Tag: Warehouse Injuries

Lidar Technology Being Used to Improve the Safety of Warehouse Robots

New Technology Arrives in Warehouses
New Technology Arrives in Warehouses

Robots are the ultimate material handling equipment, but their application in the warehouse environment is still limited. While robotic workers are being developed to handle increasingly sophisticated tasks, they lack the ability to sense and react to their surroundings.

This obstacle may be overcome soon, thanks to a Massachusetts tech company. A system known as lidar could be the solution for safer warehouse robots.

Solving the Problem of Robotic Safety

Lidar is a high-tech method used to detect nearby objects, much like radar, but it uses laser light rather than radio waves. While lidar has a a number of applications, it’s gained attention recently as a navigational system for self-driving vehicles.

Massachusetts-based Veo Robotics came up with the idea to use a similar system with industrial robots. Veo’s proprietary lidar program generates real-time 3D maps of warehouses and factory workspaces. The data is used to stop robots if humans are approaching or the robots can’t sense what’s going on around them.

Lidar Hits the Industrial Market

In late 2017, Veo raised $12 million in capital from venture investment firms to finance their project. Kuka is one of several robotics companies allowing Veo to test their technology on their machines.

The completed system is expected to begin shipping to customers this year. At $40,000, the system is roughly one-tenth of the cost of industrial robots and requires less than a day for installation.

Veo co-founder Patrick Sobalvarro projects $1 billion in annual revenue within five years. Sobalvarro hails Veo’s system as the “end of fear” around bulky but fast-moving industrial robots.

Let Material Handling Equipment from DJ Products Do the Heavy Lifting

Our material handling equipment improves workplace safety in any warehouse. Contact us for more information.

The Unexpectedly High Cost of Warehouse and Forklift Injuries

Be Careful where You Step!
Be Careful where You Step!

Damages to warehouse equipment are easily resolved by repair or replacement, resulting in a fixed cost. But workplace injuries create a financial ripple effect that goes well beyond medical expenses.

Data shows the average work-related injury costs $188,000, with $150,000 of that amount coming from indirect costs. Here’s a look at some eye-opening facts about warehouse and forklift accidents and the different ways they impact operations.

Causes of Warehouse and Forklift Accidents

– The three most common warehouse injuries result from slip-and-fall; musculoskeletal activities such as pushing and lifting; and use of forklifts and other material handling equipment.

– Most accidents occur in, on or around docks, forklifts, conveyors, material storage and manual lifting and handling.

– Approximately 20,000 workplace injuries are sustained in forklift accidents, with 25 percent resulting from an overturned forklift.

– An average of 100 forklift accidents each year end in fatalities. Roughly 42 percent occur when the operator is crushed by a falling vehicle. In many cases, the seatbelt was not used as per OSHA regulations.

– Pallet jack failure is most often caused by poor work habits such as overloaded or improperly configured racks and operator error.

Employer Costs

Primary direct costs of workplace accidents are medical expenses for the injured employee and repair or replacement of damaged warehouse equipment. Indirect expenses include salaries of temporary workers, changes to insurance premiums, legal costs and lost productivity and business opportunities.

Employee Costs

Injured employees also incur direct and indirect costs. These can include reduction or loss of salary, overtime pay and savings; unreimbursed medical expenses; and ongoing treatment for chronic pain.

Warehouse Equipment Designed for Safety

Our battery-powered warehouse equipment reduces the risk of musculoskeletal injury incurred by handling heavy or awkward loads. Contact DJ Products for more information.

Top Behaviors that Cause Forklift Accidents – What to Know

OSHA Weighs in On Forklift Safety Awareness
OSHA Weighs in On Forklift Safety Awareness

Is warehouse equipment safety training a priority in your company’s culture? Statistics show that 10 percent of forklifts will be involved in an accident over the next year due to poor training or operator error, resulting in 100,000 job-related injuries.

Accident prevention is more cost-effective than paying for medical costs and equipment damage. Use these tips to create greater safety awareness among your workers.

Develop Effective Training Programs

Some companies pay lip service to safety training, doing just enough to satisfy requirements. Focus on creating a meaningful training program that integrates demonstrations, interactive lessons and other learning forms to maintain interest. In addition, make training an ongoing process rather than a one-time event.

Identify Risk Factors

Telematic data gathering lets you document location and other significant information about accidents and near misses. Use the data to develop a profile of common risk factors and incorporate the findings in safety training. You can also take steps to counteract risk, such as increasing lighting at dangerous intersections.

Monitor Optical Location Records

Optical location data provides real-time information to track individual drivers. Look for patterns corresponding with safety violations to spotlight areas for improvement.

Identify Risky Driver Behavior

Main causes of operator error include:

– Poor spatial awareness, such as misjudging the size of a load

– Recklessness, such as speeding or driving in unauthorized areas

– Complacency, which leads to lack of awareness regarding pedestrians, obstructions and other potential hazards

Put Safety First with Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Our battery-powered tugs, movers and pushers come with standard safety features such as high-tech speed controllers, neutral throttle braking, and safety stop switches to reduce risk of accidents and injuries. Use the handy chat feature on our website to learn more from our knowledgeable sales engineers.

OSHA Weighs in On Forklift Safety Awareness

OSHA Weighs in On Forklift Safety Awareness
OSHA Weighs in On Forklift Safety Awareness

Forklifts are standard material handling equipment in most warehouses. While forklifts allow greater productivity, they can also increase risk of injury and damage if workers don’t follow safe operating procedures.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) promotes education and training to raise awareness of workplace safety. Here are OSHA’s top tips for operating forklifts safely and efficiently.

Mounting and Dismounting

– Make sure hands are clean and dry to prevent slipping off handholds.

– Don’t use the steering wheel to pull yourself up.

– Check the soles of shoes for grease that may cause your footing to slip.

– Climb in and out carefully and avoid jumping.

Starting and Stopping

– Conduct a visual and operational inspection of the forklift before each use.

– Check the travel path for obstructions.

– Watch out for blind spots and use the horn as needed.

– Don’t park in a spot that blocks the aisle or doorways.

– Always engage the parking brake.

Driving, Steering and Turning

– Drive at a speed that allows for safe stopping.

– Always look in the direction of travel.

– Reduce speed when turning and come to a complete stop before changing directions.

– Make sure forks are lowered before turning or reversing.

– Give pedestrians generous clearance.

– When traveling on an incline, always keep the load upgrade.

Forklift Operators

– Keep arms and legs inside the forklift at all times.

– Never carry passengers on the lift itself.

– Don’t engage in stunt driving or tricks.

– In case of a tipover, hold tight to the steering wheel, brace your feet and lean away from the impact.

Put Safety First with Material Handling Equipment from DJ Products

Minimize costly workplace injuries and damages with our ergonomically-designed tugs, movers and pushers. Visit our website to learn more about our efficient and cost-effective material handling equipment.

Warehouse Injuries – Pallet Rack Collapse Tops the List

Watch Out Above You for any Potential Hazards - Like Falling Wooden Pallets.
Watch Out Above You for any Potential Hazards – Like Falling Wooden Pallets.

You stock your facility with the warehouse equipment necessary to keep employees safe. Unfortunately, even small issues can result in serious injuries to workers when overlooked. Though accidents will happen, making staff aware of safety hazards and arming them with the proper training and tools minimize risks.

Four Commonly Overlooked Warehouse Hazards

The most common warehouse hazards are:

1. Pallet Rack Collapses: Pallet rack collapses occur when materials aren’t stowed in an orderly manner. They are exceptionally dangerous when resulting from high tiers, where even small items can become dangerous projectiles with momentum. Stacking items/pallets with the heaviest/largest items on the bottom and lightest/smallest on top, firmly positioned and wrapped with adequate space between pallets for lift truck access can prevent dangerous, costly accidents.

2. Slips, Trips and Falls: Although the easiest to prevent, this segment constitutes the majority of general industry accidents, causing 15% of accidental deaths (2nd to motor vehicle fatalities). Clear, clutter-free work areas, unobstructed aisles/walkways where hazards are quickly cleaned/quarantined, and proper lighting are key to mitigating risk.

3. Hazmat Incidents: Both small and large-scale hazardous material spills threaten worker safety. Here, employee knowledge of proper cleanup and containment procedures leading to the speedy resolution of spills are key, as is access to the proper personal protective equipment and current safety data sheets.

4. Forklift Crashes: Both environmental hazards and operator mishaps contribute to fatal forklift accidents. Proper training on warehouse equipment, inspecting machinery prior to use, knowledge of industry-specific standards, as well as selecting machinery that is easy to use can reduce the risk of forklift-related injuries and deaths.

Move beyond the basics, minimizing employee risk. Boost employee safety and productivity with the latest in warehouse equipment from DJ Products today.

A Focus on Ergonomics Can Prevent Warehouse Injuries

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Thinking Smarter About How We Travel and Transport Never Hurts to Think About.

Warehouse and fulfillment center workers perform a number of physically demanding and repetitive tasks on a daily basis, creating a high risk for musculoskeletal injuries. Our warehouse equipment is ergonomically designed to be safer and less stressful on muscles and joints.

Create a culture of safety awareness in your warehouse by training employees to incorporate these ergonomic principles in their everyday activities.

Placing and Picking Items

– Take a position squarely facing the item’s location to avoid twisting the spine.

– Keep movements between shoulder and knee height as much as possible.

– Don’t stack carts in such a way that the field of vision is obstructed.

Packing Shipments

– Maintain a neutral posture: straight neck and back, shoulders down, elbows at right angles, wrists straight.

– Organize products and packing materials in a way that eliminates excessive stretching, twisting or lifting.

– Minimize intensity of gripping, pinching and other forces required to complete tasks such as taping and filling packages.

– Use carts, roller tables and other conveyances to limit the need to manually carry items.

Receiving and Shipping

– Don’t overload pallets. Balance loads with larger, heavier items on the bottom and smaller, lighter items on the top.

– Use mechanical assistance such as our tugs, movers and pushers to transport heavy or bulky loads, especially ones that usually require two or more workers.

– Follow proper lifting techniques: stand as close as possible with feet shoulder-width apart, bend at the knees instead of the waist, lift from the legs. Reverse these steps when lowering items.

Improve Safety and Reduce Downtime with Warehouse Equipment from DJ Products

Workplace injuries cost time and money, putting a double whammy on productivity. Let our sales engineers recommend the best electric warehouse equipment for your applications. Visit our website to learn more.

Protect Your Staff from These Top Warehouse Related Injuries

Despite Slow Moving Machinery and Large Space, Accidents in Warehouses do Still Occur.
Despite Slow Moving Machinery and Large Space, Accidents in Warehouses do Still Occur.

How safe is your warehouse? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 5.5 injuries for every 100 warehouse workers. Reduce risk to your employees by using tugger carts and taking steps to prevent these common warehouse injuries.

Forklift and Truck Accidents

Forklifts are standard equipment in nearly every warehouse. While they’re essential for moving materials, forklifts are also involved in many warehouse accidents, either from malfunction or operator error.

Warehouses often contract their trucking needs to third-party providers. Those that handle transportation in-house are vulnerable to employee and property damage from truck accidents.

Overexertion Injuries

Musculoskeletal disorders are responsible for nearly one-third of all worker’s compensation costs in the United States. The back and shoulders are the most frequently injured body parts, although other body parts can also be affected by twisting, pushing and other causes of overexertion.

Loading Dock Injuries

Loading docks are some of the busiest and most congested areas of any warehouse. Injuries can occur due to inattentive truck drivers, unstable loads or moving heavy materials.

Workplace Obstructions

Spills or leaks that aren’t cleaned up promptly can cause employees to slip and fall. When empty pallets, misplaced inventory and other debris block warehouse aisles, other falling accidents are likely to happen.

Falling Objects

Warehouses make use of vertical space in order to maximize returns and minimize costs. It’s a valuable concept, but it increases the chances of materials falling and striking workers down below.

Tugger Carts: A Practical Solution to Warehouse Safety from DJ Products

Tugger carts such as our best-selling CartCaddyLite are ergonomically designed to minimize risk of common musculoskeletal injuries from pushing, lifting and other causes of overexertion. Visit our website and learn more about our full line of electric tugger carts from our sales engineers.