Workplace Safety Solutions
Our client saw the opportunity to create an entirely new safety ecosystem for small and large industrial facilities. The wearable device and software platform enables safety managers to monitor worker safety by collecting environmental data and formulating an overall picture of existing threats to worker safety.
Safe and Easy
At the beginning of the shift, each employee inserts a freshly charged device into their personal armband/holster and begins work. Any exposure to hazardous conditions throughout the day is monitored and stored by the system. If a worker identifies a new safety concern, they can press the button on their device and verbally report the issue, like a walkie talkie. This action will notify the safety manager of the issue and place a pin on the exact location, using BLE beacons.
services provided
Industrial Design
Firmware Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
a simple routine
Before kicking off the design phase, both teams visited potential customers to learn more about daily routines in large and small manufacturing facilities. Together, we toured factory work environments to observe employee workflows and safety-related issues. Most importantly, we spoke with safety managers and employees about their needs and preferences. All of these observations served as the foundation for the design of the product system.
ideation & concept development
We learned from potential users that they didn’t want a “tech gadget” on their arm and were concerned it might be too fragile. This motivated us to explore a design that was durable and rugged like other tools they use. The surfaceink industrial design team began by exploring many concepts through sketching and preliminary CAD models.
prototyping & testing
Promising concepts were further developed into functional prototypes and evaluated by the entire Surfaceink team in terms of feasibility, performance and usability. Working together, our integrated team of designers and engineers finalized the product direction with the client.
system architecture & firmware
Our electrical engineering and firmware teams evaluated numerous sensors to achieve optimal performance and power consumption. We arrived at an approach that increases battery life while effectively gathering and processing environmental data from the work environment. Working with their cloud platform, Surfaceink created a system of sensors, a data storage and transmission architecture, and defined report-triggering policies from the wearable device to the cloud. The end result was a product system capable of monitoring the worker’s environment for more than two 8-hour shifts. mechanical design
mechanical design & engineering
Our mechanical team worked closely with our electrical and industrial design teams to squeeze the device down to a compact and comfortable size. The small form allows each sensor optimal exposure to the outside environment, while providing ample durability to survive spills, drops, and other extreme conditions. The holster accessory even has pre-defined break-points in case the armband accidently gets caught in machinery.
