Tag: retail industry

Eliminating the Overexertion of Trash Removal

Full dumpsters and trash containers need to be stationed at the right place and at the right time in order to be picked up.  This is critical for apartments, condos and retail establishments that accumulate trash quickly because missing a pick up could potentially create a build up of waste and unsanitary conditions.  For this reason, employees are often asked to do whatever it takes to get the waste container to its destination, which could potentially compromise safety and put employees and property at risk.

The process of getting the heavy waste container, which may weigh in at a few thousand pounds or more, to its destination could involve employees having to push or pull the dumpster over several hundred feet over rough or hilly terrain.  This can be a very dangerous undertaking for one, two or even three employees regardless of the weather, but the high temperatures of the Summer or the ice and snow of the Winter can greatly increase the chance of overexertion and injury.

The battery powered WasteCaddy from DJ Products lets a single employee safely maneuver a fully loaded trash container over any distance and any type of terrain with no worries at all.  The very reliable and ergonomically designed waste container mover makes this job that usually requires multiple employees an easy task for just one employee.

Using properly designed equipment to maneuver heavy dumpsters and recycling bins drastically reduces the chances of injuries, while at the same time increasing productivity by allowing the job to be completed by one employee instead of two or three.  The job gets done faster, easier and with less of a chance of injury or property damage and this is an optimal situation for both management and the employees.

New Dumpster Mover Muscles Trash Containers

Responding to customer need, DJ Products announces the addition of a new dumpster mover to its world-recognized line of ergonomically-designed, battery-powered cart pushers. The DJ Products dumpster mover easily pulls heavy trash and recycling dumpsters and containers to the curb or a designated location for pick up. The new dumpster mover provides an excellent solution for retailers, office buildings, apartment and condominium complexes, hospitals and nursing homes, hotels, shopping centers, manufacturers, distribution centers, and any business that has to haul heavy containers for trash or recycling pick up. 

Trash and recycling containers and dumpsters are typically located near trash compactors and bailers deep inside underground parking garages or in designated areas on the plant floor. These heavy containers must be maneuvered around equipment or vehicles across crowded floors or parking garages to designated collection sites or to the outside curb for access by waste haulers. Due to the heavy, unbalanced loads they contain, trash and recycling containers and dumpsters can be extremely awkward and difficult to move and maneuver, particularly around obstacles. When performed manually, the task of pushing and pulling these containers across long distances and up underground slopes to street level puts workers at high risk for expensive and debilitating musculoskeletal injuries.

DJ Products’ ergonomically designed dumpster mover eliminates the pains and strains associated with manually pushing heavy carts and wheeled equipment. Its compact design allows this dynamic cart mover to maneuver easily through tight spaces such as hallways, aisles, doors and crowded parking garages. A powerful 36-volt motor makes this heavy-duty tug capable of muscling dumpsters and containers weighing 500 to 10,000 pounds. The new DJ Products dumpster mover turns a three or four-person job into a quick and easy one-person operation. This powerful battery-operated waste mover can easily push or pull heavy dumpsters or trash/recycling containers up sharp inclines, over asphalt and even through snow and ice.

Visit the DJ Products website for more information on our new battery-powered dumpster mover and to see this amazing ergonomic tug in action. Call 1-800-686-2651 or contact us online to talk to one of our engineering specialists about arranging a free demo trial of our new dumpster mover.  

New Retrofit Cart Kit Removes Strain From Common Tasks

DJ Products has introduced a revolutionary new motorized retrofit cart kit that takes the pain and strain out of common tasks performed by many workers in a broad section of U.S. jobs. Designed to be mounted to almost any cart, this new retrofit kit can increase usefulness, flexibility, efficiency and worker safety in a wide variety of environments, including applications in hospitality and resort, hospital and healthcare, food service, retail, distribution and warehousing, vending, casino, banking and a host of other industries.

Designed to enhance and improve the capacity and flexibility of your cart investment, DJ Products’ retrofit cart kit is ergonomically designed and motorized to eliminate the musculoskeletal strain placed on workers when manually maneuvering heavy carts through the work environment. As America’s workforce ages, the risk of bodily injury increases as workers struggle to push and pull heavy carts from place to place and into position for use. Particularly common are back and muscle injuries that usually require expensive, long-term treatment and account for considerable lost man-hours.  A single back injury can cost a business $26,000 in time lost.

Employers who have installed DJ Products’ retrofit powered cart kit on their carts have reported a significant decreased in work-related injuries and employee turnover. Hand-in-hand has come improvement in employee efficiency and productivity. Employees have also expressed increased satisfaction with their jobs, a common phenomenon when employers act in their workers’ best interest to safeguard health and safety.

Able to power carts up to 4,000 pounds, DJ Products’ motorized retrofit cart kit is equipped with ergonomically-designed, variable-speed twist grips that allow forward and backward motion at speeds up to 3.2 mph. The motorized kit can move carts over a wide variety of surfaces, including carpet, tile, marble, cement and asphalt. Powered by two heavy-duty 12-volt batteries, the 24-volt motor in DJ Products’ retrofit cart kit is powerful enough to perform for an entire shift without recharging. Customizable to any application or environment, the DJ Products retrofit cart kit can be field installed by the customer or DJ Products can provide onsite installation.

For complete specifications and to view the revolutionary DJ Products motorized retrofit cart kit in action, visit the DJ Products website.

Shopping Cart Retriever Allows Retailers to Focus on Customers

During the holidays, they’re particularly noticeable. The bundled up teens sloshing through the slush in search of errant shopping carts left stranded by harried holiday shoppers. They struggle to push them into long, snaking lines and over ruts of ice and snow, muscling them from side to side as they push them toward the store where shoppers wait impatiently to grab one and hit the aisles.

Shopping cart retrieval is a perennial problem for retailers across the country, but especially during the busy holiday shopping season. Each moment you keep your customers waiting for a cart adds to their frustration, not exactly the feeling of good will you’re trying to promote during the make-or-break holidays. You want your customers pushing their cart through the aisles of your store, filling it will all kinds of holiday goodies.

And the more staff you have to task to collecting shopping carts, the fewer staff available to wait on anxious customers and ring up their purchases. During your busiest hours when you need your full staff complement working on the floor, sending two or three (and in bad weather, often four or six) employees out to retrieve needed shopping carts can put an unfortunate dent in your ability to serve your customers quickly and effectively. With the poor economy forcing most businesses to cut back on staff, delegating employees to shopping cart retrieval puts an even bigger burden on your staff and taxes the patience of your customers.

DJ Products’ powered shopping cart retriever takes the strain out of gathering shopping carts and delivering them back to the store. A single employee can quickly and easily maneuver up to 50 shopping carts around a parking lot and in the door without assistance, even through parking lots rutted with frozen snow and ice. The ergonomic design of our shopping cart retriever system eliminates the pushing and straining that often causes muscle injury and back strain when employees are forced to maneuver a line of carts manually. Your employees will thank you for making an onerous job easy. Your customers will thank you for keeping maximum staff on the floor to make their shopping experience more pleasant. And your accountant will commend you for finding a cost-effective way to improve efficiency and productivity. It’s a win-win-win scenario. Visit the  DJ Products website to find out more about our shopping cart retrieval system.

Shopping Cart Retriever Saves Money, Prevents Injury

You feel sorry for them when you see them in the parking lot struggling with a long line of shopping carts. Cart retrieival has got to be the least-liked job among grocery store, big box and other retail employees. It might not seem like too bad a job on a nice spring day, but cruising the parking lot for carts in the blistering July heat or the pouring rain or driving snow can be brutal.

Have you ever watched a cart retrieval operation? Workers walk hither and yon in a time-consuming search for carts, gathering them into an every increasing line. Often, carts tossed into corrals must be wrenched apart with force so they can be nested together correctly for the push back to the store. Some workers will try to muscle a line of carts half an aisle long, straining to push and pull what has become the equivalent of a fixed-wheel piece of heavy equipment. They use brute force to jerk the line of carts this way and that as they try to maneuver them into the store.

Manual cart retrieval is an open invitation to worker injury. Strained muscles —  particularly back, leg and arm — from muscling carts across the parking lot are common. Wrists can be sprained trying to jerk carts apart or force a line of carts into a curve. Smashed fingers are a daily occurrence. And all those injuries cost an employer money in medical bills, insurance premiums, workmen’s compensation and lost man-hours.

The shopping cart retriever system eliminates the drudgery, hard work and potential health concerns associated with rounding up shopping carts. The shopping cart retriever attaches to the back of a line of carts and can push up to 50 shopping carts, far more than even the strongest employee can attempt. With the cart pusher attached to the back of the cart train, an employee standing at the front of the line can easily steer the line of carts into the store using a remote control device to operate the retriever. Pushing the carts from behind, the retriever does all the heavy work, protecting your employees from possible injury. Click here to find out more about the handy shopping cart retriever.

Taking the Pain out of Cart Retrieval

Nearly all large retail establishments have a multitude of shopping carts to serve their customers and invariably at several points throughout the day; many of those shopping carts are strewn about the parking lot.  This leaves the burden of cart collection on the employees of the establishment, and while its good to have job security, especially in this day and age, this particular duty is probably among the least favorite of many retail employees.

Carts get left in the parking lot regardless of the weather or temperature outside, leaving employees having to go out in the rain, snow, sleet and freezing temperatures to perform this high labor duty.  Collecting just a few carts at a time could make the process take far too long, and trying to collect a dozen all at once could lead to an unnecessary injury – manual cart collection, especially in less than favorable weather, is a lose-lose situation.

A cart retriever from DJ Products can take all of the hassle out of collecting shopping carts by removing the stress and strain on the employee and allowing the task to be performed at a much faster pace.  DJ Products cart retriever can easily handle a line of up to fifty shopping carts, allowing an entire parking lot to be cleaned of carts in a fraction of the time it would take to perform the collection manually.

The Cart Retriever makes this once dreaded job much safer and much easier and it frees up many more man hours for employees to attack other jobs inside the store to potentially create more revenue.  When employees aren’t pre-occupied with cart collection, more product can make its way on to the shelves, more customers can be served and the establishment can be kept organized and clean.  Increasing productivity in the workplace without risking employee safety is the best way to increase profitability and the Cart Retriever does just that.

Maintain the Flow of Holiday Shopping with a Cart Retriever

The hustle and bustle of the holiday season feels different for retail managers and employees than it does for customers. Shoppers are focused on their lists and finding bargains, while you want to make sure that they can find what they want and make purchases with few hassles. You need to make sure that things run smoothly and efficiently so customers can focus on shopping. You may be hiring extra employees for the inside of your establishment, but you will also want a DJ Products shopping cart retriever on your team to help keep things in order on the outside.

The inability to get a shopping cart or seeing a parking lot littered with runaway shopping carts can be a turnoff for customers and you do not want that. If you are in an area where there tends to be a lot of winter precipitation, you certainly do not want extra obstacles to get in the way of someone parking and quickly getting into your store.

A cart retriever can make the job of corralling carts go a lot smoother. This will free the employee who has this task up to make the cart retrieval rounds again or to help in some other capacity as needed. A cart retriever can make a dreaded task go faster and while we cannot promise that your employees will beg to do this work, we can say that a cart retriever may be good for morale since the task won’t be quite so difficult. This labor-saving device makes things easier on employees, but it also serves to keep your operations running efficiently. At this very busy time of year, you want the most sales possible and the little details like keeping carts neatly corralled can go a long way towards making sure customers view your operations in a positive light.

A Shopping Cart Retriever Can Keep Costs Down

Using a cart retriever to corral and keep track of shopping carts does not just address safety concerns; it addresses fiscal concerns as well. If you provide shopping carts for customers to use, then the upkeep of the carts is a part of your overhead. If they are damaged, you need new carts to replace the ones that can no longer be used. However, if a number of carts never make it back into the store because people take them and put them to use in other places, you will spend money you could use for other things to buy new shopping carts.

A 2006 article from The New York Times said that in 2005, one company that hired people for the specific task of getting back shopping carts found that their “retrievers returned 86,000 carts from the streets of the metropolitan [New York City] area.” At this time, the carts were $90 each, so finding them saved quite a bit of money.

A DJ Products shopping cart retriever helps employees to quickly gather carts and keep them close to the store so there are fewer stray carts available for those who would be tempted to take a cart for their own use.

The retriever attaches to the back of the line of up to fifty shopping carts. The cart retriever pushes the line of carts from behind, following the direction that the operator steers as he guides them from in front. Once he gets to the front of the store, he is free to head back out to the parking lot with the shopping cart mover to collect more carts.

A Shopping Cart Retriever Keeps Shopping Carts in Rotation

If you’re in retail and will soon have shoppers lining up to make purchases, you want them to be able to pile up products…but they can’t do that if there are no shopping carts available. This is where a DJ Products Shopping Cart Retriever comes in handy. It can help your employees round up shopping carts and get them back into the store as soon as possible so no one has to wait for a cart or try to carry lots of items in their arms.

Our cart retrievers do not just make things more convenient for your customers; they allow your employees to work more efficiently and avoid harsh weather conditions, letting them move up to fifty shopping carts at the time. With a DJ Products cart retriever, hourly employees don’t have to spend time attempting to chase every stray cart. With a labor-saving cart retriever system, your employees don’t need to be out in the cold, rain or snow trying to amass all the carts and get them back to the store on their own.

After one of your employees attaches the cart pusher to the back of the line of shopping carts, the employee then stands at the front of the train of carts with one hand steering the line of carts and the other hand using a remote control device that operates the retriever. The employee can them guide the shopping carts from in front and once they are returned to the store and available for customers, that employee can go to get more carts or go on to complete other work tasks.

Save Money with a Shopping Cart Retriever

We see shopping carts everywhere and think little of them but if you are a retailer who offers them to customers they are one of the many items that you must account for. A DJ Products Shopping Cart Retriever can save you money on to separate fronts:

Reduce Employee Injury
Shopping cart retrievers are great labor-saving devices. Employees that have to round up shopping arts risk possible injury from the physical labor and must deal with weather conditions such as extreme heat and cold, rain, snow and hail. Providing your employees with this mechanical assistance means you lessen the chances that one of them gets injured retrieving carts or calls in sick because of heat exhaustion. And since cart retrieval tends to be the kind of task assigned to new or low-ranking employees, you may not make these employees excited to do this work but you can make this work easier because retaining employees you have trained also saves you money.

Lose Fewer Shopping Carts
The other way that a shopping cart retriever can save you money is pretty simple: The faster you get cart rounded up, the less likely it is that stray carts will be removed from your property. You may lose some carts here and there, but overall you do not want to see a number of your shopping carts either abandoned or being pushed around other parts of town. Retailers have been used to absorbing the loss of shopping carts but you can be proactive and see to it that your carts remain on your property for your customers to use.

Call 800-686-2651 to speak with one of our Sales Engineers about cart retrievers and other material handling solutions.