Human Factors At Gener8
I created a ergonomic workflow analysis process at Gener8 to be applied to all industrial design projects. The goal of this system was to direct the architecture layout early in the alpha stage of the project.
The result of this system was to build an awareness of the users needs in the organization with less refinement needed later in the development phases.
This process entailed a one page overview containing the workflow, major and minor touchpoints along with a range of user sizes. This overview served as a basis of study from which other more detailed reports stemmed.
Human Factors At Altierre
Since Altierre’s price tags used extremely low cost reflective LCD display technology, they required to be angled toward the user in order to be seen. To achieve this angle, we created angled rails to hold them. Existing angled rails relied a separate part for each angle which constantly got lost or were incorrectly used.
I invented an adjustable rail system made from a single extrusion that provided 4 necessary angles. These have been a huge success and are largely responsible for our breaking into the European market with the shipment of well over 6 million wireless price tags. These new rails were used exclusively for the deployment.
One of the biggest challenges at Altierre was creating an outdoor wireless price tag for use in auto sales. The major problem was the extreme variations in outside temperature and humidity across dealerships nationwide. The first solution attempted was to provide shading the tag while still allowing enough light to enter the reflective display.
The illustration to the left is a study that demonstrates the relationship between ambient temperrature, angle of the sun, , time of day and height of the user all inrelation to the size of the fixed angle shade cover.
This study helped prove the need to use a different display, negating the need for the shade cover.
Human Factors At Life Technologies
At Life Technologies I ran the company wide design language program that created a consistent look cross category and company wide. I worked closely with the external design vendor, RKS, to make sure the look and feel was consistent with good ergonomics and human factors.
For example, I replaced this section with a section that focused on angle of the fascia in relation to the users line of sight rather than the shape of the device itself.
In this section to the left, I included the center example, rather than eliminating it. It was obvious to me that we could not restrict an edge to edge display simply to maintain design language recognition. In doing so, we would introduce a larger external housing on the user needlessly. Primary and secondary language cues were strong enough to eliminate the need for the angled front on handhelds.
I also removed the need for angled surfaces on small devices. Having an angled surface on small devices removed a design opportunity at a convenient height that could be used for holding and storage on certain smaller instruments.
I agreed with the tertiary angled surface on large devices since storage above shoulder height in a lab can pose a spill danger to the user ,but struggled with the fact that although unintended, top surfaces will still be used to put a coffee cup on etc., and that these surfaces, if tilted would pose a danger to the user from sliding. We settled on a surface that was angled enough to add character to the design while not being so tilted that an object would slide on it.