Technical Report Draft 2
Personal Statement:
Benjamin is a student at the Singapore Institute of Technology, studying mechanical engineering. Taking modules such as engineering design graphics and digital engineering skills in his previous trimester, he believes that the knowledge will aid him greatly for this project.
Brandon is a student at the Singapore Institute of Technology, studying Mechanical Engineering. He has recently finished design thinking modules such as engineering design graphics and digital engineering skill, that experience will help fuel the creative thinking process for brainstorming new designs for the project.
Sande is a student at the Singapore Institute of Technology, studying mechanical engineering, he joined this project to create a laundry basket to help the elderly. Using knowledge from previous modules such as engineering design graphics (EDG), he believes that he would be able to apply said knowledge to this project.
Heng loong is a student at the Singapore Institute of Technology, studying
Mechanical Engineering. Utilizing knowledge learnt from modules from previous
trimester such as engineering design graphics, he believes that the knowledge acquired would be beneficial in aiding him in this project.
Executive Summary
This report is written in response to a letter of authorization dated XXX, and aims to convince IKEA to incorporate our improved laundry basket design. Doing laundry is an unavoidable chore in every household, thus ergonomic laundry basket designs are of great importance.
Through secondary research, we have determined that the rate of elderly living alone in Singapore will greatly increase by 2030 and they are extremely at risk of muscular injuries such as lower back strain. The low height of the typical laundry basket forces the user to bend repeatedly to pick up clothes. Furthermore due to the lack of wheels, lifting of the basket is required for movement. Proper lifting techniques will be required when lifting a fully loaded laundry basket to prevent lower back strain which many elderly are not able to due to weak joints and weak core strength. On top of that, primary research has been done to emphasize the heaviness of a fully loaded laundry basket when being handled by the elderly. This report discusses the Future Basket, a laundry basket designed with new features to tackle the problem.
The proposed modifications to the laundry basket's design consist of adding a pneumatic lifting mechanism for adjustment of height and installing wheels at the bottom for maneuverability. The modifications made to the laundry basket allow the user to work at a comfortable height and also to move the product with great ease. Along with the great benefits the modifications bring about, there are also potential challenges as well. These challenges include increased cost of the new product and persuading the elderly to try new products. The increased cost of the product can be reasoned to be affordable when compared with the heavy cost of lower back strain treatment and consultation. Persuading the elderly to try new products can also be resolved by advertising the product’s functions, usefulness and that the product is created especially for them, these should help persuade them to buy the product.
In conclusion, this report’s aim is to convince IKEA that the implementation of the team’s suggested design (Refer to figure 1) will greatly reduce the risk of lower back strain for the elderly and also for IKEA to be the first to kick off a new era of laundry basket design.
Figure 1. Suggested design
1. Introduction
1.1 Background:
Laundry baskets are a common household item used daily by people around the world. Doing laundry is a daily chore and almost everyone has done it at least once in their lives.
Ng and Fadhilah (2018) stated that the number of elderly living alone in Singapore aged 65 and above is about “47,000” in 2016 and the numbers are estimated to increase to “83,000” by 2030. A group of users who may develop lower back problems due to the current designs of the laundry baskets is the elderly. In the United States of America, about 80 percent of adults will encounter lower back strain in their lives and one of the risk factors is advancing age (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014). To avoid lower back strain, a proper technique of lifting must be followed. According to Summit Orthopedics (2019), the proper technique for lifting heavy loads is for the users to bend their knees to lift the load by engaging their leg muscles, thus keeping their backs straight. However, most elderly have weak joints and do not have enough core strength to do a proper lift, leading to a much higher risk of lower back strain.
With the increasing number of elderly living alone, they struggle to do basic tasks at home such as laundry. Lifting and carrying loads of laundry is a daunting task for the elderly as they are prone to injuries such as lower back strain. Rabideau (2019) discusses the seven best laundry baskets that are currently in the market. The most common and popular baskets are made out of plastic due to it being “durable, lightweight and often cheaper than woven alternatives”. The typical laundry basket designs (Refer to figure 1) are very similar, being handheld and having a height of around 35 cm. This requires the user to bend down to pick up clothes inside the basket. Through a survey (Refer to Appendix A), we found out that 91.4% of the respondents own a laundry basket that lacks wheels. 71.4% of the respondents also think that a laundry basket is heavy at maximum capacity. According to RepairAid (2017), a laundry basket filled with dry clothes can weigh up to 8kg, and wet clothes may weigh up to twice as much.
Figure 1. Typical laundry basket design (Rabideau, 2019)
The current laundry basket designs are not optimal for the elderly and must be changed to reduce the risk of lower back strain. In light of this situation, an ideal home laundry basket will have a lifting mechanism for adjustment of height and also wheels for maneuverability.
1.2 Problem Statement:
The current problem for a typical laundry basket is its height and lack of maneuverability. When doing laundry, users will have to bend down to pick up clothes and lift the full weight of the basket if they want to move it to a higher position. The new laundry basket design includes a pneumatic lifting system that allows users to adjust its height and a base plate with 5 wheels attached at the bottom for easy maneuverability.
1.3 Purpose statement:
This report proposes that IKEA incorporates our improved laundry basket design that has a pneumatic lifting system and roller wheels attached at the base which allows adjustment of height and ease of movement into their current catalogue.
2. Solution
2.1 Proposed design:
The typical laundry basket designs have a height of around 35 cm and lack wheels.
By combining a laundry basket, base plate, pneumatic cylinder, legs and wheels. The final product will be the ideal laundry basket for the elderly with its two new features of adjustable height and easy maneuverability which is named the Future Basket.
Figure 2.1. Future Basket components
2.2 Base Plate:
The basket will be fixed onto the top of the base plate (Refer to Figure 2.1) and a gas cylinder will be attached to the middle of the bottom of the base plate.
Figure 2.2. Base plate (amazon, 2020)
2.3 Pneumatic Lifting Mechanism:
The first proposed improvement to the basket is a pneumatic lifting mechanism (Refer to Figure 2.3), which allows the height to be adjustable. With the pneumatic lifting mechanism installed, the elderly will only need to tap a lever to increase the height of the basket which allows them to comfortably remove clothes.
Figure 2.3. Pneumatic lifting mechanism (alibaba, 2020)
The pneumatic lifting mechanism (Refer to Figure 2.4) consists of a base for the basket to be placed upon and a gas cylinder that is able to extend or retract due to pneumatic principles and also a lever that controls the locking of the piston. The main components that contribute to the function of a gas cylinder are the piston, cylinder and gas seals.
Figure 2.4. Gas cylinder (stabilusindustryline, 2020)
Pneumatic cylinders or sometimes referred to as a gas spring (Refer to Figure 2.5) is a cylinder filled with air and enclosed with a piston within. A lever will then control the locking of the piston. When the lever is activated, pushing the piston will cause the air to be compressed, raising the internal pressure within the enclosed cylinder. When the lever is activated again and there is no force acting on the piston, the internal pressure within the cylinder will push the piston outwards of the cylinder. This movement of the piston allows the basket to adjust its height according to the user’s actions.
Figure 2.5 : Gas Springs (ExplainThatStuff 2019)
2.4 Legs:
The bottom of the gas cylinder will be inserted into the hole in the middle of the legs (Refer to Figure 2.2) and the wheels will be attached on each end of the legs. The shape of the legs is for balance of the whole basket as the 5 legs equally take up the load of the laundry.
Figure 2.6. Legs (soshellmarket, 2020)
2.5 Wheels:
The second proposed improvement to the laundry basket is to install 5 wheels that would be screwed into the legs via screws. The wheel is attached to a swivel caster which ensures rotation of 360 degrees while under load. Each wheel (Refer to Figure 2.6) has an allowable load of 40kgf, and combined they have a total allowable load of 200kgf. A braking mechanism can also be found on the wheel which restricts all movement and stops the product from moving freely. This will keep the load evenly distributed between the wheels preventing the load from tipping over. With the wheels mounted, the elderly would be able to move the laundry basket from point to point with ease.
Wheel Diameter: 40mm
Mass: 60g
Type: Screw-in type
Wheel width: 41.5mm
Allowable load: 40kgf
Figure 2.7. Double Wheel Caster (Monotaro 2014)
2.6 Final Design:
The final design(Refer to figure 2.7) includes all previously mentioned components along with a good quality laundry basket attached on top of the base plate. Users will be able to adjust the height of the laundry basket to their comfort level (Refer to figure 2.8) and also use minimal effort to move the laundry basket.
Figure 2.8. Final Design Assembled and Exploded
Figure 2.9. Final Design Retracted and Extended
3. Benefits:
The additional features added onto the laundry basket will greatly decrease the risk of elderly injuring themselves when doing laundry. The pneumatic lifting mechanism allows the user to adjust the basket's height and roller wheels will provide ease of movement when doing laundry.
4. Evaluation:
The features in the new laundry basket design have many benefits due to its adjustable height and easy maneuverability. However, there are two potential challenges due to the design.
The first challenge is the cost, the components of the new laundry basket design greatly increase the price of the basket. The new laundry basket will require a basket, base plate, pneumatic cylinder, legs, and wheels. Most of these components can actually be obtained from computer chairs. The price of a typical computer chair is around $34 (Lazada, 2020). Estimating the components from the chair needed, the price of the required components will be around three-quarters of the full computer chair price which is $25.50. Adding on a good quality basket from IKEA which is around $10 (Ikea, 2020), the total estimated price of the new laundry basket will be $35.50. A typical laundry basket from Ikea is around $10 to $30 and comparing this price to the new laundry basket, the difference is $5.50 to $25.50. This challenge is insignificant when we discuss the potential cost of consultation and medical fees when an elderly strains their lower back. Looking at a brief overview of the consultation fees for a typical chiropractic clinic, the first consultation is already $165 dollars and subsequent consultations will cost $90 (sgpainsolutions, 2020). An additional price of up to $25.50 for a new laundry basket will only be a small amount compared to the medical fees induced if a user suffers from lower back strain due to the typical laundry basket.
The second challenge is that most elderly in Singapore have a traditional mindset when it comes to their belongings. Usually, they will not be willing to try new designed products and also will not throw away their old products easily. As stated by Bond (2014), people after the age of 50 find it hard to sell or throw items that they no longer need, “because doing so becomes more and more difficult,physically or emotionally.” Convincing the elderly to purchase the new laundry basket will be challenging as they have a usable one at home. The elderly that are living alone will not have anyone to discuss whether the new laundry basket will be useful and worth buying. This can be resolved with advertising the functions and features of the new laundry basket and how effective it can be when doing chores. After the first wave of users purchase the basket, elderly customers will be more likely to buy the product themselves when they observe many others buying it.
With the increasing rate of elderly living alone in Singapore, it is very important to ensure that they do not injure themselves while doing simple tasks at home as there is no one there to aid them. As such the new laundry basket is a product that every elderly must have at home.
5. Methodology:
Both Primary and Secondary research sources were used to reference information related to our report for its completion.
5.1 Primary Research
The team measured the weight of the typical laundry basket at maximum capacity. Primary research was done on the price of the laundry basket, and the price of the computer chair which gave us an estimate of how much the new laundry basket design will cost. A survey (Refer to Appendix A) was also conducted to find out more about what people think of their laundry baskets at home.
5.2 Secondary Research
To come out with possible modifications to improve the existing product, the team did research on the targeted audience and weaknesses of the product. Secondary resources were used to provide evidence for our statements, such as information regarding existing laundry baskets, problems with the existing designs and features in other products that can help solve these issues. References to these sites also provided us with ideas to add to the design proposal.
6. Concluding Statement:
In conclusion, after conducting primary and secondary research, we have found that there is an increase of elderly living alone in Singapore and these elderly are at risk of lower back strain when doing laundry using the typical laundry baskets of today. With the added features of adjustable height and easy maneuverability from including a pneumatic cylinder and wheels, the new laundry basket “Future Basket” will prevent the elderly from constantly bending down to pick out clothes and lifting the basket to move it. Thus, the Future Basket will reduce the risk of lower back strain for the elderly and ensure that they will be able to do laundry at home safely and without much effort.
7. References:
Allison, B. (2014). Older Adults may struggle with Excess possessions
Alibaba (2020). Replacement piston for office chair. Retrieved and adapted from
Chang, L. (2010). How to Wreck Your Back. Retrieved and adapted from
Douglasequipment (n.d). What is the difference between Casters and wheels. Retrieved and adapted from
Ikea (2020). TORKIS. Retrieved and adapted from
Lazada (2020). Computer chair. Retrieved and adapted from
Monotaro (2014). Double Wheel Caster TUS40-BM8XP1.25. Retrieved and adapted from
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2014) - Lower Back Pain Fact Sheet. Retrieved and adapted from https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/patient-caregiver-education/fact-sheets/low-back-pain-fact-sheet
Ng, D. (2018). The loneliness of old age - and an experiment to see if Instagram can be a cure. Retrieved and adapted from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/the-loneliness-of-old-age-and-an-experiment-to-see-if-instagram-10675658
Repair Ad (2017). Washing Machine Capacity Explained. Retrieved and adapted from
Rabideau, C. (2019). The 7 Best Laundry Baskets of 2020. Retrieved and adapted from
Amazon (2020). Retrieved and adapted from
Soshellmarket (2020). HARTLEYS REPLACEMENT ALUMINIUM BASE & CASTOR WHEELS COMPUTER/OFFICE CHAIR/SEAT. Retrieved and adapted from
Stabilusindustryline (2020). Gas springs.Retrieved and adapted from
Sgpainsolutions (2020). Chiropractic Fees & Packages. Retrieved and adapted from
Summitorthopedics (2019). Proper Lifting Techniques Protect Your Spine. Retrieved and adapted from
Woodford, C. (2019). Gas Springs. Retrieved and adapted from
8. Appendices
Appendix A - Survey of laundry baskets
Appendix B - Technical Drawing for Final Design
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