Tag: Material Handling

Material Handling Industry Moving to Clean, Green Electric Carts

“Cleaner, greener, smarter.” That’s how John Teresko characterized the material handling industry’s shift to electric battery-powered vehicles in a recent online article on Industry Week. “While the continuing transition to electric battery-powered lift trucks may suggest only environmental concern, the trend is really part of a broader search for new levels of performance and productivity,” he said. Over the past decade sales of electric trucks have gradually overtaken and surpassed sales of internal combustion models. The move to electric power is the most significant, most evident trend in the material handling industry.

While Teresko happened to be writing about forklift trucks, the move to clean-energy, electric battery-powered carts and tugs is universal across the landscape of the material handling industry. Fueled by a growing concern for the environment and skyrocketing fossil fuel costs, savvy businessmen have been trading in their gas- and diesel-powered vehicles in favor of cleaner, cheaper-to-operate electric battery-powered equipment. With the capacity to operate a full shift without recharge, electric battery-powered material handling equipment provides significant energy savings without any loss of productivity.

What Teresko didn’t mention is that forward-thinking manufacturers and business owners are moving away from forklifts altogether in favor of cheaper, more versatile, more efficient, safer, ergonomically-designed powered carts and movers. Heralding the next significant shift in the material handling industry, manufacturers are replacing forklifts with highly maneuverable powered movers that allow greater flexibility of use. Their smaller size and ability to maneuver in tight spaces and highly trafficked areas allow motorized carts and powered cart movers to be employed in a wide variety of tasks, increasing the flexibility and versatility of your material handling equipment resources.

Receiving equal consideration is the appallingly high accident/injury rate associated with forklifts. Ergonomically-designed powered carts, tugs and movers have a proven track record of reducing accidents and musculoskeletal injuries. Switching to ergonomically designed electric battery-powered movers results in a significant savings in medical, insurance, disability and workers’ compensation costs and has been proven to reduce absenteeism and lost man-hours. Investment costs are routinely recouped in the first year after purchase. Ergonomically-designed electric battery-powered material handling equipment is the industry’s next most important trend and savvy business owners are getting onboard.

Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions Improve Productivity

In our last post we talked about coming trends in warehousing. More companies are starting to outsource certain functions, such as logistics, as part of a program to increase efficiency and improve productivity. Outsourcing allows you to focus on your primary business model instead of stretching your resources to include secondary but essential functions such as logistics. The astute businessperson will realize that outsourcing is but one element of what must be a multi-directional effort to tighten efficiency and improve productivity in these difficult economic times.

Making a careful assessment of material handling equipment usage and associated costs — both direct and indirect — can have a significant affect on your bottom line.

  • With the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline going through the roof, replacing outdated equipment with fuel-efficient electric and battery-powered equipment can save thousands of dollars in fuel costs.
  • Replacing bulking, difficult to move equipment with highly maneuverable powered carts and tugs can improve workplace safety and worker morale and decrease lost man-hours from absenteeism and injury.
  • Installing ergonomically designed pushers, pullers and carts can save thousands of dollars a year in decreased medical, insurance and disability costs resulting from musculoskeletal injuries.
  • Implementing ergonomic practices in the workplace can improve worker morale considerably while increasing efficiency and productivity significantly. Retraining staff to utilize recognized ergonomic practices generally produces an immediate savings from reduced worker injuries and associated medical costs.

DJ Products specializes in providing affordable ergonomic solutions to material handling applications. Our highly trained staff can assist you in assessing your material handling needs and design solutions tailored to the specific needs of your business. For more information, visit the DJ Products website.

Why Do We Need Material Handling Solutions?

If you are new to an industry in which your employees labor in plants and warehouses, you may not be fully aware of the need for material handling solutions to assist with transporting goods. You may think that if you are supplying your employees with carts or trolleys that they should not need more than that to move products or raw materials around. What you may not realize is just how difficult and possibly dangerous it can be to just use a cart in certain situations.

While a cart or trolley may be equipped with casters, this does not mean it is equipped to handle all of the spaces and surfaces where your employees work. Slight inclines and tight corners may make it difficult to maneuver some types of wheeled equipment that would otherwise move with ease.

A tug from DJ Products can help ease possible muscle strain that could occur when an employee attempts to push or pull carts, especially ones with heavy loads. You can use our industrial tuggers to help transport carts with casters, carts that use 4-swivel casters or a wagon-wheel style of turning, and carts in a straight line. Not only can you avoid employee injury, you can also avoid collisions and accidents that might damage valuable raw materials or products.

It is our goal to provide solutions for material handling situations that are ergonomically correct, safe and cost effective. You can feel free to call us at 800-686-2651 if you are unsure as to which material handling solution will work best for you. Our Sales Engineers can provide recommendations. The will also be happy to explore custom applications where our base products match primary criteria.

Material Handling Solutions for the Auto Detailing Industry

Americans love their cars, and they tend to hang onto them for a long time. That’s doubly true in times like these. When the economy slows and prices rise, people keep their cars until time and mechanical failure finally take their toll. Some owners are able to stave off the inevitable for years, sometimes decades, with attentive maintenance and expert body care. America’s love affair with the automobile coupled with a tight economy has created a growth boom in the auto detailing and reconditioning industry.

For many Americans, their car or truck is an outward extension of their personality. Their ride is part of their personal image. The considerable time and money spent on detailing their car or truck on a regular basis is as much an investment in image as in prolonging the life of the vehicle. These customers demand perfection.

If you are an auto detailer or reconditioner, you’re well aware of the hours of painstaking labor that go into detailing a car and buffing the finish to the clear, deep gloss your customers demand. DJ Products has a product that allows you to move cars around your lot and in and out of service bays without damaging that carefully buffed finish. DJ Products’ CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher is perfect for auto detailers and reconditioners and vehicle service centers where cars must be moved short distances without damage.

The front push pad of the ergonomically-designed CarCaddy is made of a soft, durable, padded material specifically designed to preserve the paint and integrity of the vehicle. Even more, this compact, battery-powered pusher will prevent worker injury. No more pulled muscles and strained backs trying to muscle a vehicle into position. DJ Products’ CarCaddy does the “heavy lifting” so your workers can concentrate on serving your customers.

Auto Industry Retooling Should Include Ergonomics

The U.S. auto industry is starting to make its comeback. The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the first loans from the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program authorized by Congress to support the U.S. manufacture of energy-efficient cars and automotive components: 

  • Ford Motor Co. was granted $5.9 billion to retool factories in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio to manufacture fuel-efficient vehicles.  
  • Nissan North America received $1.6 billion to retool its Smyrna, Tennessee manufacturing plant to produce electric vehicles.
  • Tesla Motors got $465 million for production of advanced electric vehicles in California.

Other signs of industry recovery include Gestamp Corporation’s $90 million investment in a Chattanooga, Tennessee stamping operation to produce parts for Volkswagen’s new mid-sized sedan, and Ralco Industries’ $6.4 million expansion of its Pontiac, Michigan facility to increase production of welded assemblies  for the auto industry.

It’s a relief to finally see the first twitch of life in the U.S. auto industry. And it’s exciting to see the industry retooling for what promises to be a robust future. But along with forward-thinking changes in their product line, the auto industry should be implementing innovation changes in their production practices. Retooling initiatives should include ergonomic material handling equipment on the assembly line, on plant floors and in factory storage lots to ensure the protection of workers’ health and safety. The workers who made concessions in pay and health benefits to keep the auto companies alive deserve to work in an environment that promotes good health. The citizens who provided the cash that the government is using to fund the loans that are jump-starting new life into the auto industry deserve to know that every possible measure is being taken to create a financially lean manufacturing operation. Ergonomic material handling equipment accomplishes both goals.

Ergonomic equipment like DJ Products’ CarCaddy car and vehicle pusher pushes heavy equipment down an assembly. The CartCaddyLH electric tug can push a vehicle down a rail or be used to push/pull from station to station heavy carts of raw materials or parts weighing 10,000 to 50,000 pounds. The DealerCaddy car and truck pusher easily maneuvers cars and trucks around storage and dealer lots. All DJ Products’ material handling carts and movers are ergonomically designed to prevent expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries. Ergonomic equipment and practices have been proven to cut production time and costs, protect workers’ health and safety, improve worker morale, and significantly reduce the musculoskeletal injury expenses that cost U.S. businesses more than $150 billion each year. Including ergonomics in auto industry retooling efforts just makes sense — for the auto industry, for workers, and for taxpayers.

Nursing Home Volunteers Can Use Material Handling Solutions

There are plenty of uses for motorized cart pushers and industrial tuggers in nursing homes. Workers can use them to deliver patient medications and meals. Motorized laundry carts can be used to retrieve dirty laundry and then deliver clean laundry. Overall, material handling solutions can make it easier for nursing home workers to complete their tasks efficiently while avoiding unnecessary strain so they can concentrate on patients.

So we know that motorized carts can be used to deliver the things that nursing home residents need…but what about flowers?

NewsWorks reported about a New Jersey woman who has made it her mission to see to it that folks in the nursing home get a little cheer in their day via day-old grocery story bouquets. She picks up the day old bouquets and then transports them to several nursing homes, spending nearly three hours a day making her deliveries. The article says that Patricia Gallagher gets enough of these bouquets that would otherwise be tossed away to fill up a shopping cart…what it does not say is how she transports the bouquets from her car into and around the various nursing homes that she visits.

So yes, even nursing home volunteers can make use of material handling solutions. Instead of having to carry items in or relying on staff members to help (and taking them away from their duties), having a motorized cart available for volunteers and families who are distributing gifts or setting up donations would be a great idea.

Call 1-800-686-2651 to speak with one of our Sales Engineers to learn more about our products.

Ergonomic Design Lowers Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury

Manual material handling (MMH) contributes to more than half a million musculoskeletal injuries a year in the U.S., said a 2007 report published by the California Department of Industrial Relations. A joint study by California OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) found that “effective ergonomic interventions can lower the physical demands of MMH work tasks, thereby lowering the incidence and severity of the musculoskeletal injuries they cause. Their potential for reducing injury-related costs alone make ergonomic interventions a useful tool for improving a company’s productivity, product quality, and overall business competitiveness.”

Musculoskeletal injuries, primarily strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders and upper limbs, “can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them,” warns the report. Such injuries carry a double whammy for employers who “often find themselves paying the bill, either directly or through workers’ compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers.”

The report recommends adopting ergonomic solutions that reduce the physical demands of MMH tasks, including:

  • Using simple transport devices like carts to move loads,
  • Eliminating lifting from the floor,
  • Using lift-assist devices like scissors lift tables, and
  • Analyzing and redesigning work stations and workflow.

Next time: The advantages of employing ergonomic solutions in your workplace. 

Get Ergonomic Material Handling Solutions and Retain Older Workers

Some older workers, particularly those who work in jobs that require them to use a certain amount of physical strength, are feeling nervous these days. They worry that if it seems like they cannot handle their work, they may see themselves replaced by younger workers. This fear may cause some older workers to attempt too much in order to prove their value to an organization. They may injure themselves not because they are too old, but because they strain themselves to prove their worth.

Today’s organizations need people of various ages to work together. Older workers have experience and know-how that younger workers do not have; young workers have fresh perspectives that can energize operations. Rather than lose older workers, you can see to it that all of your employees have ergonomic material handling equipment that prevents fatigue, muscle strain, and other injuries. You are probably well aware that it is costly to recruit, hire, and train a slew of new employees, so why not invest in making sure the ones you already have remain on the job?

A DJ Products Power Puller can maneuver in extremely tight spaces and ease the work of transporting hospital carts, laundry carts, maintenance carts and parts carts. These types of carts typically are less than 1500 lbs. and are generally maneuvered manually. Due to the nature of these carts’ uses, some organizations mainly assign elderly employees to maneuver them but our power pullers can also help younger employees as well. If our battery power puller is used, risks of fatigue and injury to valuable workers can be reduced.

Will Cap-and-Trade Spell Disaster for U.S. Manufacturers?

“Clean Energy Act Could Force Nearly 20 Percent of Manufacturers to Close” screamed the breaking news headline in the July 2, 2009 Special Edition of Manufacturing & Technology eJournal. According to the results of an informal reader survey conducted by the magazine, President Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade energy conservation program “could cause energy costs to skyrocket and fuel more unemployment.”

“More than 17 percent of those who answered [the survey] said they would have to shut down their business because there is no way they could handle the kinds of increases being predicted,” the magazine said about reader comments received on environmental strictures proposed by the Waxman-Markey climate change bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Nearly 1,000 readers responded to the Manufacturing & Technology survey, indicating the volatility of the cap-and-trade issue. Besides shuttering their businesses, readers warned that meeting currently proposed cap-and-trade requirements would cause them to raise prices by as much as 22%, institute layoffs or move to a 4-day work week. “Only nine percent [of survey respondents] said they would do their best to absorb the energy costs increases without making any changes,” the magazine said.

Many fear that cap-and-trade will have a disastrous effect on U.S. manufacturing. Senators in industrial states hard-hit by the recession like Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky are being lobbied to fight the cap-and-trade bill, now under consideration by the U.S. Senate. In an interview with Manufacturing & Technology eJournal, Kentucky’s Republican Senator Jim Bunning criticized the bill, saying, “The legislation is essentially an energy tax hike on small businesses and will raise electricity costs in Kentucky 90% by the year 2035.”

Whatever your personal stance on cap-and-trade, it seems inevitable that growing environmental concerns will spur the eventual passage of this or some similar bill in the not too distant future. Change is ever-present and savvy businessmen will accept and prepare for change. Moving to environmentally-friendly, clean-energy, battery-operated powered carts and movers today will lessen the burden of compliance tomorrow. To find out how DJ Products’ energy-efficient, ergonomically-designed material handling equipment can positively affect your operations, contact a sales engineer today.

Safety Factors Force Decline of Forklift Trucks

“When we think of unsafe operations, a fork lift truck tipping over is about as bad as it gets,” said Fork Lift Truck Association CEO David Ellison. “But it can and does get worse if the operator is not restrained. Indeed it gets a bloody site worse. Many people think this is something that couldn’t happen on their site … but we know it does … and more often than you would think!”

Ellison spoke those grim words in promotion of the European association’s 2008 Safety Conference. In the U.S., OSHA estimates that each year forklifts are responsible for 85 fatalities, 34,900 serious injuries and 61,800 non-serious injuries. Of the 855,900 forklifts in operation in the U.S., the Industrial Truck Association estimates that 11% will be involved in an accident this year. Since the useful life of a lift truck is 8 years, 90% of all forklifts will be involved in an accident during their useful life.

The major causes of forklift fatalities are:

  • 42% tipovers
  • 25% crushed between vehicle and a surface
  • 11% crushed between 2 vehicles
  • 10% struck or run over by a forklift
  • 8% struck by falling material
  • 4% fall from platform on the forks

For the past 20 years, forklifts have been the major cause of industrial deaths and accidents in the U.S. Nearly half of forklift fatalities (42%) occur in manufacturing facilities. Construction settings account for 24% of fatalities, followed by wholesale facilities (12.5%), transportation (11%), retail trade (9%) and mining (1.2%).

The likelihood of serious injury or death has spurred many manufacturers and businesses to limit and often entirely remove forklifts from their facilities. Motorized electric carts and tugs are able to perform most forklift tasks more efficiently, more economically and with much greater safety.