Better Inhalation for cement workers at loni station

- Design for special needs

-Mitika Kabra ug sem7-guided by prof. dhimant panchal

Acknowledgement

I am a part of all whom I have met. -Anonymous I thank all the cement workers for their co-operation for giving interviews and trying the masks for validation. I thank my professor Mr. Dhimant Panchal for his inputs. I also thank my friends with whom I discussed theproblems whenever I felt I was stuck. I also thank , Sudharshan tailor, loni for giving me some more clarity about the lifestyle of the cement workers.

contents

• Introduction•Mind mapping/Brainstorming•Data collection•Questionaire•Specificproblemstatement• Inspiration•Materialrequirements•Design criteria•Concepts•Validation•Further detailing and improvements

Introduction

Cement handlers face occupational diseases of lungs, skin and joint pain in their life; more severe in their late life, of which lung diseas-es like bronchial asthama are worse.

General problem statement: To reduce the lung dieases in these workers.

Scenario of Cement bag handling at loni station

Environ

Loni

Rains - 3 months

+ On and off in the year

workers education- mostly below 10th Class ; some have B.A degree too

mostly farmersunderstand hygeine and health hazards

used to the cement now

have back, joint pain

Generally hot

Breezy- Cement’s in the air !

sweat

Contract to collect cement from the ground - 15-20 bags in a week

System

Their Personal protection

Wear and throw 2nd hand jackets and pants

Use everything to the fullest

Deconstruction !

Their lifestyle

Keep dusting themselves in transition

Gargle; cough comes out

Evening- community cleaning/ bathing; scrub themselves with the gamcha

Food is the only fresh thing in the whole place;and colourful too.

Repeated use and improper cleaning habits

Add to income

Gargle; cough comes out

Interviews of cement workers

Questionaire•Working here since•did what before•education•wud you wish to change job•happy with d job•what do you do after going home•what do you watch on tv•Task at home in the morn•wear clothes•come•do you think dust se kuch problem hoga•kuch karte hain aap•mask• jacket kab badalte hain• carry karte hain ghar kaise• food?•break kab kitna

• in chizo se kuch takleef hai•dhone ka jhanjnat, dhool lagne ka•effective nahi hai ?•ghar mein dhul hoti hai•Abdominal pain•Breathingdifficulty•Headache•weakness• Irritability•Unconsciousness•Muscle tension or tightening that causes twisting of the

body, head, arms, or legs• itching, swelling•Bright red or bluish skin and lips•pain, redness, and swelling.•blistering.•white or blackened, charred skin that may be numb.•Peeling skin•swaas thambte ka, aggravated by aggression- climbing,

lifting, bathing, eating, talking•dry cough••muscle joint pain• fatigue•Back

•Health affected •Lungs- Dry cough•Spine- back, shoulder,arms,limbs pain•When get old, also when a lot of work is done in a day.•Knees, joints•50 kg per bag.•100 bags per day, 5000 kg by 5 people in transporting it between the truck and

train.•Result of the hook used to move cement bags•Cement collects in the skin due to repeated use and improper cleaning.• Is removed occasionally with oil and lime but it still remains•Not cleaning the gamcha well, laziness•When cement enters the eyes, 50 paise eye drops or gulab jamun are used

•Wear off points•Why do they not wear the masks in the out•Do they speak when in the bogie•Have they tried anything other than the mask•Maskdifficulties-washing,changing,throwing•Why cement in such bags•Monthly expediture over it [ direct + indirect]

•Dr.Dhanashri,loni•Diseases : Cox, TB•Back pain, Slip disc•allergic problems•Lung disease are acute not chronic. doesent keep cough for long

term, people get dry cough, then and there not after a prolonged period of time, but COPD [ chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]

•Lifestyle – drinking almost everyday, eating tobacco, having stale food, unhygienic.

•Ifmasksarewornthroughoutthework;itwillbemuchbetter

•Dr.Kalbhor,Loni•Cough, Allergic cough, Skin burn, Joint aches, •Depends on each one’s immunity•56 % lung issues•30 % knee issues•Eating paan is good, katta and chuna purify the blood.•Joint pain due to less intake of water., hence calcium level down.•Theymustgetfreshair,somethingthatattractsthedust.•Can’twearmaskfulldayduetoheat,willsweat,waterlevelswillreduce,feelmoretired.

Interviews of doctors

•Tailor, from whom they buy the caps and masks•About 1000 workers•He says he makes 50 caps per day. Caps are stolen.•White and red colour•Some buy masks in bulk @ Rs. 12 to sell @ Rs. 15. Generally buy 3-1

together.•Prefer red gamcha as it doesen’t look spoilt fast as compared to blue.•Habits- Paan, drinks, tobacco.•Supposed to wash gamcha and cap everday, Rs. 15 extra doesen’t

concern them, earn around 12,000 per month, send their children to Angel’s high school, loni[ English medium]

•Stitch hood by themselves with their hook.•Clothes not more than a month.Take breaks for few days, go to their

village or keep travelling•Spit to remove the cement dust.

Interview of a tailor

Seasonal changes•Winter - skin dries; itching increases;

apply oil on skin and come•Summer - sweat more, cement sticks•Rainy - cement sticks

Cement factsCement particle size - 0.1- 250 micrometerAbsorbs water and hardens

hygeine patterns and costing

Cap cleaning- 1-2 in a week Rs 25Mask change - 15 days avg. Rs. 20 x 2Dress - 15 days Rs. 150 x 2Rd gamcha Rs. 15 Rs. 80 aprox Rs. 400/ month

Cement facts

AnalysisCement is in the air all over !

Dust enter the lungs:• from the air, as they don’t wear mask

throughout the day, •any opening in the mask

Hygeine and laziness are key issues

They use everything to the fullest; do more of use and throw; practise REuse

• hook used to move cement bags wastes a lot of cement

Problems in the existing nose and mouth protection

Suffocating after a point:•sweatmakesitdifficultto

breath•breath in and out same

CO2 air.

Leave in this position to dry the sweat,elastic gets loose.

Cement gets stuck at places where there is sweat /barrier.

They wear the masks only when in the compartment.

5 1510Days

Air

tra

nsfe

r

working safely with concrete

Trapped wet cement - burns - alkalinity of cement -Ironically, severe cases often occur when personal protective clothing or equipment is worn. •washing the skin with warm water and pH neutral soap, or

other skin cleanser, and drying the skin afterwards•Facilities for drying clothes and changing clothes should

also be available•Jaggery and paan are supposed to purify the blood and

therefore a must for all cement handlers

Days

problem solving levels

A leak-proof packaging for cement

Leak-proof handling method for Cement bags

Something that attracts the cement from the atmosphere.

A personal protection throughout the day

Hygeine re-alization and corrective ac-tion by workers themselves.

Cement Factory Level Cement Factory and other handling points

Cement worker level

+ Avoids cement wastage/ tamper+Benificialforallhandlers- Cost increase

+ Avoids cement wastage/ tamper+Benificialforallhandlers- Cost increase

+ Less cost+ Solving locally- Not full proof

1]Papergunnybags:- Already available-Difficulttohandle- Expensive

packaging for cement

2]LDPEcoatingfromin-sidethecementbag+ Comparatively affordable+ Saves on wastage of ce-ment and occupational haz-ard to a huge extend

3]ThinWaxCoatingfromoutside- Climatic issues+Would reduce cement han-dlers effort- Packaging method expensive+ Retains the advantage of weaved bags

4]Weavetechniqueofbags

A personal protection throughout the day

SpecificProblemstatement:•A personal protection which the workers can use throughout the day

and protects them better from inhaling cement.

Why?As it doesen’t require a system changeThesolutioncanbepractisedfortruebenefit

Designcriteria:Better protectionFeel comfortable using it for long timeLast longerMaintenanceCostAcceptance

Inspiration

Osmosis

how things collect at in the lungs

Burqa

Jain masks

Something Hygroscopiceg. Chalk

Circulation Of air is Important !eg. Mal cotton

Absorbtion

Adsorbtion

ACfilters

purifying systems

Deconstruction

Aerosol behavior

Inspiration for concepts

parallel products

Respirator• the air-purifying respirator, which forces con-taminatedairthroughafilteringelement,and the air-supplied respirator, in which an alternate supply of fresh air is delivered

•activated charcoal•Wool, plastic, glass, cellulose, and their com-binationsSincethefilterscannotbecleanedand reused and therefore have a limited lifespan, costanddisposabilityarekeyfactors.

Concepts

+comfortable+leaf gives cooling effect initially- availability of big leaves in quantity of 200/3 days- need something to tuck leaf into as they keep re-moving the mask

+ breathe comfortably+ 6+ layers would ensure airfiltration+ sweat dries soon; leaving a coolness

1 2

Leaf

nylon cloth that need not be washed daily

Concepts

- cement would enter too

- no need to wash [use and throw type] ; framework lasts long

+ wash less often- prolonged direct contact of nylon with skin is not good

3 4

5

6

Material requirements

•Natural/ feel one with it/ can wear full dayfinecotton-mal,cotton,leaf,mud,khus,

•That which need not be washed dailyNylonmesh,ACfilter

ACfilter

prototype 1 for testing

Pradeep Dende, cement labourerUsed the mask for 1 loading cycle [1/2 hour]+initially felt excited about the leaf+leaf gave coolness- leaf got wet with sweat- exhaled air went in the eyes [cement too]

- maskneedstofitwell

Leaf touches the skin to feel cool and comfortableCement may pass the 4 layers of nylonmeshbut can be easily dusted to remove maximum particles, wash at longer intervals

Single thread loop according to one’s face

Freshness is welcome !

prototype 2 for testing

6 layered Cotton‘mal’ mask.Needs to be washed regularly.

Santosh Khot, cement

labourerUsed the mask for 1 loading cycle [1/2 hour]+he can use the mask for 3 loadings to begin with+ comfortable breathing- he is habituated to the yel-low mask; elastic ensures the mask to be in place; also we can wear it fast.

Mask after 1/2 hour use+ clean; he had dusted it

Others’suggestion:stitch it from endsadd metal strip above and below

will not wash everyday

Mask after 1/2 hour use+ clean; he had dusted it

Validation 2.2A... Washing/ layers

•Checkingthedurabilityofthemask:

1. Put cement powder on wet 4 layered mask material

2. Let it dry3. Wash

Repeated the cycle 3 times...

•Observation:+Cement doesen’t enter 3rd layer- Washing daily is necessary

Changing attitude...

•After repeatedly talking to them about the problems in their existing way of working [masks etc.], more people are atleast giving a thought over it; which once they ignored.

• [agreeing the faults of the mask and giving me sug-gestions for the new mask]

•Some are willing to wash the mask too.

•3-4 peole have ordered for new mask.

Validation 2.2

Observation:•Wearing the mask is tedious [ bcoz of

the locking loop]•Metal strip should be thin and soft

edges•There should be more volume that

the mask encloses. [for better air flow]

•Particlesgetfiner;dopassthroughthe 4 th layer also.

•couldn’t brathe well after half hour [getting accustomed takes time]

Layer 1 topmost

Layer2 Layer3 Layer 4

vERSIONS OF MASK

• Less cost• Plain cotton cloth wrapped

over a wireframe• Need to wash daily

• Mask shaped - ease in breathing• Silicone lining• Need to wash daily

• More Cost

1 2

SYstemic IMprovements at Cement worker’

Incentivization:Carry a random check of 15 people’s mask and give them a point and rec-ognition for maintaining a clean mask.

Total the points at the end of 2

months.

thank you