A practical review of energy saving technology for ageing populations

Fuel poverty is a critical issue for a globally ageing population. Longer heating/cooling requirements combine with declining incomes to create a problem in need of urgent attention. One solution is to deploy technology to help elderly users feel informed about their energy use, and empowered to take steps to make it more cost effective and efficient. This study subjects a broad cross section of energy monitoring and home automation products to a formal ergonomic analysis. A high level task analysis was used to guide a product walk through, and a toolkit approach was used thereafter to drive out further insights. The findings reveal a number of serious usability issues which prevent these products from successfully accessing an important target demographic and associated energy saving and fuel poverty outcomes. Design principles and examples are distilled from the research to enable practitioners to translate the underlying research into high quality design-engineering solutions

Talking about torque : measuring pack accessibility - a review

Vacuum lug closures are a simple, reliable and low-cost packaging option used for the protection and promotion of jams, pickles and sauces. Several surveys and anecdotal evidence suggest that packaging of this type can be notoriously difficult to open. Given the difficulty that packaging of this type may pose, there has been significant academic research in understanding the difficulties associated with accessing packaging of this type. In response to the qualitative data gathered in these surveys, research teams have attempted to quantify the forces that users can apply. What emerges from the approaches taken is a complex picture. Researchers do make comparisons with previous work, but numbers of people tested, materials used, diameter and posture differ between research groups as does the information and style of the dissemination of results. Future packaging research experimental design should be more thorough and consistent in the sampling and presentation of data to facilitate repeatability and validity and enable the data gathered to form a larger data set. Further, to create usable 'design limits' for manufacturers and designers to reduce the variability within the data set, more focused measurements should be taken on distinct user groups such as a specific female decile and subgroup, i.e. small-handed women between 70 and 80. Working with distinct populations would enable the likelihood of design changes to packaging to be readily compared and assessed

Finger Pinch Loosening and Tightening Torques on Small Cylindrical Handles Among Industrial Workers

An experiment was conducted with 23 assembly line workers in a manufacturing plant to study to the variation in finger torque strengths on small handles. Subjects exerted MVC torques on small cylindrical handles with different finger contact surface finishes (smooth and knurled) and different diameters (3.3, 5.0, 6.4, 9.5, and 19.0 mm). Three similar handles with flanged finger contact were also tested to simulate torqueing on a specific medical device. The flange widths were 6.4, 9.5, and 19.0 cm. Both loosening and tightening peak torques were measured.  Ten males and 13 females between the ages of 22 and 55 years were tested. Each performed 26 different torque exertions while standing (20 on cylinders and 6 on flanges). The results indicated that finger torque strength decreased steadily as diameter of the cylindrical handle, or length of the flange, decreased. It was also stronger for tightening compared to loosening, and for knurled cylinders compared with smooth cylinders. Of greater interest was the 2-factor interaction effects on torque – surface*direction, surface*diameter and diameter*direction for the cylinders; and direction*width for the flanges. These interactions indicate that the change in torque over one torqueing factor is not independent of other factors.  These results have implications for the design of small device parts, as in some types of medical products. 

Correlações entre força de preensão manual e variáveis antropométricas da mão de jovens adultos

O objetivo do estudo foi correlacionar a força de preensão palmar em diferentes posições de abertura, com variáveis antropométricas da mão. Participaram 73 voluntários de ambos os sexos (40 homens e 33 mulheres), com idade média de 23±4,61 anos. As medidas antropométricas largura da palma, comprimento do dedo indicador, espessura da palma, largura da mão, circunferência da palma e da mão foram realizadas bilateralmente. Para as medidas lineares, utilizou-se um paquímetro digital e, para as medidas de circunferência, a fita métrica. As medidas de força de preensão foram realizadas por meio de um dinamômetro hidráulico (UFTM) Jamar®. Os valores antropométricos foram correlacionados com as medidas de força nas cinco posições de abertura. Os homens e as mulheres tiveram maior força na mão direita e, entre as posições, a maior força dos homens foi na de número 3 (45,5±15,53 kgf) e das mulheres, na de posição 2 (25,5±6,28 kgf). Verificaram-se correlações significativas entre a força e os valores antropométricos nas medidas da largura da mão e circunferência da palma - que representam a maior medida transversal e o maior trofismo da mão, respectivamente, no grupo dos homens e a medida de comprimento do dedo, que representa a maior medida longitudinal no grupo das mulheres. Com isso, pode-se concluir que, para os homens, a maior força está relacionada à maior medida transversal e ao maior trofismo da mão e, para as mulheres, ao maior comprimento longitudinal da mão.The aim of this study was to correlate the grip strength of hand, in different opening positions, with hand anthropometric measures. The study included 73 volunteers (40 male and 33 female) with mean age of 23±4.61 years old. Anthropometric measures, such as palm width, forefinger length, palm thickness, hand width, palm and hand circumferences, were performed bilaterally. For linear measures, a digital caliper rule was used as well as a tape measure for circumference measures. Grip strength measures were performed by means of a Jamar® hydraulic dynamometer. Anthropometric values were correlated with strength measures in the five positions of the opening. Both men and women had greater strength in the right hand. Regarding the positions, the bigger strength of men was in the number 3 (45.5±15.53 kgf) and that of women in position 2 (25.5±6.28 kgf). Significant correlations were verified among strength and anthropometric values in the hand width measure and palm circumference - that represent the greater transversal measure and the greater throphism of left hand, respectively, in men's group -, and the finger length measure, that represents the greater longitudinal measure in women's group. Thus, it may be concluded that for men the greater strength is related to the greater transversal measure and to the greater throphism of hand, while for women, it is related to the greater longitudinal length of hand