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Six Tips for Keeping Your Warehouse Clean

No matter how advanced your warehouse equipment is, that’s only part of the equation for improved productivity. A clean warehouse makes work processes more efficient and reduces down time due to workplace injuries.

Here’s a helpful list of the top tips for keeping your warehouse neat and organized.

Set a Consistent Schedule

When you let laundry and dirty dishes pile up at home, you end up with monumental tasks that are tedious and time-consuming. The same is true with warehouse cleaning. Establish a schedule of daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly tasks based on importance to the work flow.

Empty Trash Bins Regularly

The trash room is a hot spot for injuries. Make sure bins are emptied before they become overloaded.

Establish a Clean-As-You-Go Policy

Don’t let employees get in the habit of putting off cleanup until “later,” which never comes. A task or project shouldn’t be considered finished until any mess is tidied up.

Assign Cleaning Zone Responsibilities

Does productivity slow down during shift changes, when oncoming workers have to clean up the mess left behind by the previous group? Give each employee a specific area to be maintained before clocking out every day.

Provide Cleaning Supplies

Employees shouldn’t have to waste valuable time hunting for brooms, paper towels or other supplies. Keep an adequate stock on hand and conveniently available.

Keep Inventory Turning

Outdated stock creates a cluttered appearance and makes warehouse cleaning unnecessarily difficult.

Simplify Warehouse Operations with Battery-Powered Warehouse Equipment

DJ Products offers a full selection of electric tugs, movers and pushers that make it easy for employees to quickly transport heavy loads and keep aisles and work areas clear. Use our convenient online chat feature and get prompt assistance from our cheerful sales engineers.

Considerations for Safety and Ergonomics with Using Flexible Conveyors in Your Warehouse

Flexible conveyors are valuable pieces of warehouse equipment that reduce the amount of manual handling required during day-to-day operations. The conveyors are often used in areas such as the gap between a truck and a dock where a permanent system isn’t practical.

Make sure you get the full benefits of flexible conveyors by implementing these safety tips.

Enforce Use of the Flexible Conveyor

While flexible conveyors make their jobs easier, employees may still resist using them. Some people won’t see the value of flexible conveyors, and others simply object to change of any kind. Use of the conveyors shouldn’t be an optional part of the job.

Establish a Training Program

Flexible conveyors aren’t complicated, but there are specific procedures that allow maximum productivity and safety. Institute employee training covering issues such as total weight capacity and locking and unlocking casters. This is also a good way to educate workers on the advantages of conveyors.

Perform Regular Maintenance

As with all warehouse equipment, flexible conveyors need regular maintenance to ensure top performance. At a minimum, follow the manufacturer’s recommended schedule.

Follow Basic Safety Rules

– Make sure clothes, jewelry and hair are kept clear of the conveyor at all times.

– Once the conveyor is positioned for use, lock the casters down.

– Take care to keep fingers and hands out of rollers, skatewheels and side links.

– When transitioning from dock to trailer, use of a dock plate should be mandatory. Be sure to pull the conveyor onto the plate from the front.

DJ Products: Your First Choice for High-Quality Warehouse Equipment

We offer a full line of electric tugs, pushers and movers to accommodate any warehouse application. Visit our website where our friendly sales engineers are standing by to answer your questions.

Summer Warehouse Pests – What to Look Out for in June and July

Warehouses are prime targets for invading pests. Insects, birds, and rodents wreak costly havoc on large structures. In the warmer months of June and July, pests can sully workspaces and quality warehouse equipment. Rodent infestation is an especially worrisome problem and has been accountable for spreading more than 50 known diseases. Implementing common sense safeguards can ensure your employees and your investments remain secure.

Safeguard Quality Workers and Warehouse Equipment

Protecting your employees and safeguarding quality machinery like those offered by DJ Products is important to the success of your business. Pests climb into the electrical portions of warehouse equipment and gnaw or loosen wiring. When pests attack, chances of workspace equipment accruing damage grows.

Pest problems decrease your bottom line and increase the potential for a bad review. You can safeguard your workers and the warehouse equipment they use by investing in a time-tested pest control regimen. Daily diligence promotes ideal working conditions.

One way to ensure pests don’t eat up your products or profits is by thoroughly checking key areas. Below are some warehouse areas birds, rodents, and insects love to hide in:

– HVAC Systems

– Loading Docks

– Overhead Doors/Rafters

– Hole-ridden Pipes

– Wooden Pallets

– Dumpster areas

– Warehouse Equipment

Safety Tips

Advising employees to look before they grab products or move waste bins can have a positive and instant effect. Utilizing DJ Products that alleviate potential for injuries like dumpster movers decreases the likelihood pest contact points occur. Receiving scratches or bites from pests such as mice/rats may result in infection.

Premium machinery also saves warehouse workers from unnecessary muscle strain. Multi-functioning equipment lowers on-the-job injuries by acting as “middle-man” to promote safer, more efficient working conditions.

Safeguarding against pests or pain, DJ Products can help your warehouse stay professional!

Five Tips to Turn Your Warehouse into a Clean and Organized Space

Housekeeping isn’t just for your home. Clutter and debris in the workplace can negatively impact employee productivity and efficient performance of warehouse equipment while increasing risk of injury.

Don’t let good cleaning practices get lost in the hectic rush of day-to-day operations. Here are some expert tips to keep your warehouse organized and clutter-free.

Establish a Cleaning Schedule

Take a week to analyze operations and determine areas where clutter tends to accumulate. Pay careful attention to loading docks, workstations and other high-traffic spots.

If it’s within your budget, consider hiring an outside cleaning service. Otherwise, create a specific list of cleaning tasks and add them to the daily, weekly or monthly schedule where appropriate. Keep cleaning supplies in strategic locations for employees’ convenience.

Use the Right Warehouse Management Software

When workflows are poorly organized, it’s reflected in a cluttered and messy warehouse. Effective warehouse management software optimizes productivity and eliminates inefficient procedures.

Evaluate Warehouse Floor Plan and Storage

Do warehouse aisles, workstations and storage areas follow a logical set-up? Minimize clutter with a floor plan that reduces employee travel time and eliminates traffic bottlenecks.

Streamline Picking and Order Fulfillment Procedures

Implement a picking method that’s best suited for your business and organize inventory accordingly. Keep warehouse equipment located in proximity to bulkier items.

Eliminate Slow-Moving Items

SKUs that don’t turn do nothing more than take up space that’s better used for more profitable items. Assess your product line and look for opportunities to remove items that don’t meet an acceptable turnover rate.

Improve Efficiency with Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Does your current warehouse equipment help or hinder efforts to maintain a clean and organized workplace? Call 800.686.2651 for information about our CartCaddyLite and other electric tugs, movers and pushers.

The Future of the Warehouse – Mobile Robotic Order Pickers

Every year the threat of work-related injuries is disconcerting for the millions of warehouse workers and employers that drive our economy. Tens of billions of dollars are spent by employers annually to address work-related accidents. Technological advances that have been introduced to the business industry are offering life-changing solutions to address mounting safety concerns. It’s easy to open the door to new safer working conditions when robotics plays a key role in bettering your workplace environment and your manufacturing capabilities.

The Best in Material Handling Equipment

Mobile robotic order pickers are quickly becoming the new normal in warehouses. Repetitive motion is a common cause of labor force injuries. Robotic machinery is even now being programmed to organize, pick and move hard-to-reach orders in warehouses across the world. The right robotics can alleviate any excessive strenuous labor your dedicated workforce engages in. At DS Products, we offer the benefits of complex machines to complete tasks that wear on our employees and their physical capacities. Material handling equipment such as these product types below allow enterprising companies to expand production and keep loyal workers from overexertion:

*Industrial Cart Movers

*Bin Pullers

*Aircraft Tow Tugs

*Trailer, Vehicle and Equipment Movers

Running On Robotics

Reaching for packages on high shelves while using ladders or other precarious means can be dangerous. In fact, falls from high places on the job were in the top 10 causes of work injuries. Robotic machinery such as pullers, pushers or various movers is time-saving and allows your employees to expend their energy on more important tasks without the threat of incurring minor or life-altering injuries.

Peruse DJ Products today to find quality material handling equipment that uses technology to counteract safety concerns and unneeded expense.

Summer Tips to Keep Your Staff Cool in an Un-Air-conditioned Warehouse

Summer is quickly approaching and with it comes rising temperatures. For warehouse employees who are diligently working inside, summer months are something to dread. Spacious work areas are difficult to warm and extremely expensive to cool. So how can employees and their conscientious employers gain some relief from the heat? Check below for a few easy-smart heat-battling tips!

Prepping for the Heat

Extreme heat conditions are trying on the body in any environment, and especially on the job. In buildings that are vulnerable to intense temperatures, your employees often battle exhaustion, dehydration and other trying ailments related to heat. On the business side, difficult working conditions lower productivity and increase the potential for threatening and costly safety issues. Here are some summer heat solutions you can implement to create better on-the-job experiences for your hard-working base:

– Make sure to inspect the insulation. If the warehouse building is properly insulated, heat can’t find its way in quite as easily.

– Add ceiling fans. They are affordable options that allow for good air flow to permeate large areas.

– Fight humidity. By running dehumidifiers, removed moisture often brings instant cooling relief.

– Inform your workers of heat dangers. Knowledge is an elemental factor in preventing dangerous accidents. Self-awareness plays a part in lessening the chances of incurring injury related to high heat levels.

– Purchase durable material handling equipment. High-functioning material handling equipment performs well in various temperatures. Heat wreaks havoc on machines that run too hot. Hot machinery produces excessive heat. The right products simplify worker tasks rather than create more troublesome problems.

Ensure good working conditions continue by employing the proper preventative procedures. And when you utilize quality material handling equipment like those offered by DJ Products, productivity and employee morale will increase!

How to Keep Birds Away from Your Open Warehouse Dock Doors

Birds may think your material handling equipment makes attractive perches, but a warehouse is no place for our feathered friends. In addition to being a nuisance, birds can create serious safety risks and impact productivity.

Here are some expert recommendations for products to help prevent birds from entering your open warehouse dock doors.

Netting

Netting is a great way to block birds while still allowing doors to remain open. Mesh is available in different sizes to accommodate types of birds prevalent in your area, and material is flame-resistant, rot- and water-proof.

Vinyl Strip Doors

Vinyl strips come in both standard and custom sizes to fit any type of door, interior or exterior. The flat strips overlap to provide a secure barrier, but they’re flexible enough to allow passage for workers and material handling equipment.

Bird Repellent Gel

Bird repellent gel is non-toxic to both humans and birds. The transparent, odorless substance works by making surfaces too sticky for birds to land on. There are several brands on the market, and the gel is applied easily with a standard caulking gun.

Sonic Deterrents

Birds are subject to a number of natural predators. Sonic deterrents use pre-recorded calls from these predators to send birds off in search of safer quarters. This product is made with UV-protected materials so it’s weather-resistant, and it includes a handy volume control.

Spikes

Stainless steel bird spikes have blunt edges, so they don’t cause physical harm. It’s simply more awkward for birds to land on a surface with spikes attached. The plastic base strips are flexible enough to allow mounting on curved or contoured surfaces.

Contact DJ Products for Your Material Handling Equipment Needs

Call 800.686.2651 to learn more about our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers.

Five Summer Warehouse Staffing Tips

Is your business staffed and equipped to handle the holiday crunch? From Valentine’s Day to Christmas, every industry has its busy seasons. Now’s the time to start staffing and determining your need for material handling equipment – before mistakes that lead to shipment issues and injuries ruin your reputation.

Five Staffing Tips for Managing Seasonal Operations Employees:

1. Bring back the best.
Stay in contact with the best holiday workers from previous seasons, contacting them by phone, text or postcard to invite them to return. Bonus: These workers are already trained. Be sure to note the potential for a year-round position for top-performing candidates to encourage returns. A system based on attendance, productivity, and teamwork (over seniority) can fuel performance.

2. Enlist a skilled staffing agency.
A strong partnership with a temp agency can help you build your staffing resources. Look for providers who can supply you with workers in hours, if necessary. Aim to be a business BFF to top agencies to ensure top-quality employees. Keep staffing agencies on-point with a list of busy seasons, giving them as much notice for temporary labor as possible.

3. Involve team leaders with hiring.
Team-up with HR. You need more than warm bodies to build a skilled team.

4. Try a trial run.
Have test runs several times before peak season, identifying top performers and requesting their services for holiday spikes.

5. Pay well.
Pay rates above minimum wage are a huge motivator, weeding out those who don’t want to work in favor of quality staffers.

Stocked up on staff? Ensure both new and seasoned and employees have the material handling equipment they need for success. Prevent injuries and streamline your shipping operation with the help of DJ Products today.

For Hotels – “The Times, They Are a Changing”

Technology is Changing Hotels

From the rise of Millennials to the advent of Airbnb, the last decade has seen a number of trends that have dramatically influenced the hospitality industry. Here’s a look at some of the ways hotels have been changing to meet the demands of modern times.

1. Focused Service Hotels

Hotels used to include swimming pools, fitness centers and other amenities in an effort to be all things to all people. Today there’s been a shift to focused service hotels that design their brand around the needs of specific segments such as business and conference travelers, or event hosting.

2. Decline in Surge Pricing

Hotel room pricing used to follow the fluctuations of supply and demand, rising during peak times like sporting events or conventions. Airbnb has become a viable alternative to traditional lodging, forcing hotels to be more competitive with pricing.

3. Expansion of Brands

At one time, hotels built their brand around a recognizable profile that let travelers know exactly what to expect. Now major players such as Hilton and Marriott encompass a wide range of brands to capture market share in all segments, from budget to luxury.

4. Influence of Millennials

Many hotels are integrating features and amenities to accommodate tech-savvy guests in their 20s and 30s who are prone to combine leisure with business travel.

Improve Housekeeping Efficiency with Hospitality Industry Motorized Carts

Hospitality industry motorized carts from DJ Products let your staff move heavy bundles of linens and other housekeeping supplies quickly and safely. Visit our website and chat with our sales engineers about the best solution for your applications.

Hotel Industry Gripes About Airbnb and Illegal Hotels

AirBnB is competing with hotels.

Short-term rental company Airbnb has become a major player in the hospitality business, but is it on the level? A recent industry report shows that the home-sharing service may actually be giving some commercial business operators an unfair and illegal advantage.

Home-Sharing or De Facto Hotels?

Airbnb has widely publicized its concept of matching travelers with people renting out space in their homes. According to a recent report sponsored by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and conducted by CBRE Hotels America, true home-sharing accounts for less than 20 percent of Airbnb’s business.

So what makes up the rest of Airbnb’s multi-billion-dollar revenue? The report states that it comes from “whole-unit rentals where the owner is not present,” which skate dangerously close to being commercial properties like hotels yet are not subject to the same regulations and taxes.

Findings are based on data from Airbnb’s bookings over a two-year period from October 2014 through September 2016. More than 50 percent of the company’s revenues in Miami and Oahu, two major travel destinations, came from hosts with multiple units as opposed to individual residences.

Airbnb Answers Back

Not surprisingly, Airbnb is refuting the report’s findings. Company spokesperson Ben Breit claims that many of their commercial listings actually come from AHLA member properties.

Hospitality Industry Powered Carts from DJ Products

Is your hotel’s housekeeping staff working as efficiently as possible? Our hospitality industry powered carts let employees provide excellent customer service by turning rooms quickly while avoiding injuries due to excess pushing, pulling and twisting.

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