Foot Operated Hand Wash

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DEVELOPMENT OF FOOT-OPERATED TAP FOR HANDWASHING FACILITY
Research · August 2016
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STU INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY (STUIJT)
Vol 1 Issue 2 -August, 2016
(ISSN 2508-0997, Online)
PUBLISHED BY;
DEVELOPMENT OF A FOOT-OPERATED TAP FOR

HANDWASHING FACILITIES
Bernard Aboagye 1
2
Edmond Peter Yankson
Frimpong Opoku 3
1, 2, 3
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sunyani Polytechnic
Abstract
Hygiene experts assert that proper handwashing prevents diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera,
Ebola and other faeco-oral diseases. However, the existing handwashing facilities are such that
before washing hands, the contaminated hands are used to turn on the taps and therefore,
contaminate the taps. Just after washing the hands, the washed hands are used in turning off the
contaminated taps and thus, re-contaminating the hands. Consequently, the impact expected
from the provision of handwashing facilities is not felt. A foot-operated tap was designed,
constructed and tested to replace the hand-operated tap. The tap was made of stainless steel and
brass due to their high resistance to corrosion, and stresses and fatigue during operation. It
consists of tap housing with inlet and outlet holes, the foot pedal, base plate, supporting studs
which hold the tap to the base plate, piston, seals, end cap and a spring which closes the hole
with the piston under its spring action. The total cost of the tap was estimated at GH¢64.00 and
could last for more than two years without any major replacement. It was recommended that the
Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Non-governmental Organisations, Donor Agencies,
Ghana Education Service and all institutions promoting handwashing should adopt this
footoperated tap and incorporate it in the existing handwashing facilities and the future ones for
the impact expected from the provision of handwashing facilities to be felt.
Keywords: Development, Foot-Operated Tap, handwashing, facilities
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PAPER CODE: Vol 1 Issue 2 - August, PUBLISHED BY: WWW.STU.EDU.GH
PUBLISHED BY;
Background
Handwashing is the physical or mechanical removal of dirt, organic material or microorganis ms

from the hands (WHO, 2009). Handwashing is easy to do and it is one of the most effective ways
to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness in all settings; from the home,
workplace, to child care facilities and hospitals. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from
one person to another and the entire community. Washing hands has been asserted by hygiene
experts as one of the most important activities in the prevention of diseases. Research shows that
more than 42 % of the diarrhoea cases could be avoided if handwashing with soap is done after
visiting toilet facility (Curtis and Cairncross, 2003) and at other critical times (GES, 2003). By
frequently washing your hands, you wash away germs that you have picked up from other people,
or from contaminated surfaces, or from animals and animal waste. The simple act of consistent ly
performing this basic task properly will make a big difference in your own household as well as
in work, school and public settings (State Health Service, 2006).
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) has over the years marked the day
annually with activities designed to increase awareness and understanding about the importance
of hand washing with soap as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases especially among
Ghanaian school children (Bampoe, 2013). In line with this, institutions such as the Ghana
Education Service and Non-Governmental Organisations have made strenuous efforts aimed at
providing latrines with handwashing facilities with hand-operated taps to school children (GES,
2000) but have not yielded the needed results. Providing foot-operated tap for handwashing
facilities would prevent the spread of infections especially among school children and save lives
of Ghanaian children under five years. It will also reduce the huge sum of money the government
of Ghana and other agencies spend on treating people on diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, and
other faeco-oral diseases.
It was against this background that the foot-operated tap was designed, constructed and tested to
replace the hand-operated tap to ensure effective handwashing.
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Problem statement
In Ghana, sanitation and hygiene related diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera have been
identified as the second most common health problem treated in outpatient clinics. It accounts for
84,000 deaths annually in Ghana with 25 % of these being children under five years (Ghana News
Agency, 2003).
Hygiene experts assert that proper handwashing prevents diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera,
Ebola and other faeco-oral diseases. Thus, institutions such as the Ghana Education Service (GES)
and some Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have provided latrines with handwashing
facilities to school children to enable them wash their hands after visiting the latrines. However,
the existing handwashing facilities are such that before washing hands, the contaminated hands
are used to turn on the taps and therefore contaminate the taps. Just after washing the hands, the
washed hands are used in turning off the contaminated taps and thus, recontaminating the hands.
Consequently, the impact expected from the provision of hand washing facilities is not felt. The
present handwashing facilities have results in poor handwashing practices and pose serious
problems to health and development of people especially, children with accompanied socio-
economic consequences which drawbacks the national development policy and prevents people
from contributing to productivity.
Objectives of the study
The main aim of the research was to provide a foot-operated tap to promote effective handwashing.
The specific objectives were to:
• Design and construct a foot-operated tap for handwashing facility

• Incorporate the foot-operated tap in a handwashing facility in Sunyani Polytechnic Mechanical
Engineering workshop for testing.
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Materials and methods
Selection of materials
The following factor were considered when selecting materials for the design:
1. Mechanical properties
2. Resistance to wear and corrosion
3. Ability to manufacture
4. Cost
5. Service required
6. Ease of maintenance
In line with the above, the tap was made of stainless steel and brass due to their high resistance
to corrosion, and stresses and fatigue during operation.
Components of the foot-operated tap

The main components as shown in the sectional view of the foot-operated tap unit in Fig 2 are:
1. Housing
2. Base plate
3. Foot pedal linkage
4. Screw
5. Stud (3 pieces)
6. Lock nut
7. End cap
8. Piston
9. Spring
10. Flow stopper
11. Inlet socket

12. Outlet socket
13. Valve seat
14. Seals
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11 12
13 14
10
1
8
7
2 3 4
Fig 1: SECTIONAL VIEW OF FOOT-OPERATED TAP ASSEMBLY
Description of the components

1. Casing (or Housing)
Height 74 mm
Diameter 49 mm
Material: Brass purposely to withstand corrosion and wear
2. Base plate
It should be 150 mm long, to accommodate the foot pedal. It also has 3 holes to take the studs. It
is made of brass and has the ability to withstand corrosion. It could be painted to increase the anti-
corrosion action of the plate.
3. Foot pedal
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It is 133 mm in length, with rounded and polished edges to prevent any injury. It is cute in size,
and enables the applied force to act on the piston when pressed. It is placed perpendicular to the
piston to prevent the piston from bending during operation.
Material: The material used for this item is brass which has the ability to resist corrosion and is
light in weight; it is embedded with plastic on the surface for smooth operation. It is painted to
increase the anti-corrosion action of the pedal.
4. Screw
M6 screw which holds the pedal to the base plate
5. Stud (3 pieces)
Diameter: 8 mm
Length: 22 mm
Material: Stainless steel
6. Lock Nut
M8 lock nut which holds the stud to the base plate
7. End cap
Length 15.4 mm for interference fitting into the housing
Hexagonal thread: Designed to allow the end cup to be threaded into the tap.
8. Spring
Outside diameter 11.6 mm
Length 19 mm
Maximum allowable displacement 0.035 m,
Expected applied force 50 N,
Spring Constant 1429 N/m,
Number of cycles 40000

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9. Piston
Diameter: 8 mm for effective pumping
Height: 65.7 mm (The end is concaved to allow the piston to sit
well under spring action to prevent leakage).
10. Flow stopper

Diameter: 22 mm
Length: 8 mm
11. Inlet
Diameter 19 mm
Material: Brass
12. Outlet
Diameter 19 mm
Material: Brass
13. Valve seat

Diameter: 3mm
Length: 14 mm
14. Seals
Diameter 19 and 15 mm to properly grip the piston
Material: Synthetic rubber to withstand wear and forces
Description of the tap
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Fig 2: Photograph of the foot-operated tap
The foot-operated tap is basically made of metal and other non-metal materials. It controls the flow
of water from a source connected to it. It has a tap housing (with inlet and outlet holes), the foot
pedal, base plate, supporting studs which hold the tap to the base plate, piston which moves up and
down to control the flow of water, seals which provide water tight-seal against leakages, end cap
which houses the piston and the seals, spring which closes the hole with the piston under its spring
action.
It is heavier than the existing taps due to the materials used in construction, making it stable when
installed on the floor to be operated by the foot. It has high resistance to stresses and fatigue during
operation and also resistance to corrosion, making it possible to be used in any environment.
It is operated by depressing the foot pedal with a foot which pulls the piston downwards to allow
the flow of water and closed by the same spring action when the foot is released.
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Installation and testing
The tap was incorporated in a handwashing facility in the Mechanical Engineering Workshop by
cutting through the existing pipe and joining the inlet and outlet of the foot operated tap to the
existing pipe. The floor was cut for the base plate to be properly fixed to the ground and the existing
tap opened. A class of 90 students were allowed to use the tap for one month so that any defect
could be detected. The tap functioned throughout the month without any problems. It should be
noted that if a new handwashing facility was to be installed, the existing tap will be removed and
replaced by a curved pipe that would prevent splash of water on the users.
Operation and maintenance
The tap is operated by pressing the pedal with the foot. This pulls the piston downwards to allow
the flow of water through the tap to the basin where the contaminated hands are washed. After
washing the hands, the tap is closed by the same spring action when the foot is released. Thus, the
hands would no longer be re-contaminated as experienced in the use of existing handoperated taps.
The following points should be noted during operation and maintenance of the tap.
1. Stepping on the foot pedal must be gradual and not sudden
2. The foot pedal linkage should be stepped or depressed fully in the middle of the foot pedal to
obtain maximum applied force
3. The foot pedal and the base plate should be painted when the colour is faded out to prevent
corrosion.
4. The spare seals must be kept away from heat or sunlight to prevent their mechanical properties
been deteriorated especially the rubber seals
5. The self-tapping screw must be properly secured to the base plate well enough to prevent it
from removing.
6. The tap should be checked for possible leakages after three months of operation and during
servicing (replacement of seals), the tap must be disassembled properly to avoid misalignme nt
when re-assembling.
7. The spring must be checked, and if necessary, replaced every 2 years
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Table 1: Estimated cost of the tap
Component Quantity Unit price (GH¢) Total (GH¢)

Casing 1 20.00 20.00
Base plate 1 5.00 5.00
Foot pedal 1 2.00 2.00
Screw 1 0.20 0.20
Stud 3 1.00 3.00
Lock nut 6 0.40 2.40
End cap 1 5.00 5.00
Piston 1 10.00 10.00
Spring 1 4.00 4.00
Flow stopper 1 1.00 1.00
Seal 1 2 0.50 1.00
Seal 2 1 0.80 0.80
Piston nut 2 0.60 1.20
Valve seat 1 1.00 1.00
Labour 1 8.00 8.00
Total 64.00
Conclusion
The foot-operated tap was designed and constructed with the best available materials bearing in
mind the possibility of fatigue and potential corrosion when the materials get in contact with water.
The tap was installed and tested for one month and functio ned properly without any problems. The
foot operated tap was premised on eliminating the re-contamination of washed hands to prevent
the spread of faeco-oral diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and Ebola. The test revealed that the
foot-operated tap can replace the existing hand-operated tap to ensure effective handwahing.
Recommendation
The Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Non-governmental Organisations, Donor

Agencies, Ghana Education Service and all the institutions promoting handwashing should adopt
this foot-operated tap and incorporate it in the existing handwashing facilities and the future ones
for the impact (reduction in the incidence of faeco-oral diseases) expected from the provision of
handwashing facilities to be felt.
45
PUBLISHED BY;
References
Bampoe, D., (2013). Jumapo Community educated on the hand washing.

www.africanewshub.com/site/18248-spy- ghana/lang/en/page/1397(retrieved on 10/7/2014)
Bolt E. and Cairncross S. (2004). Sustainability of hygiene behaviour and the effectiveness of
change interventions: Lessons learned on research methodologies and research
implementation from a multi-country research study; Booklet 1: IRC International Water
and Sanitation Centre, Delft, the Netherlands.
Curtis, V., and Cairncross, S. (2003). Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhoea risk in the
community: A systematic review. In: The Lancet infectious diseases, vol. 3, no. 5, p. 275- 281.
George E. Dieter (1997). "Overview of the Materials Selection Process", ASM Handbook
Volume 20: Materials Selection and Design.
Ghana Education Service (2000). My Hands, My Health; Accra-Ghana
Ghana Education Service (2003). School hygiene and sanitation: School Health Education
Programme annual report, Government of Ghana: Ghana publishing.
Ghana News Agency (2003). Hand washing with soap could prevent death. GNA, September
25, Accra, Ghana.
State Health Service (2006). Reducing Contagious Illness in the Child Care Setting; Vol. 10 No.
10. http://schoolipm.tamu.edu/files/2011/08/health-hints-contagious-disease.pdf
(Retrieved 8/6/2014).
Jayakody S., (2011). Basic Facts to Consider for Material Selection in

Engineering,http://brighthubengineering.com/: Written by: Senadheera Jayakody and edited by:
Lamar Stonecypher; Updated: 5/25/2011 (retrieved 4/6/2014).
Kalpakjian S. and Schmid S. (2006). Manufacturing engineering and Technology:
Pearson Education Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Seymore R. (2005). Hand washing with Soap: Assembly press, Accra.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) (1998). Water, Environment and Sanitation
Technical Guidelines Series - No. 5: A manual on school sanitation and hygiene,
UNICEF Library Publications.
World Health Organisation (WHO) (2000). Global Burden of Diseases: WHO Library
Cataloguing- in-Publication.
World Health Organisation (WHO) (2009). Personal Hygiene: WHO Library Cataloguing- in-
Publication.
46
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

DEVELOPMENT OF FOOT-OPERATED TAP FOR HANDWASHING FACILITY

Research · August 2016

Oscillating Water Column View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

DEVELOPMENT OF A FOOT-OPERATED TAP FOR

Keywords: Development, Foot-Operated Tap, handwashing, facilities

Handwashing is the physical or mechanical removal of dirt, organic material or microorganis ms

Objectives of the study

The specific objectives were to:

• Design and construct a foot-operated tap for handwashing facility

Materials and methods

Components of the foot-operated tap

11. Inlet socket

Fig 1: SECTIONAL VIEW OF FOOT-OPERATED TAP ASSEMBLY

Description of the components

Material: Brass purposely to withstand corrosion and wear

Expected applied force 50 N,

Spring Constant 1429 N/m,

Number of cycles 40000

Material: Stainless steel

10. Flow stopper

13. Valve seat

Description of the tap

Fig 2: Photograph of the foot-operated tap

Installation and testing

Operation and maintenance

1. Stepping on the foot pedal must be gradual and not sudden

7. The spring must be checked, and if necessary, replaced every 2 years

Table 1: Estimated cost of the tap

Component Quantity Unit price (GH¢) Total (GH¢)

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Non-governmental Organisations, Donor

Bampoe, D., (2013). Jumapo Community educated on the hand washing.

Jayakody S., (2011). Basic Facts to Consider for Material Selection in

Seymore R. (2005). Hand washing with Soap: Assembly press, Accra.

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