with a slow rise in prices expected in the last quarter of 2009. While home prices are not expected to return to the inflated values of two years ago, prices will definitely improve from their current record lows. Home prices are currently running at 35% their average value.

As federal programs buy up toxic assets, banks and financial firms will stabilize. Financial experts expect credit to be available again by the third quarter of this year. While credit terms and standards will be tougher than during the feeding frenzy that led to the current collapse, credit will be obtainable by both businesses and consumers.

All of this is good news for struggling American companies and consumers. Of course, given the size of the federal debt it’s taken to stop the bleeding, we’ll be paying for this for years to come. But it is heartening to hear from the specialists that the patient will live.

At DJ Products, we’ve never doubted that America would recover. Sure, we’ve been as concerned as everyone else; but Americans are tough fighters. Sometimes it seems that we’re at our best when we’re cornered. A lot of businesses have had to cut back, lay off and make tough choices during the current crisis. But the worst is nearly over and it’s time to think about the future. As everyone gets back on their feet, we want you to know that you can depend on quality DJ Products’ material handling products and our superior customer service to help you get back in the game.