The Situation
The purpose of this page is to guide you through the steps I took in order to meet the requirements at the task at hand. I had to design an improved wheel lifting aid, compared to existing aids on the market, for a tyre changing workshop.
Brief
Since passenger vehicles are trending to incorporate larger diameter wheel/ tyre combinations, manual handling risks for service technicians need to be minimised.
With proposed changes to the National Occupational Health and Safety Act, legislation to make lifting aids in the workplace for manual handling operations are becoming mandatory.
Increasing numbers of 4WD and SUV in the Australian vehicle market means that manipulating wheels weighing in excess of 40kg is becoming progressively common.
Current models of wheel lifting aids only focus on lifting the wheel from the ground to the necessary fitting height for the car. They do not include other important ergonomic factors into their designs such as how the user places the wheel into the lifter.
The aim of this project is to develop three new wheel-lifting aid concepts that are innovative and functional solutions. These solutions will recognise and resolve the already existing functional problems that will be determined through research, including a peeve’s analysis of current users of wheel-lifting aids.
Process
After planning the stages of this project, I jumped straight into my research stage. This involved a patent search, and investigation of relevant standards, site visits, interviews, an investigation of competitive products and an investigation of lifting and hoisting techniques.
Relevant Standards
(AS/NZS 2693:2003) Vehicle Jacks, (AS/NZS 2550.9:1996) Cranes: Safe Use Part 9 Vehicle Hoists, (AS/NZS 2550.1:2011) Cranes, Hoists & Winches: Safe Use Part 1 General Requirements, (AS/NZS 1418.1:2002) Cranes, Hoists & Winches Part 1 General Requirements
I then used the findings from my research to create a function analysis chart with primary, secondary and tertiary requirements.
This helped me to create a product definition and i was then able to start my ideation stage.
Ideation
Concepts
Concept three was my preferred solution, it adressed all the issues raised and had the most innovated technology.
