Tag: safety

Got to Move a Heavy Dumpster – Use Our Safe Lifting and Pushing Tips

Heavy Dumpster PushingIf you need your employees to move a dumpster, there’s always a risk of injury. Without a dumpster pusher, it’s important to understand how to safely maneuver the dumpster without causing any physical strains or injuries.

To help, we would like to share some safe lifting tips with you. Here are some guidelines in the event that you aren’t sure how to keep yourself or your employees protected during heavy moves.

DJ Products Offers These Safe Lifting Tips

Preventing injury is often easy once you know the proper techniques. If you don’t have a dumpster pusher in house, you should focus on these safe lifting tips:

  • Take a moment to think about the move before you start.
  • Try to keep the weight as close to your waist as possible.
  • Find a stable position to stand before attempting the lift.
  • Make sure you have a tight hold on the load.
  • Lift with your legs. Avoid lifting with your back.
  • Don’t twist your body when you lift.
  • Look ahead and keep moving smoothly.
  • Don’t lift more than you can handle.
  • Put the load down and then make any necessary adjustments.

The Benefits of a Dumpster Pusher

A dumpster pusher offers your business so many great benefits. It can significantly cut down on the manpower it takes to move a dumpster. Also, you may find that the number of injuries your business reports each year will show a marked decrease. For some employers, after reviewing their workers comp claims, they discovered that a high number of injuries were due to moving dumpsters.

We’d love to know how we can help you. Contact us!

Dumpster or Compactor – The Pros and Cons

Before Making a Decision, It's ALWAYS Important to Consider the Pros and Cons.
Before Making a Decision, It’s ALWAYS Important to Consider the Pros and Cons.

Proper trash room maintenance keeps your workplace clean and reduces the risk of injury. Is a dumpster or compactor best suited for your needs? Here’s a look at the pros and cons of each to help you choose the right solution for your application.

Dumpsters and Compactors: What’s the Difference

  • Dumpsters are large metal containers with volumes ranging from 10-yards to 30-yards. They are practical for a wide range of both household and commercial refuse and they are generally emptied by a trash hauling service that picks up every one to two weeks.
  • Trash compactors come in indoor and outdoor models. Thanks to the compressing action they can hold a greater volume of trash, but they’re not recommended for disposal of items such as oils, wood products, electronic items and toxic materials.

Which One Is Right for You?

  • If your business generates a lot of trash on a daily basis and your current garbage containers are being overfilled, a compactor is better for controlling the volume.
  • Dumpsters don’t seal tightly, which means they tend to attract rodents and other pests.
  • How does your trash removal service calculate charges? If it’s by the pickup, a compactor could save you a significant amount of money, but if it’s by the pound, it could be a more expensive option.

Put Safety First with the WasteCaddy from DJ Products

Now that you’ve selected the right container, make another choice for trash room safety. Our best-selling WasteCaddy can transport loaded dumpsters weighing up to 5,000 pounds, preventing the need for manual pushing and pulling.

Visit our website for more information.

Bending, Pushing, Pulling, the Costs of Doing It Wrong May Ring Up a Steep Bill

Be Mindful, Don't Let Your Employees Overexert Themselves... It Could Lead to Serious Injury!
Be Mindful, Don’t Let Your Employees Overexert Themselves… It Could Lead to Serious Injury!

Overexertion from lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying or throwing objects in the workplace ranks as the number one cause of disabling injury, according to the 2016 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. This type of injury cost employers more than $15.08 billion in direct costs. That is approximately 25 percent of the total direct cost burden relating to workplace injuries for U.S. companies .

Use smart lifting and moving methods

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than 36 percent of injuries that required missed workdays were shoulder and back injuries caused by overexertion and cumulative trauma from lifting heavy objects on a regular basis in the course of work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says employees can greatly reduce their likelihood of suffering from spinal injuries, pulled muscles, and back sprains by using smart lifting practices and utilizing mechanical methods like material handling tugs when moving heavy loads or objects.

When product or equipment must be lifted manually, employees should place the object in the “power zone” area of the body, which is mid-thigh to mid-chest. They should keep their spine straight whenever possible and bend with their knees instead of their waist. Mechanical lifts and material handling tugs should be used for anything weight more than 50 pounds. The work floor should be designed and laid out in such a way to allow clear passage of forklifts and other equipment essential to safely moving heavy loads.

Improve efficiency for your business and reduce the risk of overexertion injuries to your valuable team members by contacting one of our courteous and knowledgeable sales professionals at DJ Products.

Making Maintenance Easier in Hotels and Apartment Complexes

Working as a porter or on the maintenance crew in a hotel or apartment complex can be an excellent job with good pay that never gets boring.  Depending upon the environment that you work in, your duties may include everything from snow removal in the Winter and landscaping in the Summer to plumbing, electrical and general contracting.  In this line of work there is never a dull moment, but there can be some very stressful and laborious moments if you don’t have the proper equipment on hand to deal with one particularly messy job – trash removal.

Manual trash container removal, especially in complexes that have a large number of apartments, can be a very difficult process.  When a wheeled dumpster gets loaded to the brim or contains some bulky items from tenants who are moving out or redecorating can get exceedingly heavy and potentially dangerous to move manually – this can put porters and maintenance crew members at great risk for injury.

In order to make maintenance crew members safer while performing this less than favorable part of their job as well as more efficient, it helps to have a motorized dumpster mover or waste container puller.   The trash container movers from DJ Products allow one employee to quickly safely and effectively pull the trash container from even tight quarters and get it stationed where it needs to be for pick up.

Even a completely empty dumpster is heavy enough to pose a risk if employees are attempting to manually move it on their own.  With a dumpster mover or trash container puller from DJ Products you can ensure the safety of your maintenance crew and make this task go from the least desirable on the list to one that everyone will volunteer to perform.

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.

Ergonomics Investment Adds to Healthy Bottom Line

Every dollar invested in an ergonomics program results in a savings of $4. That’s the astounding finding of a recent study on the cost effectiveness of implementing ergonomics programs in U.S. manufacturing and business settings.

In the past, many companies didn’t initiate ergonomic programs until forced to do so in response to workers’ compensation claims. The expense associated with claims coupled with the responsibility to eliminate hazardous work conditions forced companies to implement solutions to address ergonomics issues. But acting after the fact only prolongs the agony, pointed out Mike Kind, writing for the New Hampshire Business Review. “As claims are filed, an organization’s workers’ compensation premium increases immediately upon renewal. It then takes a three-year history of reductions in claims for the rate to drop.”

Proactively implementing an ergonomics program may not eliminate every future workplace injury, but the use of ergonomically-designed equipment and the introduction of ergonomic practices has been shown time and again to significantly reduce workplace injuries and their associated costs. In most cases, the cost of ergonomics equipment is recouped within the first year.

As an example, Kind cited a highly computerized operation in which more than half of the employees reported musculoskeletal disorders during their first year on the job. Implementation of an aggressive ergonomics program, including new equipment, procedures and training, resulted in an overall 50% decrease in worker complaints.

Proactive implementation of ergonomics initiatives impacts your bottom line immediately and positively.  “In one client research study, it was determined that for every dollar invested in an ergonomics program, $4 in cost savings were achieved,” Kind said. Reduction of worker injury results in significant savings in direct medical costs, insurance and workers’ compensation premiums. Lost work-hours due to doctors’ appointments, physical therapy sessions, sick days and absenteeism decrease. As employee safety and well-being improve, workplace morale increases, bringing with it a healthy work environment, increased productivity and improved customer service.

Creating a successful ergonomics program hinges on three important elements, Kind said:

  • Support of top management and inclusion in the corporate culture 
  • Establish goals and measure results
  • Provide effective education, training and leadership

Next time: Tips for creating a successful ergonomics program

The most Common Accidents are often the most Avoidable

When a warehouse or material handling accident is mentioned it often conjures up images of something serious, like a large rack collapse or a forklift that’s been driven off of a dock.  Though these are accidents that certainly can and do occur, they are in reality much more rare than the most common type of accident seen in warehousing – the trip (or slip) and fall.

When your employees have to physically carry materials from one location to another (locations that are often on different levels), lines of vision can get impaired making it difficult or impossible to see obstacles, spills or alterations in the surface that could lead to a nasty fall.  The potential for injury when a fall occurs, when the subject is carrying something, is greater due to the fact that the person can’t easily brace themselves for the impact because their hands are occupied.

These potentially dangerous accidents could easily be avoided if your material handlers were using equipment that was ergonomically designed for moving material rather than having to manually move it.  DJ Products carries a wide array of equipment that is safe and reliable and that will greatly lessen the chances of dangerous accidents in your warehouse.  The lifts and carts from DJ Products will quickly move material (much more than could be manually moved by an individual) and will put it in the proper position for your employees to lift.  Since the lifts are doing the work, your employees can focus and concentrate on the path they are traveling which will drastically reduce the chances of a trip or slip and fall accident.

When you can effectively eliminate the most common accidents from your work environment, you make it a much safer place for your employees.  You’ll lose less man hours to injury and increase your employee’s productivity, which can also do wonders for your bottom line.

Recession Leads to Survival of the Fittest

It’s Darwin’s principle of natural selection in action. In a poor economy, only the strong survive. A recession “always hits manufacturing first and hardest,” Hank Cox of the National Association of Manufacturers recently told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. According to the Associated Press, in December, “manufacturing activity sank to its lowest point in 28 years,” with indexes falling farther than expected. Some index components, including new orders, fell to historic lows not seen since the 1948-49 recession. Overall, the manufacturing index, which has been steadily declining over the past six months, reached its lowest reading since June 1980, the tail-end of the last major recession.

Major players from Dow Chemical to Ford Motor Co. to Anheuser Busch are chopping jobs and shutting down factories in an attempt to stop the financial hemorrhaging, but it may not be enough. With the global economy in a tailspin, manufacturers can’t rely on exports to save them from disaster. And when the big guys are flailing, you can bet small businesses are being hammered. From manufacturing to retail and everywhere in between, the economy is taking a toll on American businesses. No sector of the economy is proving to be recession proof. No one reported growth in December and most sectors of the economy reported declines in everything from new orders to production, employment and prices. Weak companies are going to fail. It’s survival of the fittest, but those companies that do survive the recession are predicted to emerge far stronger than before and in an arena with less competition. To make the cut, you’ll need to roll with the punches and be proactive about the changes that are coming.

The floundering economy and growing jobs crisis has given the incoming Obama administration a popular mandate to change America (see our previous two posts). Industry experts tell us to expect increased government oversight and regulation. Public backlash from the highhanded attitude of financial institutions that refused to disclose how they spent bailout money has assured that future government help will come with lots of strings attached. Add to that President-elect Obama’s campaign pledge to American workers to improve workplace safety and his pledge to the public to increase environmental protection, and American businesses should be girding for a new era of more invasive government regulation.

There are always two ways to handle change. You can rail and fight against it, or you can embrace it and use it to position yourself ahead of the competition. Time and again, history proves that those who look to the future and embrace change survive. As competition increases, the companies that are proactive about incorporating new technology, new equipment and new processes into their operations are the ones that will rise above their competition and live to see a better tomorrow.

Next time: How DJ Products can help you be a survivor.

Safety Breeds Productivity

Too many warehouses and material handling companies view safety as secondary in order of importance compared to customer service – but a clean, safe and clutter free workplace can have a huge effect on productivity.

Organization is key in being able to deliver optimal customer service as orders can be pulled, stationed, packed and shipped much more quickly and efficiently in an environment that is clutter free and safe.  There is also a much lower chance of injury in an environment that is organized, properly equipped and well designed.

Warehouse and plant managers shouldn’t wait for fire or safety inspection time to roll around to get their operations organized and clean – the possibility for greatly increased productivity and, in turn, an increase in the bottom line along with a loyal customer base are readily available for business that can provide lightning quick and pin point accurate service.

Employees who work in atmospheres where the equipment is outdated and unreliable are more likely to have to perform the brunt of their jobs manually; this can lead to oversights and errors that may affect the accuracy of orders and of your inventory.  It can also result in material being left in areas that weren’t necessarily meant for storage, potentially leading to accidents or injuries.

Upgrading your material handling equipment to battery powered carts that are quiet, ergonomic and long lasting will allow your employees to work at a faster pace without having to worry about resorting to manual handling when the equipment fails.  Nothing hurts moral and performance worse than equipment failure during the picking or stocking of a large order when the pressure is on to perform.

Electric Carts from DJ Products have the power to last for an entire, fast paced shift of shipping/receiving without any worry about failure.  This means that your employees can fully receive stock orders and put them away, or pull and stage large orders without interruption – with the right equipment; your warehouse will be clean, organized and operating at the highest possible level of efficiency.

Battery Powered Carts Reduce the risk of injury

Operating a forklift or battery powered cart without following the necessary safety guidelines is a huge risk that can result in serious injuries or even death, but not all material handling injuries stem from improper use on the part of the operator.  If you allow any employee to operate material handling equipment that you know isn’t functioning properly, you are putting every employee in your business at serious risk.The older a piece of equipment is, the more likely it is to malfunction or breakdown, which can cause delays in the completion of work and potentially lead to injuries.  Forklifts and powered carts require regularly scheduled preventative maintenance, but if there is ever a question of proper operation it needs to be tended to immediately to ensure your employees’ safety.Distribution of materials is often a fast paced environment with many activities going on at the same time.  There may be dozens of employees scurrying around the warehouse filling orders and receiving shipments while a number of machines are working to load and unload trucks or put away stock – if even one of these pieces of equipment malfunctions it could lead to several serious injuries.In order to keep your fast paced environment as safe and productive as possible, you need to have the safest and most reliable equipment.  Battery powered carts and lifts from DJ Products are engineered to be quieter, safer, more reliable and cheaper to operate than traditional forklifts and lift trucks.  Each piece of DJ Products equipment is ergonomically designed to prevent many of the nagging injuries often associated with manually material handling and easy enough to use so a single employee can tackle heavy jobs quickly and safely.Truly efficient warehouse and distribution environments don’t rely on equipment that may or may not get them through a shift.  In order to be as safe and successful as possible your equipment needs to be the safest around and completely reliable day in and day out – and that’s exactly what DJ Products strives for with every piece of equipment sold, including our battery powered carts.