Darr Equipment believes that safety is worth celebrating. And Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, agrees. This week, Matthew Moody, from Texas Mutual, awarded Darr Equipment a Texas Mutual Safety Award.

Texas Mutual Workers’ Compensation Insurance, based in Austin, Texas, awards this recognition to just 200 out of the company’s 72,000 policyholders across Texas. Only those who have demonstrated an outstanding safety record and whose practices ensure the highest level of worker safety receive recognition.

"Darr Equipment is honored to receive the Texas Mutual Safety Trophy for 2019. It is highly important to our company as a whole because safety is always our top priority, especially when it comes to the lives of our team members," said Colleen Johnson, Human Resources, Darr Equipment.

In its award notification, Texas Mutual stated that Darr equipment clearly had made safety a core value and provided the needed resources to protect its employees from workplace hazard.

Fuel-driven forklifts, also known as LPG forklifts, have long
been a staple in warehouses and construction sites. Today, however, companies
have the option to choose a different kind of forklift, one powered by
electricity. Both types of forklift have their own place among work sites and
warehouses. The best way to select the right machine for your needs is to
understand the unique advantages each provides. To help you get started, here
is a look at the benefits that electric forklifts offer.

Emission-Free

Fuel-powered forklifts give off emissions that can be harmful
to the health of operators, workers, and others in the area. That is why
warehouses often require ventilation systems to deal with these emissions.
Electric-powered forklifts, on the other hand, give off no emissions. This
makes them both safer and more convenient to use indoors, and makes them better
for the environment.

Quiet

Warehouses increasingly need to save space. With consumers buying more and more items, warehouses have more and more product to store. At the same time, soaring building costs make renting or building more space cost prohibitive for many businesses.

To that end, space saving industrial racking systems are a must. Whether they enable warehouses to store more product in the same area, allow for narrower aisles, or eliminate aisles altogether, they all have one thing in common: They help warehouses make the most out of the space they have.

Pallet Flow Warehouse Racking

Industrial racking systems that maximize storage and minimize space include pallet flow warehouse racking solutions. These systems consist of gravity rollers that automatically move pallets from the loading side of the
shelves to the picking side.

As a result, these systems allow for first in, first out (FIFO) picking of inventory while doubling or even tripling available storage space. They also cut down on labor because the system moves the pallets into picking
position automatically, rather than requiring any physical handling of the pallets to get them to the right location.

Americans are shopping more than ever before, and there is one specific way in which that penchant for buying things is impacting the warehouse industry: It is forcing warehouses to store more inventory.

More specifically, warehouses now need to stock more SKUs in order to meet people's demands for more and more items. In fact, in 2015, the number of SKUs the average warehouse managed rose by almost 19 percent. In the last 15 years, people's spending on items like jewelry, household goods, and even clothing, has doubled.

All the items that people are buying need to be stored somewhere. The problem is that warehouses don't always have the space to easily fit all of these items. Every year since 2015, there has been an average shortage of 170 million square feet of warehouse space per year. Despite the fact that the average warehouse size has grown from 127,000 square feet to 180,000 square feet over the last 15 years, warehouses are still often looking for more efficient and compact ways of storing their inventory.

One tool that is a must-have in warehouses trying to better utilize space is the reach truck forklift. These smaller forklifts offer you a way to improve the storage capacity of your warehouse without enlarging your space. Here are a few of the biggest benefits of using a reach truck forklift, particularly when dealing with space challenges in your warehouse.

A reach truck forklift allows for narrower aisles.

When you want to clean your warehouse floors in the fastest and most efficient way possible, you cannot beat an electric floor scrubber. These corded or battery operated machines come in many varieties. You can select a push version or a ride-on version. You can choose from many different scrubber sizes. You can even choose touchless scrubbers that do not require an operator to work.

An electric floor scrubber can also be a financial investment. As a result, it might be tempting to stick with the old mop and bucket in order to save money on the purchase price of an electric floor scrubber. Doing so, however, means missing out on the many ways that an electric floor scrubber can improve the overall efficiency, safety, and even cost effectiveness of keeping your warehouse floors clean.

An electric floor scrubber uses less water

Yellow signs declaring "Wet Floor" have long been commonplace in stores, gymnasiums, and warehouses, where slips and falls can lead to serious injury and serious lawsuits. While these signs can reduce accidents and liability, they cannot prevent wet floors from occurring during the cleaning process. An electric floor scrubber, on the other hand, can.

An electric floor scrubber uses less water to lay down soap and draw away dirt and grime. In addition, these machines are much more efficient at sucking up the water they do use. As a result, they leave behind floors that are drier and safer than are floors treated with a traditional mop and bucket. That means that leave behind a smaller chance of slips, falls, accidents, and lawsuits, all while keeping your warehouse floors clean.

An electric floor scrubber gets floors cleaner

A traditional mop and bucket are notorious for spreading dirt around instead of cleaning it up. Dirty water and mop heads can keep the floor from truly getting clean. In addition, a mop and bucket may simply be unable to effectively remove stubborn spots of grime and dirt build up.

Forklift maintenance isn't just important: It is required by OSHA, and with good reason. Forklift maintenance catches problems before they become major accidents at the job site, thereby protecting both your inventory and your workers. Forklift maintenance can also be expensive. Paying a trained technician to come out and inspect your forklift regularly, in addition to carrying out your own inspections, will cost money.

However, there are ways to save money on forklift maintenance. If you can stay on top of issues like the cleanliness and repair of your floor, the training of your operators, and your maintenance contract, you can keep your forklifts in good working order with a minimum of expenditures.

Save money on forklift maintenance by keeping your floors clean and repaired.

Keeping dust and dirt off your forklifts is an important part of forklift maintenance. Dust and dirt can lead to fires, as well as create wear and tear on your machine. You can prevent problems caused by dust, dirt, and debris by cleaning your forklift regularly, and by making sure your floors are clean and in good repair.

For example, pieces of plastic, wood, or other debris on the floor can take chunks out of tires and speed up their wear and tear. Plastic can get wrapped around ball bearings. Dust and dirt can collect on the forklift. Cracked or potholed floors can lead to jolts that can damage the sensitive internal systems of the forklift. By maintaining your floors, you reduce the amount of damage the forklifts accrue day to day, thereby putting off even small repairs and their associated costs.

If your warehouse is like many others, you are trying to fit more inventory into a static space. In the face of increasing warehouse rental rates, moving is not always feasible, while spending millions to build a new warehouse is also often unrealistic for cash-strapped businesses.

When faced with the need to store more items in the same space, you may want to look up. Taking advantage of your vertical storage space can help you to fit more inventory into your warehouse without impacting efficiency in picking orders. You just need the right pallet racking to make vertical storage possible.

When choosing this pallet racking, the biggest factor to consider is how high it needs to be. Typically, pallet racking can be stacked in tiers consisting of upright posts and shelving beams. The number of stacks you need depends on a number of different factors, all of which you will need to consider before purchasing your pallet racking.

Consider the height of your ceilings when choosing pallet racking.

The, perhaps obvious, first step in choosing pallet racking is to consider the height of your warehouse ceilings. For example, if you have 15-foot ceilings, you won't be able to purchase 16-foot pallet racking, while 16 feet of racking might be ideal for 20-foot ceilings.

"Time is money," as the old saying goes. With customers ordering smaller quantities of items, and a greater variety of items, than ever before, more than 50 percent of your warehouse's operational costs, if you are
like the average warehouse, is spent on picking orders. All that time spent picking orders is money draining out of your pocket.

You can avoid the money drain and improve efficiency in your warehouse by using an order picker. The faster you pick orders, the more orders you can fill in a day, and the more efficient your pickers' work becomes. Simply,
you’ll be able to improve your profit margins and your warehouse's efficiency while also getting products to your customers in a timely manner.

The right order picker can make a measurable difference in your warehouse efficiency. Here is how.

An order picker allows pickers to access various heights quickly.

Imagine if a picker had to access a light switch that was 15
feet off the ground and then reach a faceplate for the switch at a height of 25
feet off the ground. Now imagine if that employee had to repeat that process
for 100 orders.

When you run a warehouse that depends upon the safe and efficient storage of numerous heavy pallets, you need heavy duty industrial shelving. The right pallet racking system, with the right shelving, will form the backbone of your storage capabilities.

While pallet racking systems are designed to safely handle heavy loads, you still need to treat them with care. Neglect, overloading, and other mistakes can compromise even the best heavy duty industrial shelving. To maintain safety in your warehouse, here are a few tips for safely using your heavy duty industrial shelving.

Avoid overloading heavy duty industrial shelving.

Typically, heavy duty industrial shelving will come with weight
limits. When using this shelving, it is important to observe these limits.
Heavy duty industrial shelving will hold large loads without buckling. However,
even the strongest shelving will give way if chronically overloaded. If you
need further storage capacity, it is better to invest in additional storage
than to exceed the weight limits on your current shelving.

If you are not sure what the weight limits are for your
shelving, you can always check with the manufacturer or the dealer from whom
you bought the shelving. The best approach, however, is to be sure you know the
weight limits before you make your purchase. Only buy shelving that can handle
the loads you anticipate handling. If you need assistance finding shelving that
can handle your needs, or figuring out how to organize your warehouse in order
to avoid overloading, a business like Darr can help.

The secret to a forklift that functions smoothly and effectively for the long-term is forklift maintenance. If you own a forklift, you probably already know about the regulations and recommendations guiding forklift maintenance. Some of these include completing pre-shift inspections or having a technician examine the machine on a regular basis and replacing parts that are showing signs of wear and tear.

One aspect of forklift maintenance that can be easy to overlook, however, is cleaning your machine. Keeping it nice and clean isn't just a way of maintaining a professional appearance. It is also a way to extend the life of your forklift. A clean forklift rusts more slowly, is less likely to catch fire, and operates more reliably. So how do you clean a forklift? Read on to learn more about this important part of forklift maintenance.

Remove dust and dirt from your forklift before washing it.

Typically, you dust before you vacuum, and you sweep before you mop. Likewise, before you engage in the cleaning part of forklift maintenance, you should take the time to remove loose dust and dirt from your machine. You can choose to use a small broom or brush to help you reach into the cracks and crevices and to protect your hands, or you can remove the loose debris with your hands, as long as you wear gloves. This step does not require a great deal of precision; just remove whatever is easily brushed off.

Battery-operated forklifts, called electric forklifts, are a popular choice for indoor needs. Cost-effective, low-maintenance, and efficient, they can improve your bottom line and your warehouse workflow. Investing in one means investing in a top-quality piece of machinery, so naturally you want to make sure it lasts as long as possible.

While following routine maintenance schedules, purchasing a comprehensive maintenance plan, and dealing
with any problems that arise promptly are good steps to take in ensuring the longevity
of your machine, the way in which you store your electric forklifts is also
important. Correct storage can prevent problems and help your machine to last
longer. Here are a few tips for properly storing your electric forklifts.

Store electric forklifts inside.

Even internal combustion forklifts designed for heavy usage
outside benefit from indoor storage. The ever-changing weather can quickly wear
out a machine. Rain and snow can rust chains, for example, and the sun can
weather the outside of the forklift.

Electric forklifts in particular, however, should always be stored inside. They
are generally not designed for outdoor use. In addition, their battery and
electric parts are particularly susceptible to damage from weather like rain
and snow. Variations in temperature can also weaken the battery and shorten its
life.

Sticker shock is a common occurrence when customers look to buy a forklift. With prices ranging from $15,000 to more than $100,000, however, it is possible to find a forklift within your price range. In order to find the machine that meets your needs and fits in your budget, as well as to avoid sticker shock that might make buying a forklift seem out of your reach, you need to understand which factors affect price. When you know which factors influencing the price, you can be aware of which ones are important to you when you go to buy a forklift. Here are the biggest things that can affect forklift pricing, and tips for deciding which of them are most important to you.

When you buy a forklift, consider used vs. new.

The most obvious, and probably the biggest, factor influencing
the price of a forklift is whether it is new or used. Used forklifts can cost up to half that of new
forklifts. That means that used forklifts present significant savings for many
businesses.

However, before you run out to buy the first used forklift you
see, consider the fact that, over time, used forklifts will cost more to
maintain and repair. As a result, a good rule of thumb is to consider used
forklifts if you plan to use them less than four hours a day, and to purchase
new forklifts if you plan to use them for more than four hours a day.

In addition, you will want to ensure that any used forklift you
purchase is sold and serviced by a reliable dealer like Darr. A good dealer
will ensure that your forklift is in good condition upon purchase, comes with a
warranty, and is covered by a maintenance plan to give you peace of mind and
to save you maintenance and repair costs over the long-term.

Electric forklifts are a popular choice of machine thanks in part to the fact that they require less maintenance than do internal combustion forklifts. Due to having fewer moving parts, the engine itself does not require the same kind of regular preventative servicing as do the internal combustion engines. That reduced maintenance translates into saved time and money for companies that use electric forklifts.

However, electric forklifts still require some maintenance. In particular, the batteries and other electrical components require regular care in order to operate at maximum efficiency and in order to maximize their overall lifespan. Here are some of the basic maintenance tasks required for electric forklifts.

Water your electric forklift battery regularly.

It might seem strange to think about watering a battery. However, the batteries on electric forklifts must be submerged in water at all times in order to prevent overheating and in order to preserve the life of the battery components. As a result, you will need to check the water levels at least once a week. A good rule of thumb is to check the battery's water levels every 10 charges for newer machines, and every 5 charges for older machines.

The water should be about a quarter-inch above the lead plates inside the battery, and about a half an inch below the battery cap. Water levels lower than this mean that your battery needs to be watered.

Organization is key to running an efficient warehouse. When orders need to be picked, your people need to be able to access them quickly. When storing items, you often need to maximize limited space. When loading and
unloading pallets, you need to be able to do so easily with a forklift. And when handling awkwardly shaped items, you need a way to store them neatly and compactly.

Warehouse racking systems exist to meet each one of these needs. The right warehouse racking system can allow you to store all of your items compactly in the space you have while making them easily accessible for
picking. Here are the most common types of warehouse racking systems from which you can choose.

Cantilever Warehouse Racking Systems

Cantilever warehouse racking systems are sturdy systems designed
for long or awkwardly-shaped items of any weight. For example, piping,
furniture, carpet, lumber, and other similarly-shaped items are ideally stored
on cantilever warehouse racking systems.

These systems are perfect for storing oddly-shaped items
because they do not have an upright column facing the aisle. This makes it easy
to store longer pieces of material horizontally, while also allowing those
items to be easily picked when needed. In addition, they have long metal arms
that can be adjusted to fit items of different sizes.

A used forklift offers a number of advantages for your fleet. They generally cost less than new machines, while being easy to locate and purchase. However, finding the right forklift requires you to carefully inspect the machine before buying it. The last thing you want is to purchase a used forklift that will quickly suffer a catastrophic breakdown due to age or poor maintenance.

One of the factors you need to consider before buying a used forklift is how much life that forklift may have left in it. For example, a dirt cheap machine won't really save you money if you have to replace the machine again in 6 months or a year because its engine or transmission died.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to determine just how much life might be left in a used lift truck. Here are a couple of tasks to add to your inspection.

Consider the number of hours the used forklift has already been operated.

Usually, the life of a forklift is measured in hours used,
rather than in years or in miles traversed. As a result, you can use the number
of hours a used forklift has already been operated to get a
rough estimate of how much time it has left to run.

For businesses seeking the most efficient and cost effective way to store their inventory, the number of pallet racking systems out there can seem overwhelming. Choosing the right pallet racking system is more involved than simply selecting the cheapest one.

Instead, the right pallet racking system is the one that meets the unique needs of your business. This means that you must understand these needs and how they can be met with the right storage system. Here are a few factors to consider before you purchase your next pallet racking system.

Consider the number of products you have to store in your pallet racking system.

The first thing to consider when choosing a pallet racking system is how many different products you have to store. For example, do you need to store just boys' and girls' shoes, or do you need to store a variety of baby and children's items? Some pallet racking systems work better for situations where only a few products are being stored, while others work well for storing many different products.

For example, a drive-in pallet racking system works best with a limited number of product types, because the system is set up to allow forklifts to drive into a bay stocked with pallets of the same or similar products in order to eliminate the need for aisles. A selective pallet racking system or push-back pallet racking system, on the other hand, works well for multiple product storage because of the number of picking faces they provide.

Darr has worked to be the region’s dependable caddie for 65 years. That relationship extends far beyond providing equipment and services to its customers, it also includes volunteering with the surrounding communities to create a better Texas.

For three generations Darr has worked alongside the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, a service organization of more than 600 business and community leaders committed to transforming kids’ lives.  Darr Equipment CEO and Salesmanship Club member, Robert Engstrom, knows that supporting today’s youth strengthens tomorrow’s workforce.  

The Salesmanship Club of Dallas partners with the annual AT&T Byron Nelson PGA golf tournament in North Texas to raise money for the Momentous Institute. Since 1968, the group has raised more than $160 million to provide therapeutic and education services to more than 5,500 children and family members each year. 

The Momentous Institute, in partnership with Darr and other North Texas companies, is working to help families build and repair social emotional health. With strong families, kids will become good communicators, problem-solvers, empathetic and have the gritty work ethic that has come to define Darr for the past 65 years. 

For more information on the Momentous Institute, visit www.momentousinstitute.org. 

When your forklift requires parts replacements, you can extend its life, and save yourself some cash, by buying high quality forklift parts for your machine. Finding the right forklift parts is a combination of knowing what qualities to look for and knowing what red flags to avoid. Here are the biggest clues that the forklift parts you are considering are the wrong ones, and a tip for finding the right forklift parts more easily.

Avoid forklift parts that are not compatible with your machine.

The first, and most obvious, forklift parts red flag is incompatibility with your machine. For example, tires that are too big or too small for your forklift, or forks that were made for a different model, are obviously not going to work for the forklift you are using. Even if you can get the wrong piece to fit on your machine, you increase your chances of early breakage or other issues.

As a result, it is important to avoid any parts that are not specifically designed for your make and model of machine. Before purchasing forklift parts, know the make and model of your machine, as well as any other relevant details, such as the size of the part that you need. Doing so will help you avoid purchasing forklift parts that do not fit your machine or that may cause problems over time because of incompatibility with your forklift.

The AT&T Byron Nelson is one of the most highly competitive and eagerly anticipated events on the PGA TOUR and is a great opportunity to support and watch the next generation of golf legends emerge.

Darr Equipment is proud to be part of the best seven days of golf in the DFW metroplex. This year, we were excited to endorse Pro-Am golfer, Taylor Leggett -- Vice President of Operations and Purchasing at Titan Corrugated and one of Darr's valued customers. Unfortunately, Taylor and his trusty caddy, none other than Darr’s own, Tyler Richardson, didn’t get the opportunity to participate due to weather. 

We caught up with Taylor before the Pro-Am was rained out on Wednesday to see what he was most excited about. 

Darr Equipment: “Thanks for catching up with us, Taylor! Tell us why is the Byron Nelson special to you?”

Taylor: “I was born and raised in the panhandle of Texas. My grandfather taught me to play golf & the Bryon

Even with diligent preventative maintenance of a high quality machine, you will eventually need to buy a forklift. When that time comes, and your machine shows signs of wearing out, you will need to find a reliable dealer from whom to obtain your next forklift. That means doing your research on the dealer before you do your research to buy a forklift. Here are a few qualities to consider in a dealer before you buy a forklift from them.

Buy a forklift from an experienced dealer.

Experience is often the first quality to look for in any
professional from whom you hope to obtain goods and services. The dealer from
whom you buy a forklift is no exception. The longer they have been selling
forklifts and providing support for these machines, the more likely they are to
serve as a good source for your new forklift.

Experience is an excellent indicator of a company's abilities
because it demonstrates the fact that they have faced, and can handle, a wide
range of needs and problems. In addition, a business that has managed to
satisfy customer needs for many years is likely committed to providing you with
a high quality experience as well.

Here at Darr, we have more than 60 years of experience
providing high-quality machines to customers who want to buy a forklift. As a
result, we are prepared to handle any forklift need you may have, as well as
offer you the guidance you need to find and buy a forklift that perfectly
matches your needs.