[Portable Self Scanning In the recent modern day, businesses such the grocery stores has taken a step towards integrating modern technology instead of traditional grocery]

By

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

Each one of us is physically challenged at some point in life. Old age, extreme statures (short or long, thin or fat), or some accident might produce conditions wherein we are unable to continue our work like we normally do. So it is in the best interests of everyone to design a product that accommodates the needs of all of its users. Being ergonomists, our task is to assess the existing products and services, showing where and how they fail to 'fit' the user (in every sense of the word) and suggest ways to improve the fit in order to make the products and services safer, more comfortable and more productive for the whole range of people who use them - including children, the elderly and the disabled. I had the opportunity to get involved in a focus group study of the recently emerged grocery store Self-Scanning Systems (SSS`s). People with various kinds of disabilities - mobility, hearing, and vision, perceptual and cognitive disabilities - were asked to perform the process of Self-Scanning (SS) in actual grocery stores. Although no quantitative variables were analyzed in that study, it was observed that the SS's were far from being usable by the disabled population. Thus, emerged the idea of applying my knowledge of ergonomics to the redesign of one of the most prevalent models of the SS (the U-Scan Express) so that the redesigned system is more universally acceptable than the existing system. Because of time and resource constraints, the redesign focused on the accessibility for wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users from the physical perspective considering ergonomic factors such as fit, reach, posture etc. Results indicate that productivity was not significantly affected across workstations, for either of the two user groups. Posture was significantly improved across workstations for both the groups. Shoulder posture was significantly improved for both the groups -a maximum shoulder angle reduction of 64% for wheelchair users and 69% for non-wheelchair users was recorded. Trunk posture was significantly improved for wheelchair users with a maximum trunk angle reduction of 66.5% while for the non-wheelchair users, the trunk flexion angle did not significantly increase.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION7

User Centred Design (UCD)7

Design for All (DFA)8

Universal Design9

Physical Ergonomics12

Anthropometry12

Static Anthropometry12

Functional Anthropometry13

Ergonomics for the “able-bodied”14

CHAPTER 2: DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION15

Wheelchair Accessibility Research in Product Design20

Self-Checkout (SCO) Systems22

Pilot Work on SCO23

Perceptual Issues in SCO28

Physical Issues in SCO29

Specific Aims of the Study31

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY33

Subjects33

Experimental Apparatus and Instruments35

Testing ...