Travelers Insurance, one of the leading worker’s compensation insurance carriers, has analyzed more than 1.5M workers’ compensation claims between 2015 and 2019. They’ve published their findings in the ‘Travelers Injury Impact Report’, and they highlight just how risky it is to keep janitorial staff moving dumpsters by hand.
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Dumpster Mover: Reduce Injury + Increase Productivity
They found that the three most common causes of all injuries were:
- 29% overexertion
- 23% slips, trips and falls
- 14% struck by an object
A trash room employee definitely runs the risk of any of these injuries occurring.
When they looked at the injuries they found:
- 38% were strains and sprains
- 35% were fractures, dislocations, contusions, or inflammation
- 5% were cuts and puncture wounds
Again, it’s clear that the risk of a trash room employee sustaining these sorts of injuries is high.
So, how can you reduce these risks?
Be sure you have clearly communicated safety rules with staff involved in dumpster moving. Here’s a list of things your janitorial or maintenance team can do to ensure they manage dumpsters safely.
- Keep the dumpster area clean
- Watch out for and clear up trip hazards (e.g. cardboard or trash bags on the floor)
- Don’t climb into the dumpster
- Don’t compress trash in the dumpster using hands or feet
- Watch out for hands and fingers when closing the lid
- Close dumpster lids when moving dumpsters outdoors to prevent trash fly outs
- Don’t use a damaged dumpster.
- Don’t put hazardous waste and materials in a regular dumpster. Dispose of these items using the appropriate method.
- Exercise caution when the weather is bad
- Never fight a dumpster fire! Call the fire department
- Don’t try to remove animals or pests. Call your local animal control
- Use an electric dumpster mover to tow dumpsters to and from the trash collection point
WARNING! – moving heavy dumpsters by hand carries the risk of injury
An Electric Dumpster Mover Can Help Reduce Risk
A commercial grade, battery operated, dumpster mover is a cost-effective way to keep your trash room staff safe and reduce your workers comp insurance costs. They are designed to eliminate the physical effort needed to move a heavy dumpster from the compactor room or underground parking lot up to the trash collection point.
The Electric Motor Does the Work
The risk of sustaining back injuries or strains and sprains is dramatically reduced if you replace muscle power with an electric dumpster mover. Trash room staff need only use thumb power to get a heavy dumpster to the trash collection point (even on steep inclines)
Keeping a Safe Distance
When moving a dumpster manually the janitorial staff have got to get hands on with the dumpster. Aside from getting their hands dirty, this also means that their hands and feet are in prime position for what safety people call ‘finger, hand and foot trapping hazards’. When you use a dumpster mover those risks are significantly reduced because you’ve now put a machine between the dumpster and the employee.
- Reduce the risk of back injuries and muscle strains
- Prevent finger, hand and foot trapping
- Stop someone from being trapped between the wall and a heavy dumpster
Slopes are a Cakewalk
Pushing a heavy dumpster up a parking lot ramp is exhausting and what’s more… you can’t stop for a break halfway up or else you’ll just roll back to the bottom. An electric dumpster mover replaces that manual grunt work with a way of easily walking the dumpster up and down a slope. If the employee needs to stop, then no problem, a powerful brake will hold the dumpster in place until they’re ready to get going again.
No Slipping!
Trash rooms are dirty places and sometimes it’s hard to get the grip needed to get a heavy dumpster moving the way you want it to. An electric dumpster mover will stop your team from slipping and sliding in the trash room. Just hook up the machine and walk it out the door.
A Dumpster Mover is a Smart Investment
No one wants to get injured at work. Investing in an electric dumpster mover is a quick and simple way to keep your staff safe while reducing your costs and liability. Using an electric dumpster mover reduces the risk of your team injuring themselves or others.
