ERGONOMICS Product Research

PRODUCT –
CHARCOAL IRON BOX

The charcoal iron has a hollow

interior that is filled with
smouldering coal to keep the iron
hot. On top of the box, there is a
handle which allows people to lift
the hot iron and run it over
clothes, smoothing out wrinkles.
It is in China where the earliest
examples of charcoal irons were
found.
Who is the USER? - PRESSWALAH/PRESSWAALI
 OBSERVATIONS

Each presswalah/presswaali change their grip while ironing a cloth according to their purpose. They might hold
the middle of the handle or use both hands and grab the side of the handle to push it back and forth.
As seen in all these images, a lot of them hold the handle on the wider part that is on
the corner of the handle to push the iron forward , due to it’s weight.
Although holding that part puts the wrist in a posture that is uncomfortable.
 a.

User a. has been using an iron with the handle shown

below. User b. has been using an iron with a straight
cylinder in the middle.
User a. has dry and hardened spots in his hand,
whereas, user b. doesn’t have any on hers.
User a. has also been ironing for a longer period of
time than User b.

b.
Instead of directly putting water on the clothes, here is an
example of what many others are doing. They use an old
spray bottle and fill it with water , making their work easier.

The position of the index finger in on the higher part of

the handle whereas, the rest of the hand is holding the
middle and lower part of the handle.
This might cause pain between the lower part of the index
finger and the knuckles.
The presswalah is using one hand at a time to
manoeuvre the iron back and forth.
He holds under the handle to pull it back, where the
hand is again in an unnatural posture.
To keep the heat in control, while the iron is
making contact with the clothing item, he keeps a
piece of cotton cloth which makes sure that less
heat is applied directly on the clothing item.
 Almost all the users’ response to any pain in the palm or wrist
was that they are used to it.
However when they started ironing, the parts circles on the
image, are where they said that it pained.

Palm - right hand. Back of left hand.

Muscular fatigue (hand grip) and body pains experienced during ironing of clothes in
standing posture on 82 cm high board with selected irons of different weights were
measured on 6 female subjects. Results showed that muscular fatigue and body pains
while ironing with light weight iron (0.77 kgs) were found significantly less as
compared to other selected irons. Muscular fatigue and body pains was found to be
significantly higher while ironing with heavy weight iron (2.92 kgs) as compared to
light weight iron and steam iron (1.29kgs). Thus ironing clothes with light weight iron
causes minimum stress to body and using heavy weight iron is found to be most taxing
to human body.

According to -

AN ERGONOMIC STUDY OF MUSCULAR FATIGUE DURING IRONING CLOTHES WITH SELECTED

IRONS
P. AUJLA, P. SANDHU AND R. KAUR
DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UN IVERSITY, LUDHIANA, PUNJAB, INDIA
 INTERVIEW – 7 USERS
QUESTIONS –

a. Cost of iron
b. Since how long have you been ironing?
c. How much coal can be filled in the iron at once?
d. How many clothes can be ironed with that amount of coal?
e. How is the coal burnt?
f. How is the heat controlled?
g. How many clothes do you iron in a day?
h. In a day, how many hours do you iron?
or
How much time would ironing ten clothes take?
a. Do you have any problems with iron? (i)
b. What would you like to change about it? (j)
Q 1 - Male 2 – Male 3 – Female 4 - Female 5 – Male 6 – Male 7 - Female
a. 1200 1200 1200 1100-1200 1100 1200 1000-1100
b. 4-5 years 3-4 years 3-4 years 2 years 3-4 years 3-4 years 2-3 years
c. 1-2 kg 1 kg 1kg ½ or 1kg ½ - 1kg 1 kg ½ kg
d 25 clothes 25-30 25-30 25-30 25-30 25-30 25
e. Plastic bag Plastic bag Plastic bag Plastic bag Sesame oil Sesame oil Plastic bag
f. Sprinkling Iron cotton Iron cotton Spray water. Spray water. Spray Spray water.
water. clothes first clothes first water.
then other then other
fabrics. fabrics.
g. 50 100-150 100 100-150 150-200 150-200 150-200
h. 3-4 hours 7-8 hours 7-8 hours ½ hour for 30-40 7-8 hours 8 hours
10 clothes minutes for
10
i. No No No Weight Weight Weight No
j. Nothing Nothing Nothing Reduce Change Reduce Reduce
weight of iron handle. weight. weight.
INFERENCE
Since these irons are last for a lot of years, it is cost efficient for the user to invest in it
one time.
They don’t need to pay for electricity and instead buy coal which is still more
cheaper in terms of it’s usage.
It is not effective for them to use an electric iron, which will actually be easier for
them to use due to their weight, added features and ergonomically designed handles,
but will not last longer than the irons they currently use.
Most of them use plastic to burn coal which is not environment friendly.
INFERENCE
The handle of the iron is made of wood and is extremely bulky.
Most of the handles are basically just three cylinders put together as a handle,
wherein, the two at the corner have a bigger radius than the one in the centre.
The centre has a smaller radius, which is ‘intended’ to be more comfortable to hold
from the user.
The corner of the handle is bulkier since iron is denser than wood. The handle must
bear the weight of the entire iron box (5-7kg) plus the added weight of coal (1/2-
1kg) inside it.
CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on
the median nerve.
The anatomy of your wrist, health problems and
possibly repetitive hand motions can contribute to
carpal tunnel syndrome.
It's possible that working with vibrating tools or on
an assembly line that requires prolonged or repetitive
flexing of the wrist may create harmful pressure on
the median nerve or worsen existing nerve damage.
INFERENCE
Due to the design of the handle on the irons currently being used, the wrist is in a
posture, which can lead up to the users being incredibly prone to the Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome.
This can lead to physical disability, which might also result in financial problems as
their source of income will get affected.
According to the study of muscular fatigue stated in an earlier slide, the entire weight
of the iron is also crucial to decrease strain.
In the concepts of this product study, the focus will be on how to improve the
ergonomics of the handle of the charcoal iron box.
NAME – Navya Balakrishnan
SAP ID – 500059084
B.Des 2017-21