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Validation testing of prismatic glasses in overhead tasks performed in a harbor environment
Design Discipline
Design Research
Date
September 2021
Employer
University of Antwerp
My role as a Designer
Using existing technology to find a solution for musculoskeletal disorders due to overhead work
Impact of the project
The project came to the conclusion that use of belayglasses, used for climbing, are effective for a better posture AND are not invasive as previously thought by dockworkers.
Although overhead work is closely related to musculoskeletal disorders, it is difficult to avoid the postures introduced by overhead work for heavy load professions. This was also the case with dockworkers in the port of Antwerp. Prismatic glasses help straightening the neck, thus giving the worker a better posture and increasing the chance on injuries. As prismatic glasses obstruct the central view of the user, the sensory system linked with the posture control of the user can be disrupted. To understand if prismatic glasses propose an added value in an industrial setting, we designed a suitable addon for dockworker helmets and conducted tests with an IMU mocap suit to compare with and without the prismatic glasses to validate a difference in stability as in posture.
