CALDER
Tools for the night-shift
Focusing on London's invisible heroes - the ones we don't see despite them being dressed in bright orange, the ones London simply wouldn't function without - Night Workers.
Focusing on three key insights given to us by the night workers themselves, we redesigned their most common tool, the drill, to make their shift more enjoyable.
“Accident and injury rates are 18% greater during evening shifts and 30% greater during night shifts when compared to day shifts.”
- OSHA
“Without night workers, London just wouldn’t run.”
- The Young Foundation
Key insights
The insights were discovered on a late January evening - when we went to various Underground stations around London to talk to the night-workers. From all the information we collected, we chose to focus on the most popular ones.
Tools are personal - each construction worker goes through the process of meticulously chosing their own tools.
People are not meant to do night work - the human body is not made to be awake in the late hours.
There is a fine line between heavy & heavy duty - tools are generally too heavy.
Ideation
2D Ideation
Sketching was used extensively to ideate. This sketching took two
main forms: 30 second sketches to generate ideas and more refined drawings to develop and communicate these ideas.
3D Ideation
Many materials (Blue foam, cardboard, clay, 3D printed PLA) were used to rapidly generate prototypes. The 3D ideation informed the final design of the drill to an extent but served mainly to highlight the key challenges regarding ergonomics.
Final Idea
-A drill with a circadian light to reduce fatigue and illuminate the
workspace.
-A drill which is self-assembly to reinforce the fact that tools are
personal.
-A drill with a natural material handle for optimal comfort.
-A drill with a detachable battery for long life and versatility.
Prototyping
Surface Modelling
The learnings from the early prototypes and ergonomics testing were implemented into CAD. Furthermore the additional features were encountered for. Post modelling a lot of 3D prints were made. What proved to be challenging was getting a good quality see-through casing. Many iterations of the drill were made especially since the self-assembly contact had to fit perfectly for the drill to function.
Final Product
The Final Product was a Self-assembly drill with an implemented circadian light to light up the workspace through the see-through casing.
The drill had a detachable battery to improve versatility but also to enable a longer battery life.
The cork handle improved the comfort when drilling as well as making the drill more personal.
CALDER - The only drill you will ever buy.
