Warehouse Ergonomics Are Less About OSHA Than Productivity and Staff Retention

worker with fork pallet truck
Warehouse Ergonomics and Productivity

The practice of warehouse ergonomics began as a way to safeguard employees from injuries due to overexertion or repetitive motions. As the industry faces an increasing labor shortage, implementing ergonomics has become crucial in terms of retaining workers while also maintaining high service levels.

Current State of Ergonomic Practices in the United States

Unlike countries such as Canada and Australia, ergonomics are not covered by federal law in the United States. OSHA’s General Duty Clause is so broadly written that companies are cited only when extremely poor conditions exist. Jim Galante, chairman of MHI’s Ergonomic Assist Systems and Equipment (EASE) Council, says that despite loose regulations, awareness of ergonomic practices has grown.

According to Galante, efforts to solve production problems and improve efficiency often result in ergonomic solutions. Issues such as improper motions and wasted energy are almost always at the root of bottlenecks and slowdowns.

In addition, a changing workforce has become a serious concern for the warehouse industry. Galante cites statistics showing that the average workforce age has doubled over the past 22 years, while a third of its members are now classified as obese.

What are the Best Methods to Implement Ergonomics?

  • When choosing equipment such as warehouse tugs and movers, consider the impact on overall productivity as well as individual workers.
  • Regularly solicit feedback from employees who are actually using the equipment. Take the information into consideration when evaluating processes and make necessary modifications.

Boost Workplace Safety with Warehouse Tugs and Movers

DJ Products offers a wide variety of ergonomically designed material handling solutions to meet every need. Visit our website for more information.

Warehouse Tugs Make Achieving Goals Easier

Though the basic strategy of moving product, filling orders and satisfying customers may have remained the same the methods by which warehouse employees go about these goals has changed. Advancements in equipment have improved warehouse worker efficiency without increasing the risk of injury. In fact high quality pieces of equipment like the warehouse tugs from DJ Products can help to increase employee efficiency while improving the safety of the working environment at the same time.

The warehouse tugs from DJ run on long lasting batteries. This allows employees in high volume distribution centers to haul heavy loads of product for customer orders for an entire eight hour shift or more without stopping to recharge. This reliability helps to ensure that all orders that need to be filled will make it to their destination on or ahead of schedule. Consistently fulfilling customer orders accurately and delivering them within the desired timeframe is the best way to foster solid relationships and to ensure future orders.

The warehouse tugs from DJ are undoubtedly designed with improved performance in mind but increased efficiency is certainly not the only benefit of using battery powered warehouse tugs. The battery powered warehouse tugs from DJ have a number of attributes that make warehouse employees safer.

Warehouse tugs from DJ allow employees to easily transport heavy loads of product from one side of the warehouse to another without any undue strain. Warehouse workers with access to battery powered tugs can move exceedingly heavy loads up and down aisles and across shipping and receiving areas with having to strong arm manual carts. This reduces the risk of debilitating musculoskeletal injuries and keeps valuable employees from having to miss work.

Minimizing injuries not only helps to ensure that orders are filled it will reduce costs associated with medical care and workers compensation claims. Increasing the amount of orders that are filled while simultaneously reducing spending associated with injury claims will ultimately make a high volume distribution center more profitable.

New Warehouse Tugs Minimize Mistakes and Headaches

Accuracy and speed are two essential traits in warehouse and distribution environments that want to stand out from the competition. In order to create loyal customers and repeat business high priority orders must be filled on or ahead of schedule and those orders must be free of mistakes.

During instances of high volume it can be incredibly difficult for distribution centers to keep up with the demand if they don’t have the proper equipment. It is possible to ensure that orders are filled at the highest level of accuracy in the minimum amount of time without increasing injury risk though. Upgrading from manual material handling equipment to battery powered warehouse tugs can instantly increase employee efficiency without putting employees at risk.

The battery powered warehouse tugs from DJ Products allow distribution center employees to haul heavy loads of product at speeds of up to three miles per hour. This helps to ensure that important orders are shipped on or ahead of schedule without adding additional strain to valuable employees.

The battery powered tugs from DJ Products are also smaller and easier to maneuver than many of the other powered tugs on the market. The warehouse tugs from DJ work as well in narrow aisles and crowded shipping areas as the do in areas of the warehouse that are completely open.

Distribution can be exceedingly competitive. Having the right type of equipment can give one company a decided advantage over another. A simple and affordable upgrade to battery powered warehouse tugs can have a profound impact on the speed which your employees are capable of fulfilling orders. Having the ability to deliver orders faster than the competition can be a huge advantage that will result in repeat business.

Reliability and Convenience from Battery Powered Warehouse Tugs

Having the right piece of equipment on site can make a profound difference in both employee safety and efficiency in a high volume distribution center. Relying on manual push carts or out of date combustion engine lifts can result in delays to important shipments and put valuable employees at risk for injury.

Any employee required to manually haul heavy loads of product across a large warehouse to complete an order is at an increased risk of injury. Trying to strong arm a cart loaded with close to a ton of material can easily result in debilitating musculoskeletal injuries that could sideline valuable employees for weeks.

Battery powered warehouse tugs are an affordable and highly reliable material handling solution for high volume distribution centers. The battery powered warehouse tugs from DJ Products allow for stress free transport of heavy loads of material at speeds up to three miles per hour. This means that high priority customer orders can be filled according to schedule without putting additional strain on valuable employees.

The warehouse tugs from DJ Products are also quite a bit smaller and much easier to maneuver than most traditional fork trucks. These convenient tugs help warehouse employees to quickly navigate narrow aisles or crowded shipping areas without increasing the risk of accidents or injuries.

Speed and reliability are two essential features of the equipment in a busy distribution center. Having access to equipment like the warehouse tugs from DJ Products can instantly make employees in just about any warehouse environment more efficient.

Increasing employee speed and efficiency at the same time as minimizing the chances for injury can provide a distribution center with a distinct advantage over the competition. Orders that are consistently completed on or ahead of schedule can ultimately result in improved relationships with customers and additional opportunities for business.

Making Money Without Spending Money

The old saying, “you’ve got to spend money to make money” is true but you don’t always necessarily need to spend a great deal of money in order to increase profits. What about the successful businessman whose profits have plateaued? He may have some money to spend, but expansion requires a loan. Once the loan is in place he may be forced to cut corners on services to save the money needed to pay back the loan. The bank stays happy in this scenario but customers may start leaving due to lack of performance.

This is the dangerous conundrum faced by all business owners, especially in today’s economy. In order to justify a new expense the future benefit must be able to outweigh the expenditure.

There are other ways for a business person to expand their profits that don’t necessitate throwing money away. In many cases a business can make minor upgrades and make better use of the space they’ve already got in order to improve the bottom line.

Take a large distribution center. There may be a need to find a larger facility, but the rents nearby may be too expensive to make a move feasible. You then must look at how to reduce the space you use so you can increase capacity. One solution can be to replace some large, outdated gas forklifts with smaller battery powered cart pullers like the CartCaddy warehouse tug available from DJ products.

In addition to reducing fuel costs, these tugs are smaller and take up less room in your facility. That leaves more room that your business can use to its advantage. These tugs are ergonomically designed to keep worker safety and health concerns to a minimum. The smaller size also makes them more maneuverable so hardworking employees can move a lot more product in a shorter period of time. The warehouse tugs from DJ Products can help you increase your competitive edge and your profits now and in the future without a major initial investment.

Improving Working Conditions with Warehouse Tugs

Working in a high volume warehouse can put employees under a tremendous amount of stress and create situations where serious injuries could occur. By implementing the use of a variety of warehouse tugs employers can ensure the highest level of productivity and the highest level of safety for valuable employees.

In many warehouse and distribution environments there are times when business increases. When a multitude of customers are waiting for shipments and incoming deliveries are waiting to be unloaded and processed warehouse employees can be pushed to their physical limits. If the appropriate equipment isn’t available and employees are required to perform the majority of their material handling manually the chance for injuries is dramatically increased.

DJ Products offers a tremendous selection of warehouse tugs to help warehouse and distribution center employees complete a variety of duties safely and efficiently. DJ Products offers walk behind and ride on solutions capable of tackling just about any material handling task in any warehouse or distribution environment.

Using the most appropriate warehouse tugs will eliminate the vast majority of physical stress placed on employees during day to day duties. These versatile pieces of equipment can minimize the instances of musculoskeletal injuries and keep valuable employees where warehouse owners need them the most – at work.

All of the warehouse solutions offered by DJ Products run on high powered batteries. The warehouse tugs from DJ are capable of running for an entire eight hour shift or more on a single charge. This means that warehouse employees will be able to focus on performing their required duties without unnecessary interruptions.

In order for a warehouse or distribution center to have success the staff needs to be capable of keeping up with the demand for materials. Upgrading from manual equipment to powered warehouse tugs can instantly increase the efficiency of warehouse employees and make keeping up with demand safer and easier.

Get Ready for the Holiday Shopping Rush

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Get Your Warehouse Ready for December!

The holiday shopping season is in full swing, with “Black Friday” shopping spread out across the season. For retail, that means heavy traffic and high workloads for weeks on end.

Many people shop early in November and late into December to avoid the major crowds. Ironically, for retailers that actually lengthens the span of time spent dealing with higher-than-normal store traffic.

The National Retail Federation recently released its annual survey of consumer holiday shopping statistics. With 46 percent of holiday shopping taking place online, brick-and-mortar retailers need to convert traffic into sales efficiently. Online shopping provides the lure of convenience, so stores need to make it easy for customers to find and buy items.

Buyers love the “in-store pickup” option. This process can be streamlined by having employees use baskets and shopping carts to prep orders.

The Right Tools to Help Customers Shop

We often talk about inventory moving carts to help keep the warehouse and stock room in full motion. For holiday shopping, you also need a solution to retrieve shopping carts so customers don’t feel turned away or stressed.

Our motorized shopping cart movers help your business turn more sales and keep your employees fresh and energized. The benefits of shopping cart movers include:

  • Present a great first impression on shoppers
  • Encourage shopping cart use vs. carrying items by hand
  • Retain your best workers with improved working conditions
  • Simplify the task for seasonal workers with less experience
  • Protection from parking lot accidents

Help your employees keep customers happy — empower them with shopping cart movers for retrieving and relocating carts without the physical strain of doing it manually.