Tips for Proactive Accident Prevention in Your Warehouse

Tips for Proactive Warehouse Accident Prevention
Tips for Proactive Warehouse Accident Prevention

Our warehouse equipment is designed to optimize workplace safety, but there are still a number of risk factors that face your employees every day. Take a proactive approach and educate workers about situations that can lead to accidents and injuries.

Here’s a look at some of the more common workplace mishaps and how they can be prevented.

Slips, Trips and Falls

Most workplace accidents take the form of slips, trips or falls.

– Make sure that the warehouse aisles are free of obstructions.

– Promptly clean up spills of liquid or other loose materials.

– Instruct workers to constantly review their immediate area for any stationary or moving hazards.

– All elevated work areas should be protected by guardrails. Use safety harnesses whenever appropriate.

Fires

Fires can spread rapidly, so prevention is vital.

– Replace worn or damaged wires immediately.

– Handle all flammable materials with care.

– Maintain an adequate supply of fire extinguishers as mandated by regulations. Place them in easy-to-access locations.

– Ensure that all entrances and exits are clearly marked and kept free of obstacles.

Compression Accidents

Heavy objects such as machinery and loaded pallets can cause serious bodily harm.

– Employees should be made aware of areas where heavy objects are stored overhead.

– Stack all loads neatly to maintain balance. Avoid stacking items too high.

– Provide training for all warehouse equipment that includes moving parts.

– All employees on the work floor should keep a safe distance from forklifts, conveyor belts and other moving equipment.

Improve Workplace Safety with Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Are workplace injuries affecting productivity in your warehouse? Our electric movers, tugs and pushers are ergonomically designed to let a single employee move heavy loads without incurring common repetitive motion injuries.

Call 800.686.2651 for more information.

New Modular Robots Target Warehouse Logistics Operations

The Future of the Warehouse - Mobile Robotic Order Pickers
New Modular Robots Target Warehouse Logistics Operations

Are robots on your list of must-have warehouse equipment? They might be soon, thanks to an innovative California robotics start-up that’s targeting the warehouse logistics industry.

Fetch: The Evolution of a Robotics Company

Fetch, located in a modest office park in San Jose, rose from the ashes of Willow Garage, a robotics hardware company known for its PR2 platform. The PR2 was a Jetsons-like robot designed for both home and business use.

When Willow Garage folded in 2014, some of its staff members joined forces to found Fetch that same year. Fetch built capital from sales of its Mobile Manipulator and Freight Mobile Robots, which were patterned after the PR2 and sold largely to universities.

According to CEO Melonee Wise, the company decided to move beyond the scope of Willow Garage and focus on manufacturing and warehouse applications. Wise explains that they studied the market and discovered that the industry “looked like a pretty tractable problem” that could benefit from a robotics solution.

The Future of Robotics in Warehouses and Logistics

The team at Fetch is addressing this need with a round, modular hardware platform on wheels that’s been compared to an “oversized Roomba.” On-board intelligence systems guide the robots through a “semi-structured environment” while avoiding co-workers, both human and mechanical.

Other features include a proprietary cloud control platform and a graphical interface that make operations easy for non-roboticists. Wise says future plans include development of a system that can actually pick up and place objects, a skill long considered the “Holy Grail of robotics.”

State-of-the-Art Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Maximize manpower with our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers that allow a single employee to move loads weighing thousands of pounds. Contact us for more information.

Tips on Hiring Temporary Warehouse Staff from a Temp Agency

Tips on Hiring Temporary Warehouse Staff from a Temp Agency
Tips on Hiring Temporary Warehouse Staff from a Temp Agency

In a survey sponsored by warehousing and transportation company KANE, a flexible workforce was the second-most sought-after feature in a third-party logistics (3PL) provider. If you use temporary labor as a way to manage demand spikes, there’s more to it than making sure they can operate your warehouse equipment.

Managing temporary workers is not the same as managing your permanent workforce. Here are some valuable tips to optimize productivity and minimize problems with temporary labor.

1. Work with the Same People Whenever Possible

Maintain a log of temps you have employed along with a brief evaluation of their work. When you’re ramping up your staff, specifically request the associates who have done the best job for you.

2. Establish a Standard Training Protocol

No matter how experienced temps may be, you can’t afford to “wing it” with a few minutes of on-the-spot training. Create a program that outlines everything a temp needs to know to be a productive team member and build presentation time into that day’s schedule. Don’t forget to include information about the company’s culture and general policies.

3. Allocate Workloads Strategically

Leave the essential and more complicated tasks to your full-time staff. Assign temps to easier, less critical jobs.

4. Make Safety a Priority

Don’t assume that temps are familiar with basic health and safety practices, even if the procedures are industry-standard. Provide temps with written guidelines to safe working practices and emergency policies.

Maximize Safety and Efficiency with Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers are safe and easy to operate for both full-time and temporary workers. Visit our website and use the convenient online chat feature to learn more from our cheerful sales engineers.

Warehouse Execution Systems Use Pattern Prediction for Efficiency Improvements

Data Accumulation Uses Pattern Prediction
Data Accumulation Uses Pattern Prediction

Today’s advanced technology can gather unprecedented amounts of data on warehouse equipment, employee activity, inventory movement and other elements of your business. But the information on its own means nothing without analysis, interpretation and action.

Complete your warehouse management system (WMS) and warehouse control system (WCS) with the addition of a warehouse execution system (WES). Here are some of the top ways a WES can help you take your warehouse operations to the next level.

Determine Staffing Needs

Have you ever run into a situation where a project hadn’t been completed, but all allocated hours had been expended? WES software can more accurately predict how much manpower will be needed for specific tasks as well as identify the source of roadblocks that are preventing completion.

Optimize Workflow

Creating the optimal balance of space, labor and inventory can be a real juggling act, but just the slightest change in any of these factors can completely alter the workflow. WES can display performance levels at a glance so you can determine where adjustments need to be made.

Reduce Pick Times

Warehouse travel time is one of the biggest variables affecting productivity. WES software is sensitive enough to pick up on relationships that are often missed in manual analysis, allowing you to make changes exactly when and where they’re needed.

Establish and Track Goals

Productivity improvement is an ongoing process. WES can set and track goals for general performance along with more specific criteria such as putaways, replenishments and fork work.

WES and Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products: A Winning Combination

Our electric movers, tugs and pushers can help you achieve a number of productivity goals in your warehouse, from optimizing manpower to reducing workplace injuries. Call 800.866.2651 for more information.

Recyclable Corrugated Pallets and Their Advantages

Recyclable Corrugated Pallets and Their Advantages
Recyclable Corrugated Pallets and Their Advantages

In the United States, over two billion pallets are made annually and are the quintessential warehouse equipment. Pallets are vital for maintaining the integrity of a product, for storage and make tasks like moving and loading products much simpler. Still, they don’t last forever and they take up space in delivery.

Disposal of wooden pallets after breakage is costly and time-consuming. When they fail, injury to hard-working employees could occur. Recyclable corrugated pallets are the newer, safer, durable, and more cost-effective solution for multiple warehouse tasks.

Pros to Corrugated Pallets

Corrugated pallets have many benefits that appeal to the warehouse industries. Here are a few of them:

– They pack well. Unlike bulky wooden pallets, they ship flat taking up less space, which means lower shipping cost.

– Plastic and wooden pallets are weighty and difficult to move efficiently. Corrugated pallets are much lighter in weight, in part because of the alternative material used.

– The recyclable corrugated pallets are very customizable. They even come with water-resistant options. This works well for those who require warehouse equipment that can be adjusted to fit specific needs.

– Because they are recyclable, disposal of the corrugated pallets lower cost and the risk of injury by deconstruction.

Reliability Pays Dividends

In the same way, the right battery powered machinery can prevent injury by allowing for less employee-to-equipment contact, upping efficiency, and lowering labor costs.

Like the reliability, durability, and problem-solving of corrugated pallets, DJ products are tested and trusted to create simple solutions to tough problems. If you are seeking ways to keep your valued employees safe on the job, ease the workload with high-quality warehouse equipment that stands up under the weight of the load. Click here to find out more!

A Team-Oriented Warehouse Staff is a Productive Warehouse Staff

A Team-Oriented Warehouse Staff is a Productive Warehouse Staff
A Team-Oriented Warehouse Staff is a Productive Warehouse Staff

The finest warehouse equipment money can buy means nothing if the employees using it aren’t on the same page. How do you get a group of individuals working toward the same goal? Here are five helpful tips to build trust among your employees so they’re working as a team.

1. Be a Leader

Every team needs a leader, but that doesn’t mean someone who imposes their will on its members. Keep the lines of communication open and be prepared to listen to employees’ concerns and ideas. Don’t let other duties distract you from what’s happening on the warehouse floor.

2. Promote a Culture of Collaboration

Do your employees stay within the narrow “walls” of their job responsibilities? Start assigning groups of two or more to work on different projects. The jobs will be more interesting, they’ll get finished sooner and the employees will develop a bond of trust.

3. Conduct Cross-Training

When employees have a greater understanding of each other’s jobs, the team will function more smoothly and have a solid base for overcoming conflicts.

4. Plan Team Time Outside the Warehouse

It can be difficult to get a full appreciation of people and their personalities in a work environment. Social activities such as picnics and ball games provide a low-stress opportunity for employees to build friendships. Don’t make these gatherings mandatory, as that could end up being counterproductive.

5. Celebrate Success

Celebrating attainment of goals helps employees internalize their role in the company’s success and build their personal sense of worth.

State-of-the-Art Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers make the toughest warehouse jobs easier and reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Visit our website to learn more from our friendly sales engineers.

An Amazon Story: Productivity Metrics Cause Bizarre Employee Behavior

An Amazon Story: Productivity Metrics Cause Bizarre Employee Behavior
An Amazon Story: Productivity Metrics Cause Bizarre Employee Behavior

Dedicated warehouse employees deserve the best working conditions available. Maintaining high-quality efficient production and creating an environment that is considerate of employee needs can be a difficult task.

Productivity metrics can create pressurized, high-stress situations even for diligent employees. Those situations can become so intense that safety and in some cases healthy hygienic practices are compromised. To produce efficiency without compromising safety, quality labor-reducing machinery is needed.

The Premium Environment

A high-quality setting can produce premium results, by giving employees support through solutions that increase efficiency and productivity. A good working environment facilitates:

– Legal breaks for employees

– A tested and approved safety protocol

– Quality products are incorporated and used on a daily basis

– Frequent warehouse equipment checks

– A monitored rewards program

– Feedback from warehouse employees (make sure they feel safe while sharing their concerns or ideas)

Affordable Products Equal Big Pay-Off

If you worry about productivity in the workplace, evaluating all areas that may need improvement can save you time and cost in the long term. Check your machinery and discover if there are solutions that will increase productivity while allowing workers to concentrate on other necessary duties.

Incorporating battery powered heavy-duty warehouse equipment allows your employees the time they need to address other important tasks and keep productivity metrics front and center.

When you invest in helpful products like trailer movers and various load movers, you lower the likelihood of accidents on the job and increase productivity and employee sustainability. If you are searching for simplistic answers to up your profit and facilitate better safety practices for your dedicated work base, DJ products can help. Click here to get some helpful information on products that will fit your company’s unique needs!

eCommerce Fulfillment Moves into the Traditional Warehouse

The Traditional Warehouse is Changing for eCommerce Needs
The Traditional Warehouse is Changing for eCommerce Needs

The world of eCommerce is steadily becoming an integral part of the manufacturing industry. As the influx of orders stream from eCommerce to warehouses across the nation, the need for organization and specific selection is ever increasing.

Direct-to-consumer ordering is trending upwards and manufacturers are starting to jump on board. How can you adjust your traditional methods to cater to the technological conveniences of your time? It’s time to utilize warehouse equipment that has efficiency built into their overall design.

Utilizing Quality Tools

Facilitating quality control for the individualized eCommerce orders that flood your manufacturing process is important. Efficiently designating space to eCommerce orders that require less bulk and some careful product handling can be problematic when using the wrong equipment. DJ Products has industrial material handling equipment that encourages quality results with customized warehouse equipment.

You can reduce unnecessary man hours and the repetitive motion that cripples hard-working employees. When you employ modified machinery to play your programmed “middleman,” opportunities expand. The need for space in the warehouse is not decreasing but increasing as personalized orders stemming from eCommerce grows.

Stocking Up

Automation is the new sliced bread in manufacturing. Smaller machinery and manageable amounts of inventory can be highly lucrative when managed correctly. For the many varieties of orders whether small or large, industrial-grade warehouse equipment can lighten loads, relieve safety concerns and demonstrate efficiency in any space. Efficiency equals profit.

With the explosion of eCommerce in manufacturing, there’s an increasing need for creative efficiency solutions. DJ Products has got you covered with machines like the CartCaddyLite and many others to help you and your crew successfully maneuver through the winding aisles of eCommerce. When quality products are used to solve quantity issues, profit-making is soon to follow.

Collaboration Across the Supply Chain May Combat Amazon’s Growing Dominance

Collaboration Across the Supply Chain May Combat Amazon's Growth
Collaboration Across the Supply Chain May Combat Amazon’s Growth

As the “Amazon effect” continues to send ripples throughout today’s business landscape, manufacturers are responding by making major shifts in philosophy. In addition to state-of-the-art warehouse equipment, technology investments are also being directed toward supporting a direct-to-consumer model.

Planning and Execution: Two Sides of a Single Solution

Supply chain is a key driver in the new retail-like role of manufacturers. In JDA Software’s Intelligent Manufacturing Survey, 51 percent of respondents indicated that they are putting an emphasis on internal and external collaboration across the supply chain to accommodate consumer tastes and behaviors.

More specifically, companies need to integrate sales and operations planning (S&OP), both mid- and long-term, with sales and operations execution (S&OE) via use of a single connected technology that spans all supply chain lines. Approximately one-third of survey respondents stated their commitment to this process.

Where Does Your Company Rank on the Digital Maturity Scale?

Unfortunately, that leaves two-thirds of manufacturers who are behind the curve. According to Fred Baumann, group vice president of industry strategy at JDA, their group sees many companies that concentrate on either short-term execution or long-range planning to the exclusion of the other, thereby limiting their chances of success.

Baumann goes on to explain that supply chain digitalization has become a necessity, not a luxury. Among survey respondents, predigital and digitally mature camps each equaled 18 percent, while 35 percent expect to reach digital maturity within the next two to three years.

Meet the Future with Top Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Successful execution includes providing employees with quality warehouse equipment. Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers are eco-friendly, ergonomically designed and cost-effective.

Visit our website and use the convenient online chat feature to learn more from our knowledgeable sales engineers.