Tag: worker safety

Ergonomic Design Makes the Motorized Cart Workhorse of Future

Ergonomic design, energy efficiency and versatility make DJ Products’ motorized cart the material handling workhorse of the future — or at least the next decade. Our battery-powered and motorized carts and cart movers seem tailor-made for the federal government’s push to improve workplace safety, reduce medical costs, save energy and put more people back to work.

  • Improve workplace safety. The Obama administration is poised to increase governmental regulation of workplace safety issues. Ergonomics will play an important role in creating safe working environments. The science of designing equipment to fit the physical attributes and abilities of the worker, ergonomics reduces discomfort and fatigue and prevents repetitive strain injuries that can lead to long-term disability.
  • Reduce medical costs. With Congress revamping the national health care system, businesses will be working even harder to bring down medical costs. By preventing expensive musculoskeletal injuries, ergonomics helps businesses drastically reduce medical costs, worker’s compensation expenses and medical insurance premiums.
  • Save energy. The President’s promise at the U.N. Copenhagen climate conference to drastically cut the nation’s carbon dioxide production places renewed emphasis on equipment that isn’t powered by CO2-producing fossil fuels. DJ Product’s motorized carts and tugs use clean, green battery or electric power. Just like the Energizer Bunny, our tugs keep going and going, operating through two full shifts on a single charge.
  • Put people back to work. With most of the country starting the year with double-digit unemployment, putting people back to work is the government’s primary 2010 goal. Ergonomic design makes it possible for workers of any size, age or sex to easily operate any of DJ Products’ versatile motorized carts. Intuitive design and conveniently placed controls make for safe operation with minimal training.

To find out more about DJ Products’ ergonomically designed motorized carts and tugs, visit our website.

Workman’s Compensation Claim Trends

Workman’s compensation claims are one of the biggest factors affecting a company’s management of their labor force and costs. Major changes to the national business and healthcare landscapes are expected to have a significant impact on this issue during the upcoming years.

Here’s a roundup of some of the more newsworthy trends taking shape.

  • According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), the number of lost-times claims has been on a downward trend for the last 15 years. However, analysts are predicting an end to this movement with claims beginning to rise in both number and frequency as the nation continues to climb out of the recession of the 2000s.
  • While the full effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) won’t be completely known for several years, some believe that it will help reduce workman’s compensation costs. The removal of lifetime limits and pre-existing condition restrictions will result in less shifting of claims from individual healthcare insurance coverage.
  • Another factor with unpredictable effects is the return of military veterans from the Middle East. All soldiers are scheduled to be out of combat zones by 2016, which will create an influx of new employees in the workforce. It remains to be seen how the workman’s compensation system will be impacted when employers need to accommodate employees with existing physical and mental injuries.

Use of our motorized tugs and pushers from DJ Products can help reduce the number of claims in your workplace. Their ease of use and ergonomic design allows one person to safely transport loads up to 50,000 pounds. Call 800.686.2651 and let one of our friendly Sales Engineers help you find the perfect solution.

Election Ushers in Era of ‘Ergobamanomics’

In the wake of Barack Obama’s election, U.S. industry should brace itself for a re-emphasis on ergonomics in the workplace. We are about to enter the era of “Ergobamanomics,” predicts senior editor Austin Weber, coining the phrase in his November 6 post on AssemblyBlog, a function of Assembly magazine which serves the manufacturing product assembly market.

“We’re going to have a government that makes sure workers aren’t put at unnecessary risk,” Obama said while stumping on the campaign trail this summer. It seems likely that increased federal emphasis on the development and implementation of ergonomics standards and legislation will be part of the Obama administration’s plan to revitalize and improve U.S. industry. In numerous studies, ergonomics has been proven to significantly reduce workplace injuries and improve worker health and safety.

While workplace health and safety policy changes may not be immediate — president-elect Obama will, after all, have his hands full with more pressing problems in the first few months of his presidency — a solid Democratic majority in Congress makes it likely that tighter ergonomic standards will see quick passage in the near future. Some industry experts believe that a return to the OSHA standards of the Clinton administration could easily be enacted by Congress within the first six months of the new Obama administration.

The sweeping OSHA ergonomics changes ushered in by the Clinton administration in 2000 were quickly repealed by Republicans when George Bush took office in 2001. OSHA’s scaled-back ergonomics plan of 2002 revised the controversial Clinton-era regulations to focus primarily on the reduction of repetitive stress injuries. During his 2004 Senate campaign, Obama said he supported reviving the more comprehensive Clinton OSHA ergonomic standards. During his presidential campaign, Obama has repeatedly promised to renew the government’s commitment to improving the health and safety of all American workers.

Critics fear that a return to Clinton-era OSHA ergonomics standards would place an additional onerous burden on struggling American businesses. Tighter ergonomics standards could necessitate retooling and restructuring of production tasks. Training programs would have to be developed and executed. Increased record-keeping of repetitive stress and musculoskeletal complaints and injuries would also add to time-consuming paperwork and reporting demands, critics charge.

Despite industry fears, ergonomically-designed equipment and work procedures have the proven capacity to increase production efficiency and substantially cut injury rates. Results are both immediate and long-term, resulting in instantaneous and sustained reductions in medical, insurance, workers compensation and lost work hours while reaping considerable gains in worker satisfaction, production efficiency and improved product quality and customer service.

For more information on how ergonomically-designed equipment can improve your business, talk to the experts at DJ Products.