T4WK2_Reflection

I had problems finding suitable materials for the product, and also on the scale, as i thought the product was too small to be modeled with cardboard. I eventually solved this problem by using corrugated board, this help solved the problem, and i also use the thinner toilet paper roll for the smaller parts. I learnt that modeling with cardboard is easy and feasible for simple designs unlike what i though last time. Also I learnt that the glue gun glues things fast and its awesome!!

:D

Ergonomics (Product Description and Idea Trigger)

This product is an ordinary kitchen knife. It has a white metal blade and a black handle. It is used to cut food.

The designers of the product has to most importantly consider the sharpness of the blade and the effort used to cut the food. It needs to be designed so that the least effort be used to cut food.

I feel that the elderly may have difficulties using this product especially when their hands is wet. When this happens, they knife may slip from their hand easily and may injury themselves. Also, not many have very good grips as they are mostly are made of plastic

Ergonomic 2

1.It is the applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort.
2.Comfort, safety, easy to use, gives good response and performance.
3-comfort:for example an elderly-friendly chair has to have a comfortable backing made of memory foam/cushion for comfort of their back
3-safety:an elderly friendly toilet has handle bars for safety.
3-easy to use:an elderly friendly phone does not have much complicated functions but is user friendly
3-gives good response:the product has to allow the elderly to use it without much strength put it
3-performance:it can be used for a long period of time without getting damaged

Ergonomics I

Work place 1 is cramped up and it is hard for the guy to organize his stuff as there is little shelves and compartment. Also, the chair he is using offers little movement other than the bad lighting. Work place 2 has a lot of shelves and good lighting for him to store his stuff. His chair is comfortable and bends with his body offering comfort and freedom. There is also various tolls like laptop stand to aid him in work.
I would prefer work place 2 as it is organized and it has features like monitor stands and laptop holder to aid me when working. Also it has a comfortable chair and shelves where i can put my stuff on top of the great lighting.
It should be user friendly and has features to help the user in their work. It should also suit their need for example you must take into account that you are designing an elderly friendly phone, not a technology expert phone, so you should put in less focus in designing features compared to designing the keypads to be larger/elderly friendly.
Without ergonomics, the product will not be very comfortable to use.

elderly home

Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

I observed some elderly people climbing up the overhead bridge across my house and it seems they have great difficulty doing that. I feel tired at times while trying to climb up the stair at times, so i can imagine how difficult it would be for them. Although the government has built some overhead bridges in Singapore with slopes instead of stairs, not much has been done to those in my area.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 3

The picture above shows why it is hard for elderlies who are visually impaired to see the type of food stored in the can as the words are quite small compared to the brand name or the picture(it is still not so bad as you still can see the picture clearly but some do not have the picture)

While visiting my grandmother, I also crossed the road to visit my great grandfather who is still alive and living with my aunt who stays near my grandmother. One of the many difficulties my great grandfather faces is due to his age, he has problems with his eyesight. This is inconvenient for him especially when he is in the kitchen(he still cooks) as he has a hard time looking at small prints but the cans, bottles etc. prints are very small. This is a problem when he is cooking as he will not be able to differentiate a can of mushrooms from a can of soup when cooking. It will take him some time before he can decide which is which or worse still, he may have to even ask my relatives for assistance. I feel that companies producing these stuff should make their product more elderly friendly as the elderly population is growing. The prints should be larger and the colours should be striking for easy recognition. This change will really help elderlies who have eye problems especially my great grandfather.