Personal Reflection for Semester 2 - The Elderly Challenge

I have learnt various skills that are important in designing a product that will be beneficial for elderly.
Creativity is beneficial in designing the product. We always have to keep in mind that sometimes the simplest ideas can made into a great product.
I also leaernt that courage and confidence is necessary. I had to take a lot of risks when I was building the product, which meant that I had to remove some commponents of the prototype to try to make the product better. Courage was important as I had to be certain that I had done my best in the Multi-Media presentation.
Critical thinking is required as I had to put myself in the elderly's shoes to see what problems they would face and if they would buy the product. I also had to make sure that my Multi-Media presentation would relate to the elderly to entice them to purchase my product.
Intellectual curiosity was needed as I explored and experiment with all the different designs that my product could take and the materials used to build the product. For example, I had to decide what type of non-slip rubber I wanted use to build the product.
I had to be committed to completing the task or I would have to rush to complete the task.
I needed cross-cultural understanding as I had to imagine that was an elderly person and find what problems I had if I was to do a certain task or go somewhere. Basically, I had to relate myself with the elderly.


I needed to change my product halfway through the project as my first product, I felt was not very useful. Another problem was the time constraints came with the projects. Even though I had completed my work, I remained unsure if I had done all I can.

I overcame these problems by choosing a problem that elderly faced and brainstorm about ideas that can potentially solve the problem. I also asked my grandmother what problems she had so that I could think of ways to solve the problem. I remained calm and told myself that I had done all I can. These were the ways I overcame the difficulties.

Reflection - Prototype

After receiving some feedback from my classmates, I decided to sew the Velcro to the grip instead of relying solely on the adhesive at the back of the Velcro as it may lose its stickiness after extended use. Since I have not sewn before, I found it quite difficult to sew, to make it worse, the material was quite difficult to punch the needle through.
Another problem I encountered was that the slit I made in the material to allow the cup handle to fit through was tearing.

I overcame these difficulties by by persevering and by learning how to sew from my classmates and teacher.
I solved the tearing problem by sewing the slit at the ends to prevent further tearing.

The 2 key takeaways are that we must specify clearly what conditions we want our product to fulfill as people may get confused if our condition is too vague. The other takeaway from this lesson was the meaning of prototype which is the first version of the product that we are to be designing . The goal of a prototype is to find out if the product has any problems or flaws and to correct them so that the final product will be free from these errors.

Ergonomics (Product description and Idea Trigger)

1)

2i) This product is very colourful and attractive. It can be used to hang multiple objects on it. It does not have a sophisticated design, in fact, it is quite simple. It can come in handy when you are trying to hang objects. It is very compact as it can be folded smaller so that it can be stored easier or carried around.
2ii) Aesthetics was taken into consideration as the product is very colourful. This product is also portable and folded into a smaller version giving it ease-of-use. In addition, this product allows multiple objects to be hung on it increasing productivity.

2iii)The elderly's vision migh not be too good and they might not realise that this prduct can only support 3kg of weight and overload the product causing it to break. Elderly may not understand how to operate the product as it requires the user to unfold the product in a certain way before it can be used properly. The instructions on the back of the packaging is also very small and confusing and may cause the elderly to misuse the product. The hook may fall of from where it is hung.

2iv) A large-font sign of "3kg" can be printed onto each hook to tell the user how much weight can each hook support before giving way. There can also be arrows on the product to tell the user the right way to unfold the product so it can be used properly. The font at the back of the packaging could also be in bigger font to allow the elderly to see the instructions better. The hook can be changed to a clamp so as it can clipped easier.

Ergonomics II

1. Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and their working environment which will determine the human's productivity when it comes to work.

2. The five aspects are comfort, safety, ease of use, productivity and aesthetics.
3. The personal emergency response system, or PERS, is a product that can be worn on a pendant or a wristband. When the elderly person is in need of help, all he has to do is push the button and it sends a signal to a receiver that's connected to the home telephone line allowing the elderly to talk to a family member to ask for help.
This product ensures that the elderly's relatives know when he or she is in danger and will be able to get there in time to help them, ensuring their safety. The button is easy to use as you just need to push it to talk to your family members. The device can be worn on a pendant and will not get in the way of people too much, making sure the person is comfortable.

Ergonomics I

1) I observed that the first workplace was really cluttered and messy making space for the person to use limited. The second workplace was very organized as there was a shelf where the user can put their items on.
The second thing I noticed was that the first workplace’s chair was design so that the users body is really close to the table, making it really uncomfortable for the user. The second workplace’s chair was design for comfort, so that the person could lean back and relax, making the chair a whole lot more comfortable.
The third observation was that in the first workplace, the monitor was really far away from the user and he could not see well. He could not move the screen closer as he had no more table space. The second workplace’s monitor can be moved around as it is connected to a device that allows the person to move the monitor closer to him or higher, allowing him to see the monitor better.
The fourth observation is that the lighting in the first workstation was really bright and the lamp was also really hot to the touch. In addition, the bright light caused screen glare. The second workplace’s lamp arm could be adjusted around so that it allowed people to write without causing screen glare.
The fifth observation was that the the first workstation’s chair was really weak and the user could not rest his arms while drinking coffee. The second workstation’s chair had chair arms that could be raised and lowered allowing people to rest their arms. In addition, it also allowed the person to lean back.
The sixth observation was that the first workstation’s table was too short and it was uncomfortable to look down when he was typing on his laptop. Therefore, he had to move around his laptop a lot. The second workstation allowed the laptop to be placed vertically on a device and it connected the laptop to the user’s keyboard. This allowed the laptop monitor to be eye level with the user making it easy on his neck.

2) I prefer workplace 2 as everything is more spacious and not cluttered allowing me to find my things easily. The chair is also design for comfort and also prevents the user from getting bad posture.

3)We should consider how comfortable our product will be to do the user as it may affect the feedback that they may give to their friends. We should also try to keep the price of our product low, unless it is really innovative, in that case, people are paying for the innovation too. We should also take note of how safe our product is to people. Our product may be almost harmless to an adult but may injure a child or elderly people.

4) It is important because if the ergonomics of the product is good, the person will stop complaining a lot about his working environment and be more productive which will be better for a company or to the person.

Elderly Challenge - Observation 4

This week, I noticed that some elderly had trouble traveling around Singapore. There are buses and some taxis that are able to transport the elderly, however not all bus services have wheelchair buses and taxis which are able to ferry wheelchair bound elderly are limited. I recommend that bus and taxi companies should bring in more vehicles that can ferry wheelchair bound elderly around.

I also noticed that some food outlets have chairs that are drilled into the floor which makes it very difficult for wheelchair bound elderly from eating at the table. I suggest that food outlets should use movable chairs instead so that they can be moved out of the way to accommodate the elderly or putting sufficient space between seats so that the elderly can fit in.

ADMT room layout

This is my room layout for the elderly. There are railings next to the bed and along the walls to allow the elderly to move around easier. The bed is also close to the door to allow the elderly occupant to exit easier. The floor is covered with a non-slip floor mat to prevent the elderly person from falling. In addition, the room is also brightly lit to allow the elderly to see better.