Tugger Carts Archives

It’s Time to Learn About Ergonomics in the Warehouse as an Injury Prevention Protocol

Make Work a Little Easier on Yourself – Ergonomic Designs In the Workplace are the Future.

Our battery-powered tugger carts are ergonomically designed to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and other injuries caused by repetitive motions. How much do you know about ergonomics and the role they play in maintaining a safe warehouse?

Observing ergonomic principles allows workers to be more productive while reducing physical stress. Here’s a look at how you can put ergonomics to work in your warehouse.

What Is Ergonomics?

Ergonomics, sometimes referred to as human engineering, is broadly defined as “the study of the relationship between workers and their environment.” The ultimate goal is to design the workplace for optimum efficiency and less physical wear and tear.

Whenever possible, work motions should be centered around the “golden zone,” which refers to the body’s core between shoulders and knees. Workers should rarely, if ever, have to reach above their shoulders or below their waists.

Types of Ergonomic Injuries

Ergonomic injuries tend to fall under two categories:

– Lifting and handling injuries occur when heavy boxes, pallets and other loads are placed too high or too low.

– Overexertion injuries result from repetitive motions, such as long walks during order-picking.

Ways to Improve Ergonomics

– Slot SKUs appropriately with high-volume items placed close by.

– Install pallet flow racks so a case is ready at the point of pick.

– Use tilted pick trays for items stored higher in the rack.

– Train employees in the proper operation of tugger carts and other equipment.

– Encourage workers to report unsafe conditions or inefficiencies in workflow.

– Prioritize regular housekeeping to eliminate cluttered aisles and other hazards.

Ergonomically Designed Tugger Carts from DJ Products

Electric tugs such as our best-selling CartCaddyShorty reduce the risk of both lifting and handling and overexertion injuries. Visit our website and learn more from our helpful sales engineers.

How to Encourage a Culture of Safety in Your Warehouse in 2019

Encourage a Culture of Safety

Keeping your warehouse safe is always at the top of your mind. Maybe you’ve just gone through dealing with an employee accident, or perhaps you want to prevent it from happening at all. Either way, we have some helpful tips that can make it a lot easier.

Cultivating a Culture of Safety

Your team will only take safety seriously if you do. You need to be their leader because if it’s important to you, they will make it important to them. This is just the beginning of creating a culture of safety in your workplace. There is more that can be done as well.

Employing Observational Safety

Even though safety is really important, trying to convey this to your entire group of employees might not be effective. It’s usually best to start by training a smaller group to observe the practices of the warehouse. They can be your eyes and ears, and if something isn’t right, they can bring it to your attention, or even correct it right then and there.

Opting for Tugger Carts and Other Equipment to Enhance Safety

If you do begin to utilize observational safety practices, you may notice that many of your employees are struggling as they work. A lot of warehouses don’t have the proper equipment to allow their workers to do their jobs and avoid injuries. At DJ Products, we see this all the time, which is why we want to help.

We specialize in tugger carts, dumpster movers and trailer caddys to assist businesses like yours in keeping their workers safe from injuries. If you haven’t considered equipment like this before now, we would love to talk with you about its benefits. Please contact us right away for help.

Process Improvements Help to Improve Damaged Stock Realities

Reviewing the Process Can Reduce Accidents and Damaged Materials

Damaged stock is one of the primary factors reducing warehouse and supply chain profitability. The impact can be direct, as in the case of incomplete orders, or indirect, such as when an accident injures an employee.

Anywhere from two percent to 11 percent of products received are already damaged, but the problem isn’t simply a matter of chance. Experts recommend use of tugger carts as one of the proactive ways to reduce the amount of damaged stock in your warehouse.

Improve Workflows

How is stock typically handled during day-to-day operations in your warehouse? Review the process from start to finish and look for areas of improvement, such as reducing the number of times a case is touched.

Use Material Handling Equipment Whenever Possible

Material handling equipment involves a significant financial investment, but the costs will be more than offset by less product damage and fewer job-related injuries.

Reassess Racking Systems

If the racking system is inadequate, it could result in improper storage which is a leading cause of damaged stock. In addition to upgrading racks, consider installing safety equipment such as column protectors and aisle shields.

Train Employees

Employees are on the front lines when it comes to handling and processing stock. Incorporate product awareness into your ongoing safety training workshops.

Build a Culture of Cleanliness

It sounds simple, but employees sometimes become lax about keeping the warehouse clean, whether it’s due to work deadlines or thoughtlessness. Create and enforce standards of cleanliness and hold employees accountable.

DJ Products Makes Tugger Carts to Solve Any Need

No matter what types of products are handled in your warehouse, we have a wide range of tugger carts to improve safety and productivity. Use our handy online chat feature to learn more.

Decrease Injuries in Your Warehouse with a Focus on Ergonomics

A Focus on Ergonomics Prevents Injuries in Your Warehouse

Workplace injuries put employees’ well-being at risk and can cost your business a considerable amount of money. Adopting ergonomic practices and investing in tugger carts and other equipment can help reduce these risks. Keep the following in mind in order to improve workplace safety at your warehouse.

Placing Items

Warehouse workers are at risk of injuring their back or other parts of their body while picking up items and moving them to another location. You can reduce this risk by having employees use lifting mechanisms to retrieve items that are heavy or large. Using carts for picking items that are on or near ground level also helps lower the risk of injuries.

Packing Items

Items that are bigger or heavier can put workers at risk of being injured while they are packing them. Workers can also be hurt after items are packed if they are not in a secure crate or container. Ensuring that workers have equipment for packing large or heavy items and putting them in secure crates or containers helps keep employees safe from injuries on the job.

Shipping and Receiving Items

Workers can become injured while removing large or heavy items from pallets. Ergonomic practices that reduce this risk include having mechanical equipment available to handle the task of lifting and moving heavier items. Making sure that items being shipped are placed in secure containers and crates can also help lower the risk of warehouse employee injuries.

If you are interested in tugger carts for your warehouse, please contact DJ Products. Our carts can make it easier and safer for employees to move heavy equipment and items.

Tips for Bringing Seasonal Workers Up to Speed Fast

Get New Employees up to Speed so they Can Do an Excellent Job

Our safe and efficient electric tugger carts are easy to use, but training seasonal workers involves a number of activities and concepts that are much more involved. Time is of the essence during the limited holiday season, further complicating matters.

Seasonal workers should improve, not hinder, productivity. Use these helpful guidelines to optimize training for temporary employees and get them up to speed quickly.

Before Hiring

– Document job requirements and duties for all positions so you know what to prioritize in applicants.

– Even though they’re around for a short time, temporary employees can disrupt the teamwork and camaraderie of permanent staff. Screen candidates carefully to make sure they fit both the job and the company culture.

Onboarding

– Have specific yardsticks to measure success. Communicate this during training and schedule follow-up checkpoint meetings to see how employees are progressing.

– Include training on company culture to help workers see where they fit in while internalizing your mission and goals.

– Experienced employees should participate in the training process and serve as mentors to the new hires.

– Whether it’s by observation or hands-on, tailor training to a worker’s preferred learning style as much as possible.

On the Job

– Training doesn’t end once a new hire walks onto the warehouse floor. Set goals, recognize achievements and maintain open communication.

– Give interactive feedback. Ask employees how they would handle a particular problem, then explain to them what works and what doesn’t. This approach empowers workers to think for themselves.

Tugger Carts: A Year-Round Solution from DJ Products

Battery-powered tugger carts, such as our best-selling CartCaddyShorty, let even temporary workers move thousands of pounds with ease, freeing up experienced employees for other activities.

Visit our website and use the online chat feature to learn more.

Helping Warehouse Workers Steer Clear of “Pinch Points”

Are you aware of all possible injury risks lurking in your warehouse? You probably recognize the dangers of musculoskeletal and repetitive motion injuries, which our electric tugger carts are designed to reduce.

Pinch points are not as obvious, but they can also cause painful and costly injuries. What are pinch points, where are they found, and how do you protect workers?

Watch Out for Pinch Points

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) defines pinch points as spots where any part of a person’s body can be caught in a machine. “Pinches” can occur between moving parts of a machine, stationary and moving parts, or materials and machines.

According to MIOSHA, pinch points are “quite pervasive” in the workplace. Some of the main locations of pinch points include:

– Conveyors

– Power presses and rollers

– Molding, metal-forming and assembly machines

– Power doors

Don’t Get “Caught in a Pinch”

Pinch point prevention begins with a careful inspection of all machines and equipment to identify potential problem areas, eliminating pinch points wherever possible.

In spots where pinch points are unavoidable, install guards to prevent workers from coming into contact with them. Be sure to train employees regarding the dangers of pinch points, why guards are necessary and what they are intended to do.

Make it clear that under no circumstances are employees permitted to remove, work around or tamper with pinch point guards. Repairs should be handled by qualified technicians only. If a worker should spot a pinch point without a guard, they should promptly report it to their supervisor.

Put Safety First with Tugger Carts from DJ Products

Eco-friendly tugger carts such as our best-selling CartCaddyShorty are available with safety stop switches in case of emergency. Contact us to learn more.

Tips to Protect Your Warehouse Employees and Boost Performance

All warehouse managers strive to optimize productivity, but unfortunately some let good safety practices fall to the wayside in pursuit of their goal. Our industrial tugs are one way to increase efficiency without sacrificing safety.

Don’t let costly injuries offset valuable productivity gains in your warehouse. Use these expert tips to help employees be more effective while avoiding common risks of workplace injury.

Conduct Ongoing Safety Training

Regular safety training enables proper procedures to become second nature with employees and demonstrates your commitment to a culture of workplace safety. Include training as part of the onboarding process and hold periodic refresher courses. Test managers and supervisors to make sure they’re setting a good example.

Post Instructions for Safety and Emergency Procedures

Reinforce safety training by posting checklists and visual aids in prominent places around the workplace. Topics can include:

– How to handle hazardous materials

– Recommended lifting techniques

– Machine and equipment operating instructions

Provide Quality Personal Protective Equipment

Have appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) on hand and readily available. Establish an inspection schedule and immediately replace any PPE that shows signs of wear and tear.

Invest in Safety Amenities

Supplement PPE use with warehouse features and add-ons that contribute to a safe environment. Industrial tugs, generous lighting, guard rails and ergonomic workstations are just some of the extras that can be easily incorporated in a warehouse for maximum results.

Perform Safety Audits

Create daily, weekly and monthly checklists of items and details to be inspected and verified.

Combine Safety and Productivity with Industrial Tugs

At DJ Products, warehouse safety and efficiency is our main concern. Call 800.686.2651 and let our cheerful sales engineers explain why eco-friendly industrial tugs like our best-selling CartCaddyShorty are the solution to your specific needs.

eCommerce Warehouse Needs Are Boosting Commercial Real Estate Investment

Transportation concept. Isolated on white

Are your tugger carts operating on prime real estate? E-commerce has online retailers shopping for commercial space. Duke estimates over the next few years, another 339-million square feet of industrial space will be needed.

Low Space Availability Drives Up Prices, Spurs Development

In an assessment by Morningstar Credit Ratings, trends in the industrial real estate sector point to a strong demand for warehouse space as e-commerce and manufacturing explode. This has resulted in reduced space availability, encouraging developers to create more. For every billion in online sales, over 1-million-square-feet of warehouse space is needed.

Stock from the online retail giant Amazon, with its 70-fulfillment center’s nationwide, is seeing earnings power increase with every dollar of net e-commerce sales growth. Though growth in this sector has posed challenges to the retail sector, it’s been a boon for others, including industrial REITS

This drives demand for logistics landlords who can turn ‘flex’ space into an industrial real estate goldmine. Rental space in this sector is likewise seeing an increase in rental rates and demand as vacancies dry up and e-commerce platforms expand.

Can Anything Stop the E-Commerce Boom?

The biggest threats to the e-commerce industry, and subsequently industrial real estate, outside the obvious – a highly unlikely decline in online purchases, include the very real threat of a decline in manufacturing activity. Given continually escalating tariffs, an outright trade war isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Should the sector experience a downturn, however, the supply end of the industrial real estate spigot could be turned off relatively quickly, allowing for a quick return to market equilibrium.

Can your tugger carts handle the e-commerce boom? Grow with the burgeoning industry with the help of DJ products today.

Amazon Automation Moves Into Inventory and Planning

How is Amazon Changing the Face of Logistics?

Thanks to innovations such as our battery-powered tugger carts, supply chain technology has improved the physical efficiency of warehouse and logistics workers. Today, Amazon is once again in front of the industry with using technology to refine inventory management, a job long considered the exclusive domain of human retailing experts.

Amazon Expands Its “Marketplace”

During Amazon’s infancy, when they began to branch out beyond books, the company struggled to convince companies to sell their products through the online platform. Amazon decided to recruit the best and brightest of business-school graduates and retailing veterans to build their own retail team.

Spurred by that success, Amazon started developing their marketplace concept, spearheaded by Fulfillment by Amazon. With independent merchants able to sell their products on a completely self-service basis, the retail team became less valuable.

By 2015, marketplace sales exceeded retail sales while also generating twice the operating profit margin. While retail vendors once enjoyed preferred status, the playing field leveled as marketplace vendors began receiving the same perks and benefits.

Reaching New Heights of Data Accuracy

At the same time, Amazon rolled out an initiative known as “Hands Off the Wheel” in which demand forecasting, ordering and other inventory-related tasks were moved to algorithms. Initially, humans had the power to override the software, but that changed as the system achieved unprecedented levels of precision.

In what seems to be an inevitable move, the retail and marketplace teams are now merging. As customer demands continue to grow, less reliance on humans keeps Amazon far ahead of competitors such as Walmart and Target.

Optimize Manpower with Tugger Carts from DJ Products

Are you allocating your workforce for maximum efficiency? Contact us to learn how our electric tugger carts can save time and money.

Improve Your Warehouse Picking Productivity

Tips to Improve Picking Efficiency

As sales from online retailing continue to grow, optimizing warehouse productivity has become more crucial than ever. Our electric tugger carts let you allocate manpower more efficiently. What methods can you use to help order pickers boost their productivity?

Here are expert tips to streamline operations and maximize efforts of your order pickers.

Use a Team Approach

Your employees are on the front line. They know better than anyone what works and what needs to improve. Create a team that includes yourself along with the appropriate supervisors and one or two order pickers to review operations and discuss solutions.

Establish and Track Goals

Your employees can’t fulfill expectations if they don’t know what those expectations are. Set goals that are realistically ambitious and keep employees informed of their progress. Workers will also be able to see how their accomplishments contribute to the company’s success.

Remove Roadblocks

When confronted with obstacles, frustrated employees often develop workarounds that add time and effort. If you and your team uncover constraints to the order picking process, make it a priority to eliminate them.

Consolidate Fast-Moving Items

Do you have a system for slotting your fast-moving products? Setting up a “hot zone” for these products requires no financial investment and the layout can be adjusted as item velocities change, such as during the holiday season.

Implement Batch Picking

Discrete order picking can result in a lot of unnecessary walking. Analyze your orders to determine if they can be batched to reduce the number of passes a picker has to make.

Reduce Costly Workplace Industries with Tugger Carts from DJ Products

Workplace injuries are one of the biggest drains on productivity. Visit our website to learn how our battery-powered tugger carts improve both safety and efficiency.

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