Human Factors Involved with Pediatric Window Falls; Gary Sloan, PhD

Human Factors involved withPediatric Window Falls

Gary D. SloanG. David Sloan Inc.

Olympia, WAwww.gdsloan.com

2010 Community Forum:

Understanding and Preventing Window Falls Among Children

The Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center

Portland, Oregon November 9, 2010

A few words about Human Factors...

• For whom do we design?

Panero and Zelnik (1979) Human Dimension & Interior Space New York: Whitney Library

Physical Characteristics and Limitations

• Body Dimensions

• Biomechanics

Physical Characteristics and Limitations

• Biomechanics

Human Factors = Ergonomics

Physical Characteristics and Limitations

• Biomechanics

Center-of-Mass(COM)

Physical Characteristics and Limitations

• Biomechanics

Physical Characteristics and Limitations

• Biomechanics

Physiological Characteristics and Limitations

• Work Physiology

Expenditure of Energy

Physiological Characteristics and Limitations

• Stress Physiology

Source: blogs.mirror.co.uk

Psychological Characteristics and Limitations

• Perceptual Characteristics

Psychological Characteristics and Limitations

• Perceptual Characteristics

Psychological Characteristics and Limitations

• Perceptual Characteristics

Psychological Characteristics and Limitations

• Perceptual Characteristics

Binocular Color Fields

Psychological Characteristics and Limitations

• Cognitive Characteristics

Signal Detection Theory

Human Factors Specialist

Kind of a tailor…

Measure of good fit…

Human Factors

Maximum opening to prevent falls?

Human Factors

New

“O inches”

Children Can’t Fly Program

Human Factors

Maximum opening to prevent falls?

Maximum opening to prevent falls?

Which body dimension?

Which body dimension?

Which percentile?1st % 5th % 50th % 95th % 99th %

Most Narrow Most Wide

Head Breadth of Children

Age?

Source: Henry Dreyfuss Associates (1993)

Head Breadth of Children

Human Factors

Maximum opening to prevent falls?

? = 4 inches

How to implement?

What is the hazard?

What is the hazard?

Safety Hierarchy

Hazard = Acceleration

Mitigate: Forgiving Surfaces

Guard: 4-inch Opening

Warn: Alert to danger

Guarding

Through distance.

Guarding

Design Constraints?

• Fire codes

• Not interfere with emergency egress/access

One Human Factors Approach

Pinch Strength of Children

Who do we design for?

Measure of Good Fit

Performance

Fewer accidents and injuries…