Atlas Copco | Ergonomic use
How could an industrial grade electric angle grinder be designed to nudge the user to work in a more ergonomic way?
5 weeks | Individual Project | Umeå Institute of Design | 2023
Brief
To design with the form language of an existing brand and learn to evaluate the ergonomic aspects of a design.
Tools & methods
User interviews and observations
Desktop research
Motor package analysis
Ergonomic analysis
Desktop research
Motor package analysis
Ergonomic analysis
Blender
Process
We started out by visiting three local workshops around Umeå where we interviewed and observed the users to get an insight into how they use the angle grinder and what challenges they experience. We then tried out the angle grinder for ourselves, expanded our understanding with desktop research and analysed the findings, grouping them into insights related to the grinder itself and insights related to the routines and practices.
50%
of vibration-exposed individuals worldwide
are affected by neurovascular injuries.
are affected by neurovascular injuries.
The impact of these nerve injuries forces the affected individuals to change jobs, and the impact on their hands and fingers, might be so severe that they are no longer able to do things like closing shirt-buttons or shaving.
Atlas Copco is an industry leader when it comes to the physical aspects of ergonomics, but what if they could work with changing behaviours? Many users add more manual pressure than needed, which increases the amount of vibrations that are transfered into the hands and arms. The excessive pressure also wears down the disc faster, creating a negative spiral as the decreased effect leads the user to add even more pressure.
So how might we nudge the user to work a more ergonomic way?
Form & graphics
Based on the form vision, the package and the technical features I then refined the form. Sketching on the silhouette, form transitions, split lines and air vents.
Final Concept
The final concept is an electric angle grinder that minimizes the absorption of vibrations into the users body - not only though improved technical aspects and material choices, but through changing the users behaviour. Making sure the user is working in a more ergonomic way is the best protection against vibration induced injuries.
Nudging a more ergonomic use
Red light signals and decreased speed tells the user when too much manual force is used.
Learning Blender
I enjoy research and I can sometimes end up spending a lot of time on it, and this time it resulted in very little time left for the visualizations, which I realized just a few days before presentation.
But as the day in fact has 24 hours - I decided I still had time to learn Blender! Here are some fun errors I encountered:
