Smart Devices to Protect from Workplace Injury
Wearable System for Workplace Safety & Injury Prevention
Contribution
User Research
UX/UI Design
Industrial Design
Wearable Design
Role
Design Lead
Overview
➔ Docking system with a built-in app to manage the sensor deployment and data collection.
➔ Sensor to collect the motion & environment data.
➔ Wearable to provide a comfortable way to wear the sensor while working.
Each component must be compatible with the other, and they should not interfere with the user’s day-to-day work routine. The anticipated deployment sites are environments like warehouses, distribution centers, and loading zones.
How does it work?
How does it work?
Background
➔ An average of 38,812 occupational injuries occur worldwide in logistics, warehouses, distribution centers, and retailers every hour.
➔ Recent market research confirms that there is no reliable and scalable smart system for workplaces in the industry.
➔ There were many companies that wanted to invest in the technologies to reduce injury costs and rates.
My major role was as a lead designer leading product or feature-specific design projects for a holistic SaaS platform with product managers and junior designers.
I worked with the CEO(Founder) and CPO to identify the high-level problems and came up with the concept of the smart safety system.
Target Users: Industrial Athletes*
Based on the targeted user, I created a user persona to identify the characteristics and emphasize them for the best design solutions.
*The Industrial Athletes™ are the essential, frontline workers of the world who put their bodies on the line day in and day out. Their primary goals are completing their tasks efficiently and getting home without injuries.
User Persona
User Persona
Onsite Visit
I arranged the onsite visit to observe and learn about how the environment and what my targeted users like.
I coordinate with the Chief Product Officer and customer success team managers to organize my interview schedules and key focuses of my visit. I was able to reserve time at 3 major distribution centers from 2 logistics customers. The total user numbers were 75.
To learn initial information, I organized a survey to gather users’ responses to understand their familiarity with tech and reactions toward a few scenarios.
The Discoveries
After an onsite visit with observation and user research, I discovered the following that became challenges to solve.
Many users are not tech-savvy.
Their job is simple, repetitive, and tiring.
Daily Rituals at Designed Area.
Let’s deep dive into these discoveries!
1
Many users are not tech-savvy.
Based on the responses from 75 users, I got results that the users aren’t really familiar with recent technologies such as smart devices, wearables, and IoT devices.
It is important information in order to design the devices and UI for the targeted users.
“I use my phone(smart phone) to watch videos, texting, making a phone calls. Not use it for any other app stuffs.” - Material Handler
“I know there are some cool smart products but I don’t think it really help me so I don’t use it that much. Also, I am not comfortable wearing anything extra.”
- Package Loader
How can we make the users tech Savvy?
Challenge
Creating devices that are smart yet simple enough to use.
Solution
Because not a lot of users aren’t familiar with the newest technology or smart devices, I worked with the team to come up with a very simple design solution that requires almost zero interaction or education.
2
Their job is simple, repetitive, and tiring.
Based on my observation, the job seems to be fairly simple enough once it is trained. People used their bodies to move things around or do repetitive tasks over a few hours.
I also did a few direct interviews to learn how they feel and talk about their work.
“After my shift, my body feels tired and I just . Next day, I have to do the same work but don’t have a chance to think about injuries.” - Order Picker
“I see some of my colleagues often ask me how to improve their work bevahior to do their job easier. It is hard because their job is mostly repetitive and there is no direct solution yet.” - Material Handler Supervisor
How might we make the devices feel comfortable during the user’s long-shift?
Challenge
Provide multiple ways to adapt smart devices for everyday work-life.
Solution
Because the user’s job functions require a repeating movement every day, the solution is to come up with multiple methods to adapt the devices by providing wearable options or different ways to attach devices.
3
Daily Rituals at Designed Area.
One interesting discovery was each site has its own daily rituals like doing morning standup with a briefing and stretching.
There were designated safe areas where the team gathered and this is where they mostly begin their shifts. It is about 300 - 400 square feet of space and there are some postings regarding safety and guidelines.
I saw there are many opportunities I can use this space and session to come up with design ideas for devices.
How can we utilize this designed area more meaningful and effective?
Challenge
Central hub to deploy smart devices and provide safety insights.
Solution
Because there is a dedicated zone where the team always gathers and starts their shifts, the idea of having a central hub came up. This can be used to manage the smart devices and provide a quick insights for safety.
Based on the three solutions, I worked with Chief Product Officer and Chief Technology Officer to discuss the product roadmap and implementations of technologies. They were the key stakeholders who could make realistic suggestions and I discussed with them the type of devices we need to address the challenges. After a number of meetings and workshop sessions, we came up with devices we are going to make.
Sensors for ergonomic and environmental data collection. It is important to have a method to collect stable motion data and the sensor is a must.
Central dock station for easy sensor management and scalable deployment. This can be installed in the daily ritual area.
Wearable options to enhance user adoption and data precision. This important factor is that the user can wear the sensor without discomfort issues.
With these types of devices, I had meetings with engineering leads from hardware, and software, and embedded them in a realistic timeline so I can prepare the design timeline. When everything was ready to go, I started to lead the design processes for each device.
Design Process
I contributed to making key design decisions during product development. I led 3 main projects for hardware+software designs in a collaborative design process with c-suite stakeholders, product managers, and engineering team members.
Sensor + Smart Dock Design
Ideations
Based on the findings and engineering requirements, I had to design the devices that do data management and device management. There are 2 types of devices.
Sensor: collecting data and providing haptic feedback for safety reminders.
Smart Dock: managing collected data from sensors and deployment of sensors for usage.
My major design contribution was in sensor design and led several ideation sessions to come up with initial design ideas and made several adjustments upon leadership’s review.
3D Realization & Prototyping
I also turn 2-dimensional ideas into 3-dimensional to study the actual form factors and the mechanical limitations.
I did CAD modeling to create different versions then 3D printed models to help developing the details of the physical form and functions.
I worked with the embedded and hardware engineering team to develop the final design.
Validation Process & Onsite Testing
I worked with the production and hardware engineering teams to go through EVT, DVT, and PVT processes for scaled production.
During the initial production phase, the team rolled out a series of scaled deployments to the customer’s sites to test from 50 to 100+ user groups at the customer’s site.
From these deployments, the team collected user feedback to improve minor issues before making the final tooling and ordering the electronics.
Dock App UX/UI
Wireframing & User Flow
I led the UI design for the smart dock’s touchscreen as well. I created the wireframe to learn and understand the basic check-out flow of the sensors on the dock.
The goal was to create a UI that can be easily understood and quickly. Because users wouldn’t spend a lot of time at the smart dock.
Based on the wireframe I created, I managed to work with product managers, graphic designers, and front-end engineers to develop high fidelity design.
Dock App Design System & Prototyping
I used the smart dock tablet with a digital prototype tool installed in order to explore in-person experience and test my UI designs.
My focuses were the speed of the check-out process and accessibility. These are important because the main goal is not to interrupt the user’s daily work routine.
I also created the Dock App Design System for the smart dock screen. It helped for developers to quickly understand the components.
User Testing
Along with the initial deployment of the system to the site, I was able to perform in-person user testing and observation.
The scale of user testing was from small (5-10 people) to large (50-100 people) depending on the customer and site scale.
I deployed the survey and there were a few accessibility and usability issues that users couldn’t interact properly with some components.
I was able to quickly address this issue by redesigning or refining the components by having a bigger font size.
Wearable Design
Research & Ideating
My main design focus for wearables is comfortability that covers diverse body types. It is because not a lot of people are used to wearing an extra thing on top of what they wear during the shift.
I had several meetings with customers to gather what would be the optimal options for the wearables. We decided to explore three garments - A shoulder harness, a safety vest, and a slim backpack-style harness.
Prototyping
After the team decided on the garment options, I started to make initial prototypes of garments to understand the technical structure and how they feel when you wear them.
I worked with outsourced textile designers and material scientists to explore garment construction and textile options.
After making 20-30 prototypes of each garment, I planned to do onsite user testing at the customer’s site.
Onsite Testing & Production
I set up the testing plan that 1 user to try all 3 different garments each week and then compare them to gather feedback on each. Initial testing was done on several customer sites.
The testing was done within 3 weeks to try all 3 different options to compare each garment and learn which option is the most favorite.
Most of the user’s feedback was on the adjustments and some fitting issues. I made several design improvements addressing these issues before the full production.
Final SafeWork Smart Devices
Smart Dock Design
The final smart dock design can have 25 sensors. The decision of the design was based on the modularity that can be extended from small to larger scale of the deployment.
I made the sensor to be accesibble easily from the smart dock by having them to be docked in a 70 degree so user can see the face of the sensors.
Dock App
The main dock app is designed on checking out sensors. I minimized the number of screens that the user sees and provide clear directions on what to do to check out sensors successfully.
Setup Wizard
I also designed the setup wizard that appears when the smart dock turns on for the first time.
It helped customers quickly understand what to do to install the smart dock upon receiving it.
I made the flow to be minimal and simple enough to follow.
Sensor Designs
FUSE V5
Hardware Design Direction
UX/UI Design
FUSE V5 is the sensor that has 5 different sensors collecting different data. It has a built-in OLED screen to display some information.
This device is built for harsh environments like industrial, plant, or construction sites so I have to work with the engineering team to ensure that the design meets the engineering requirements.
FLEX
Hardware Design Direction
UX/UI Design
FLEX is a compact sensor that collects ergonomic data.
I had to design the sensor to be light and have a clip to be worn on the cloth without extra wearables if the user wants to.
It is designed to be worn on any location of the body above the torso.
Wearable Design
I created different types of wearables to give options that users can choose for their comfort and precision data collection.
This helped to increase 2-3x the user’s adaption to the SafeWork System.
X-Pack
X-Pack is designed to give a user have ‘backpack-like’ experience. The entire wearable is constructed with breathable, stretchable, and light materials to maximize comfortability.
This wearable increased user adaption and engagement by 2-3X.
FUSE Shoulder Harness
This wearable is specifically designed to adapt the FUSE V5 to the most ideal body position for data accuracy.
The harness is constructed with durable materials to protect from any potential wear from the harsh environment.
Safety Vest
The design team also created the integrated system onto a conventional safety vest to maximize visual safety and yet doesn’t interfere with the user’s work activities.
Impact
The Devices Reduced Workplace Injuries by up to 52%
After the successful phased deployments of the system to 10+ customer sites, SafeWork devices helped companies to reduce workplace injuries by up to 52% year-over-year.
The SafeWork devices have reached more than 600 active workers in industries that require strenuous, repetitive, and labor-intensive movements, often in high-density, fast-paced environments.
29%
Construction
42%
Manufacturing
Warehousing and Transport
29%
SafeWork System Validated to Reduce the Cost of Workplace Injuries by 35%
An analysis recently completed by Barrett Actuarial Consulting validates the impact of StrongArm's SafeWork System on reducing the cost of workplace injuries using rigorous actuarial methods.
The SafeWork System has already been validated by Oliver Wyman to reduce the frequency of injuries by up to 52% - now it has proven to significantly reduce the year-over-year cost of ergonomic injuries.
Today this is being used by the top worker’s compensation carriers globally and enterprises alike as a total cost or risk reduction solution.
Source: Barrett Actuarial Consulting