ERGONIUM - Personal Protection for Miners by Maxime Dubreucq

Maxime Dubreucq

THIRTEEN HUNDRED METERS DEEP in the Renstrรถm mine. An aesthetic synthesis of my research about mining experiences.

In collaboration with :

Umeรฅ University

PREFACE This report showcase design opportunities in the mining industry and a design solution solving one of the problem. The research have been realized during the first term project of the Advanced product design master program - Ume책 Institute of Design . The project focus on a people-centered experimental design process, in collaboration with New Boliden. The mining experience allowed us to highlight the area that neglected design. Atlas Copco design team provided their feedbacks. Maxime Dubreucq Advanced Product Design November 2011 - January 2012

Introduction.

Illustrated design proces & prologue of the research.

Ethnographic research & evaluation.

Studying, evaluating and concluding the research about the different user scenarios encoutered.

Erik Stenberg : Explosives Charger at Renstrรถm Mine. Selected user scenario description

User problems definition & evaluation.

Studying, evaluating and concluding the research about the different problems that the user encouter.

Design opportunities

Identification of possible design opportunities

Design brief definition.

Holistic & satisfiying experience. Goals & wishes of the project

Additional Ressources.

Project schedule & informations/pictures sources

Concentrator Plant

Renström Mine

at ion

ev alu

ect ion

at ion

Pr o Br blem ief s D elec efi tt ni ion tio / n

Pr ob lem

sel

ev alu

ar io

ar ios

Et hn o Us grap er hi Sc c r en ese ar ar ios ch /

Fi n

nt at ion

pr ese

pr Idea ese ti nt on at ion

ev Idea alt ti ua on tio n

at ion

Id e

lys

An a

Introduction

From the Renström mine...

to the concentrator plant...

...During two days, New Boliden gave us the chance to understand the subtleties of a mining environment. Splitted in two teams, we could only observe and interact with miners. It could have been sometimes necessary to be in the minerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoes to deeply understand their unconscient wishes. Unfortunately, the safety conditions inside the mine requires years of experience to keep your life secured. Nevertheless, we managed to experience a glimps of this physically demanding work while absorbing into the lifestyle these men and women endure.

From our ethnographic research came a teaser/synthesis of our observations down in the mine. Available on Vimeo and at the end of this report (FlashMemory)

Concentrator Plant

Renstrรถm Mine

Ethnographic research & evaluation

Our field research splitted in two locations.

Shot Creting Scaling

RenstrĂśm Mine

Mucking Charging Drilling Bolting Workshop Transport

Concentrator Plant

Concentrator Plant Checkin room Chemical Lab

Evaluated and ranked according to their opportunities.

Problems review

Problems evaluation

Problems ranking

Personnal evaluation Dangerous task

Automatized task

Manual labour

No danger

g gin ar Ch

Concentrator Plant

RenstrĂśm Mine Final evaluation

Conclusion :

According to the previous investigations and evaluations, I decided to lead the process of charging the explosives in the mine towards the security gear.

Concentrator Plant

Renstrรถm Mine

Erik Stenberg : Explosives Charger at Renstrรถm Mine

Erik Stenberg Explosives Charger at Renström Mine

A HUMAN STORY

THE MISSION

A DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT

Erik Stenberg univers : Social interaction patterns, dreams, labour, desires, values, danger, fear, experiences, expectations, unexpected wishes ...

Erik’s mission have such differents goals, strategies, requierements, expectations, mistakes, constraints and pains than a regular mission.

Erik works in a very dangerous place. In this environement similar to the moon, the explosives manipulation, connection and charging bring constraint and dangers at all time.

It is 5:53 a.m in the shifting room of the Renström mine. Erik is waiting for the other team to start charging the explosives, down in thirteen hundred meters underground. He know that this dangerous and manual task will be intense during this next eight hours of work. With only twenty seven persons per shift, miners of the Renström mine consider themselfs has a family. Social relation during the work is one of the main reasons which keeps their motivation alife.This morning, Erik and his colleagues discuss, one more time, about the unglorious image miners have. They unexpectly wish that people should realize the danger they encounter every day.

Before each mission, Erik have to grab a standard helmet, a radio, protective glasses and it’s personal headlight. It is the only equipment he will have in the mine to be protected and communicate. A mining helmet is nothing else than a typical construction helmet with a heavy personal light plugged on it. Miner’s radios and lights can hold the battery for a few days.

Going down, at thirteen hundreds under the ground, is a unique sensation miners experience everyday. The elevator to the surface bring the Minerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crews to the deepest points of the mine in only a few minutes where humidity can sometimes reach more than ninety percents.

When Erik and the blasting team arrive on the face of the mine, the vehicule releases the hydraulic front cabine to prepare their work. All the equipment, including explosives, detonation wires and protective gears are ready.

Once the front cabine is spread out, Erik and Ari can start the charging of the face. Since charging explosive is the task that requires the most manual operation and related exposition to the falling rocks, miners have to wear protective gear at all time, during the entire day.

Once the blasting team arrive on the face of the mine, released the hydraulic cabine and prepare their tools.

A. Detonator assembly (Electrical + Chemical parts)

D - Pipe insertion (while maintaining detonator)

B - Detonator ready : Team exchange

C - Detonator insertion

F. Explosiv liquid injection

The faceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holes are now filled with explosiv liquid. The next process links all the detonators together for the final explosion. This process is made only once. >

H. Explosiv main wire released

K. The final detonation network...

I. Explosiv detonators are bunched together

J. And linked together with the main detonation wire

After eight hours of work, the (remote) blasting is operated later from the surface, during the team shifting. >

Concentrator Plant

Renstrรถm Mine

User problems definition & evalutaion

User problems

Fig 1 : Repetition of detonator assembly Fig 2 : Tools and detonators accesibility Fig 3 : Detonator insertion Fig 4 : Pipe (with detonator) insertion Fig 5 : Detonators tangling Fig 6 : Pipe bending Fig 7 : Back flexions and task repetitions Fig 8 : Explosiv controls ergonomy Fig 9 : Visual control/feedback Fig 10 : Detonators networking Fig 11 : Personnal protection Fig 12 : Safety / Danger exposure + Hide their own light

Deep problem

11 7

Occasional problem

Frequent problem 8

6 3

“Superficial” problem

“ Maxime : So... Is it enough to protect from rock falling ? Erik : Well... It is better than nothing...” Small talk between Erik and the autor about the protection during the charging process.

Problems specifications

Comfort / Ergonomy

Helmet weight repartition Weight in the front causes cervicals constraints (Six - eight hours per days) The helmets keeps tilting over his eyes. Glass branches + ear protection hurts the forehead sides Head adjustment control hurts the back of the head

Product Interaction

Equipment doesn’t feel personal. Strap slips and didn’t secure. Wearing traditional glasses difficult with the protection ones Difficulties to snap the light without unwearing the helmet

Problems specifications

Safety

The helmet doesn’t protect the nape and related lethal shocks The helmet doesn’t protect shoulders and the back Ground not illuminated (rock sleeping & ankles injuries) The helmet doesn’t protect for cave-in & enourmous falling rocks Carelessness of helmet use (inexisting protection)

Social Interaction

Image of the mining job is not valuated. Dazzled by the forehead light The ear protection obstruct the dialog. Radio sometimes impossible to hear Radio is pending arround the neck

Concentrator Plant

Renstrรถm Mine

Design brief definition

How to improve the ergonomy of the safety equipment used in explosives charging process ?

A : User (and its desires, values, fears, dreams, experiences, expectations)

B D

+ B : Environment (and its danger & constraints) + C : Empathic product (Solution to the poblem and ergonomy)

= D : Holistic & satisfying experience

Goals of this project :

Ergonomy - How to make the equipment agreable to use ? Lightweight - How to reduce the weight problem and its related injuries ? Safety - How to secure the nape ? Secure sensation - How to provide a real security sensation to the user ? Lightning : How to enhance the safety with visibility (personal lightning) ?

Wish of this project : Image : give a better image of to the mining job to the public. Personalisation: make possible the “emotionnal” link between the user and its product.

Role of the Head protection in details :

ocks on the he r g n i ad. Fall Avoid the rock to fall.

ove out of the rock’s tra m / e ject ang ory Ch . Stop the rock.

ck. sho le

ead rh you of . ead rh

Red u c et

G e tb a

ing. eth om ts

d. a e h r ou y t r u h d n fall.

Bang you r h e a d a g a i n s

Av o i d t o ba n g you Move the object r / t h h e ea tra je Stop the ob c t or ject y o r you Reduce the in e v ita b

to oid alance. v b y A od rb u yo fall. r ck u yo top sho itable ck. v e in he

inevitable e the sho c u d ck. Re

Fa l l a

In any case, the head protection reduce the inevitable shock... My goal is not to stop rock falling but try to make their protection more comfortable, more invisible.

Concentrator Plant

RenstrĂśm Mine

Design opportunities

Personnal feelings / Design opportunities “I’ve tryed to wear the helmets during consecutive hours. It was funny at the beggining because everybody was looking at me. But after several hours, my cervicals where so painning that I’ve could regret to experience it. ” Personnal feedback from the autor, after a trial (of several hours) of the equipment.

First impression / Sliding helmet / Non personnal product Not easy trap acces and setting Difficulties to plug on the forehead light / several try No lightning feedback / Light control not self evident Backhead size setting hurts a lot After several hours, the neck is suffer of pain. After more hours, the neck is more suffering of pain. Glasses + ear protection = hurts the forehead sides Toy like feeling ! Uncomfortable aspect

A standard helmet

A mining helmet

(Another standard helmet)

Ideation

I crafted a workshop with other UID students but APDs to open up my creativity and tackle the problems from different angles. 11 People joined this 50 minutes break. We drank 15 beers and generated more than 300 ideas.

Plus! It helped bonding TDs and APDs together ;)

Panoramic des post-its

How to protect a head ?

How to make the head protection agreable to the user ? How to make the helmet comfortable / lightweight ?

How to feel secured ? When do you feel invincible ?

How to create a relationship/ link between the user and the product ? How the miner can be addicted to wear his helmet ?

How to make the light (headlight) lighter for the head/neck ?

Head protection of tomorrow ?

Three creative axis selected to fit the goals : Ideally the best solution would be to ...

Make the neck free of weight or ....

Transmit the forces somewhere else...

or create a...

Supercomfortable head protection !

sa f ety th wi

in ju r

he ng ni

Re du

ce t

t gh r li tte be

we igh t

t ce

ies

Give a better image to public

h En

Emotionally link the user to his product

sen ity sec ur Gi ve a

Re du

ew eig h

t in

rie s

Give a better image to public

gh r li tte be on sati sen ity ur sec

ries

fety

e sa h wit

t in

an g

Red

uce

r li

te bet

ew eig h

h En

Give a better image to public

Giv

th re

cu Se Emotionally link the user to his product

tio sen sa cu rity a se G ive

ap en

ure Sec

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

h wit

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

fety e sa

e th

nc ha En Emotionally link the user to his product

Morphogenese du second concept

sat

ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

r cu Se

Concept dropped : a similar idea have been already developed...

Make the neck free of weight

rie s

w ty afe ith g in tn igh rl tte be

Re du ce th ew eig ht in ju

Give a better image to public

s he et nc ha En

Emotionally link the user to his product

sat en ys rit ecu as

Gi ve

cu Se

ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

Transmit the forces somewhere else...

in j we igh t

rl tte be g in tn igh

th e

th wi ety saf

Re du ce

e th

ur ies

Give a better image to public

e nc ha En Emotionally link the user to his product

en rit ys Gi ve

ecu

e th re

cu Se

sat ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

Supercomfortable head protection !

rie ju in ht

wi g

Re d

igh

tte

we ig

afe

Give a better image to public

e nc ha En Emotionally link the user to his product

sat en ys rit Gi ve

ecu

t re

cu Se

ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

rie ju in ht he et uc Re d

s rie ju we ig

we ig

Give a better image to public

he et uc

Re d

s rie

igh

tte

be g

igh

ion en ys rit ecu as

Gi ve

t re

sat

ion en sat ys rit

p na

cu Se

e th re

ecu

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

sen sat

Emotionally link the user to his product

cu Se

ity

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

Emotionally link the user to his product

cu Se

ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

Gi ve

g in

Re d

igh

tte

we ig

tte

Give a better image to public

ety

wi sec

afe

saf

afe

th Gi ve a

Give a better image to public

h En

ha En

h En

Emotionally link the user to his product

w ety saf ith

e th g in tn

Re du ce

igh

th e

rl tte be

we igh

e nc

nj ur ies

Give a better image to public

ha En

Emotionally link the user to his product

sat en ys rit Gi ve

ecu

t re

cu Se

ion

Ergonomic / Agreable to use

Well. It is now time to get things done. On the other page is a rendering I did at the end of the creative thinking. Showing the intent of the design.

I started prototyping the hard parts to finish with the soft parts.

Before Christmas, I had almost all hard part ready. Except for the main transparent polymers.

Ghislaine Sanson was definitely the key person to help me with the soft materials. Handling soft materials is such a different workd than our tensed surfaces.

I still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how to sew. Nevertheless, I have learnt a lot.

Using real morphological proportions helped me creating the advanced polymers parts.

Nevertheless, I had to try several times before obtaining the desired shape...

The most fun moment of the project was during the photoshoot. Collecting visuals of my work.

And a lot of Photoshop...

Introduction video - Vimeo link : http://vimeo.com/32005886 Making of video / Vimeo link : http://vimeo.com/43165980

Credits (in order of appearance) : Carlos Arturo Torres (p11) Natalie Vanns (p12) Mikael Lindblom (p17) Robert Provó Kluit (p22) Maja Sophia Hedlund (p46-47)

Thank you to : Ghislaine Sanson (Professional Sewer)

Ignacio Fernández Miño (For his courage during the neck/rock falling tests) UID Students (for the workshop participation) Thomas Degn (For his patience) Report realized on Adobe InDesign. ;) (Used for the very first time : sorry for the mistakes...) “Longue vie à Illustrator !”