In recent years, improving worker safety has become an important focus in most industries, as job-related injuries can result in employee absenteeism, reduced productivity and increased costs.

Many material handling applications pose serious health and safety risks, requiring workers to move heavy loads either through sheer manpower or by using equipment that is unstable, difficult to control or ergonomically deficient. To overcome these safety challenges, the development of battery-operated tug devices allows employees to single-handedly move materials weighing thousands of pounds without exposing them to unnecessary risk of injury. Battery operated tugs enhance safety by preventing operator strain and reducing potential collisions on busy plant floors, resulting in improved productivity and efficiency—ultimately impacting a company’s overall profitability.

Material handling applications often require operators to move objects weighing thousands of pounds, which can result in serious safety and health consequences. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, an estimated 2.8 million workers in the United States suffered nonfatal work-related injuries, which not only affects productivity, but also directly impacts a company’s bottom line. Each injury results in workers’ compensation, insurance increases, lost productivity, and diverse indirect costs, which amount to billions of dollars each year nationwide.

Traditionally, industries have been utilizing manpower, forklift trucks and pallet jacks to transport goods throughout a facility. While effective solutions for moving goods, these devices create worker vulnerability by exposing them to potential injury, such as muscle strains, nerve damage or in some cases, even death. Lacking stability and control, forklifts and pallet jacks increase the likelihood of incidental contact with personnel and equipment, while manpower can lead to injuries resulting from overexertion.

With today’s industries moving faster than ever, implementing solutions that adhere to strict safety regulations without impacting productivity is crucial to meeting growing customer demands. The development of battery-operated tug units, which are capable of effortlessly moving thousands of pounds, eliminates excess strain or exertion to personnel for increased material handling safety. With their inherent stability, tugs accommodate uneven surfaces without tipping, and are engineered to simplify material mobility. This allows facility managers to not only minimize risk of injury, but also improve efficiency, productivity and profitability.

Safety Hazards Associated with Conventional Material Handling Methods
Traditional methods of material transportation— manpower, forklift trucks and pallet jacks— expose employees to unnecessary risk. While these solutions are effective for moving goods, and are still commonly accepted, they each suffer concept or design flaws that increase risk factors for potential injury on the plant floor.

Manpower
Manpower refers to one or more employees physically pushing or pulling a load to its intended destination. This method of material mobility presents numerous safety hazards to workers, including overexertion and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). With manpower, the majority of the force required to build enough momentum to propel the load forward is through the initial exertion. Therefore, most injuries occur while workers are attempting to set a load in motion. The National Safety Council states that in 2018, the primary cause of serious workplace injuries arose from overexertion due to lifting, pushing, turning, holding, or carrying heavy loads—accounting for 31.4 percent of all work-related injuries and costing companies nearly $53.6 billion in total costs each year.

Relying on manpower to move loads that weigh hundreds or even thousands of pounds contribute to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders within material handling applications. These disorders make up over a quarter of all work-related injuries and effect nearly all tissues, including the nerves and tendon sheaths. The physical strain required when using manpower often causes sprains, nerve damage, hernias and joint dislocations.

To help instill safer material handling procedures, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) outlined parameters on what constitutes a material handling safety hazard. When deciding if a hazard exists, they consider the repetitiveness of lifting the distance from the load to the spine; the weight, size and stability of the load lifted; and the footing at the worksite. Though NIOSH provides helpful guidelines to avoiding injury when moving large or heavy loads, on a busy plant floor, operators do not always have the time to carefully calculate these factors before proceeding.

Forklift Trucks
Forklifts are a more convenient alternative to manpower that lacks the physicality of manual labor by mechanically lifting and moving heavy loads; however, they do present a separate set of safety concerns. Congestion on the plant floor, reduced load control, vehicle instability and polluted air emissions are just a few of the potential risks associated with forklift truck operation.

Due to the instability of their design, forklift trucks can overturn from overload, incorrect load positioning, operator errors or poor maintenance—putting drivers at life-threatening risk. Further, forklifts increase the risk of collisions. By moving at high speeds throughout the facility, forklifts not only run the risk of striking other forklifts, but also increase hazards for employees. Additionally, ergonomic deficiencies also lead to potential injuries. Uncomfortable seating and poor shocks can cause operators to suffer back, neck and arm pain induced by exerting excessive physical effort to compensate for vehicle vibrations.

Forklift trucks can also impact the indoor air quality of the facility. These vehicles emit exhaust gasses that pollute the air within the facility, subsequently forcing occupants to breathe in these toxins. This will eventually lower the air quality for the building and poor indoor air quality can have significant health consequences, such as causing or exacerbating respiratory disorders, fatigue, headaches and more.

Pallet Jacks
Another device frequently used in material handling applications is a pallet jack, which operates similarly to forklift trucks, but on a much smaller scale. Pallet jacks lift and move stationary loads to provide a walk-behind alternative to forklift trucks. Available in both manual and electric options, pallet jacks are designed to haul pallets through warehouses. Difficult to control, pallet jacks result in accidental contact with other employees or equipment. When maneuvering pallet jacks, operators commonly run over other employees’ feet, fracturing bones and creating a hazard to pedestrian traffic. Pallet jack operators can also pin either themselves or other employees against walls, causing serious damage.

In addition to lack of control, operators must also be concerned about pallet jack depreciation, as wear and tear on the device can escalate safety concerns. If tires are worn unevenly or have flat spots, pallet jacks will not carry the load uniformly, increasing the possibility that the load will tip or fall. Also, breakdowns with operational systems such as the hydraulics, steering or brakes could cause serious accidents when a load cannot be stopped or controlled. Further, workers can also experience stress to the hands and arms because of difficulty steering and stopping the device.

The Evolution of Material Mobility
With an estimated 75 forklift fatalities and thousands of material handling-related injuries each year, the need for a new solution arose. To mitigate some of the serious safety risks associate with forklifts and pallet jacks, many industries are moving away from this technology to wheeled cart solutions. Battery-operated tugs are designed to provide a safer alternative for moving large loads, without exposing personnel to unnecessary risk. By effectively distributing and mobilizing virtually any load on wheels, users can transport thousands of pounds with total control and without strain—preventing injuries, reduced productivity and lost revenue experienced with other material handling solutions.

Engineered for Safety
Battery-operated tugs are designed to ideally distribute weight and maximize torque. Containing specifically designed gears, this technology effectively converts speed to torque, enabling operators to minimize the effort required to pull or push loads. The body of these devices acts as a wedge, slightly lifting the load at an angle and transferring all the weight to the drive wheels, which allows torque to propel the device forward. With this technology, users can maneuver heavy materials without straining muscles—reducing the likelihood of injury during initial exertion.

Tugs also include features that prevent incidental injury during operation. Machines equipped with anti-runaway capabilities power down once the throttle is released. Additionally, the tug is designed in a way that, prior to operation, users must actively pull back the handle and hold it in place to power-up the machine. Together, these features prevent any incidental propulsion of the device. Another safety feature built into the controls of the machine is an emergency reverse switch.  When pulling a load in reverse, if the device comes into direct contact with the operator’s torso, the emergency switch will automatically move the tug forward and stop the machine, preventing users from being pinned or crushed.

Along with operational safety features, these devices can also be constructed to improve ergonomics. For instance, devices containing ergonomically designed handles protect fingers from being crushed when turning corners sharply. With the tug’s easy maneuverability, users will not experience shoulder and back pain due to overcompensating for lack of control. Plus, by allowing operators to be closer to the loads, tugs offer better visibility to reduce incidental collisions with equipment and other workers.

Flexible Material Handling
Tugs not only improve control, but also increase flexibility with the option to push and pull loads, depending on application requirements. Further, these devices can provide additional stability, as multiple devices can work in unison to move difficult loads. For instance, when constructing prefabricated housing, each piece is moved sideways along the construction zone. Using a tug on each end of the piece, operators can push the material in sync.

Material handling tugs can also be equipped with safety accessories and job-specific attachments. With the option for safety horns and strobes, operators can signal facility occupants of their impeding approach to avoid collisions—even on noisy plant floors. Further, for challenging or diverse loads, tugs can be equipped with attachments designed to complement individual needs, such as a push pad assembly, railroad truck attachment and an angle plate for modular homes. These attachments provide the ideal performance capabilities for transporting virtually any load safely and efficiently.

Indirect Benefits Realized by Improving Safety Productivity
Implementing tugs proactively reduces the number of work-related injuries in material handling applications, which has a direct effect on worker productivity. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2015, 38.5 percent of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) were back injuries that required an average absence of 12 days off work. Preventing the occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders reduce employee absenteeism, which improves overall productivity. Additionally, material handling tugs also increase employee productivity by simplifying material handling applications. In situations where manpower is used, utilizing multiple workers to push a single load reduces the amount of productivity realized, as personnel are
abandoning their tasks to aid in moving heavy loads. By allowing one worker to single-handedly control materials weighing over 100,000 pounds, the number of workers dedicated to a single material handling task decreases, ultimately
reducing unnecessary production halts.

Profitability
According to the National Safety Council, in 2018, the cost per medically consulted work injury was $41,000. This figure includes the cost of the injury, wages paid to injured workers, costs related to lost productivity, worker replacement costs and administrative time. Each injury encompasses direct and indirect expenses that are appropriated from a company’s revenue stream, which hinders its ability to experience profit growth. Therefore, when safety is improved and the resulting number of injuries decreases, these incidental costs no longer impact the company’s capacity for profit gain.

Conclusion
Material handling affects virtually every industry, making the need for a safer solution a critical component for continued efficiency and productivity. Integrating basic safety qualities and ergonomic design features with sophisticated gear technology, battery operated tugs meet converging industry demands for improved safety with unimpeded productivity.

Source: powerpusher.com