In this packet you will find: History and Uses, The Story of Simply Dump It, Achievements and Awards, Customer Comments, Upcoming Events, Consumer Information Piece and Contact Information.
2011 ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Award Winners
2011 ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Award Winners Announced During Sold Out Expo; Exhibitor Renewal for 2012 Hits 96% and Counting
New York, NY, December 14, 2011 The 2011 National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition (ErgoExpo) held at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas earlier this month was yet again the largest annual gathering of ergonomics decision makers and vendors in the nation. The event was a huge success, and by the last few hours of the show, the room still buzzing with activity, the vast majority of exhibitors had already renewed and new exhibitors had signed up for 2012.
We knew the event was a success when we reached a 96% exhibitor renewal rate just days after the show. Exhibitors were clearly busy from the start until the finish of the event. Many renew prior to arriving in Las Vegas, they know they need to keep ErgoExpo on their show schedule every year, but the rest of them, including fist-time exhibitors and new companies that were just visiting the show have already reserved exhibit space for 2012,” remarked Walter Charnizon, President of Continental Exhibitions, Inc., owner/producers of ErgoExpo.
Attendees from nearly all 50 states and 13 foreign countries including the U.K., Australia, Canada, Mexico, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Brazil were at ErgoExpo. Attendees represented organizations as diverse as Aetna, Boeing, ConAgra Foods, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Ford, GE, John Deere, Lockheed Martin, Mayo Clinic, NASA, Nissan, Procter & Gamble, Rolls Royce, Sysco, Target, Toyota, US Air Force, Wells Fargo and numerous government agencies and healthcare facilities. They attended sessions geared toward office, healthcare, industrial and other work environments.
One highlight of the show was the announcement of the 10th Annual ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Awards, winners included: Equipois’ X-Ar™ Exoskeletal Arm; Ergotron’s WorkFit-A Sit-Stand Desk; Kenson’s OysterMouse; Kinesis Corporation’s Freestyle 2 Split-Adjustable Keyboard; and MAS Un Limited’s Simply Dump It wheelbarrow handles. This year’s Attendees’ Choice Awards marked a third win for Equipois and a second win for Kinesis. Jon Biggs, Director of Sales & Marketing for Kinesis Corporation which received its second ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Award during the 2011 Expo, noted, “This award means a great deal to us because the people voting are safety and health professionals and educated decision makers.” And Eric Golden, President of Equipois commented, “ErgoExpo includes the world’s top experts in ergonomics, and has been an invaluable resource for us in understanding our customers’ needs since our company’s birth. To be recognized with the Attendees’ Choice Award for the third time from this illustrious group is a high honor.”
MAS Un Limited and Ergotron not only exhibited for the first time at ErgoExpo, they also won an ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Award in 2011. “Ergonomists have been working for years to improve ergonomics in businesses environments to receive better results in worksite safety and productivity,” said Joel Hazzard, president and CEO of Ergotron. “Receiving an ErgoExpo Attendees’ Choice Award from the ergonomic community reveals that they understand how the WorkFit line elevates this work when introducing healthy movement into the workspace. Giving users choice to manage their daily activity in a healthier way naturally brings beneficial results for users and businesses alike.”
Product Review Dec. 2011: Simply Dump It
Product Review: Simply Dump It, Pivoting Wheelbarrow Handles
December 4, 2011
By Peter Budnick, PhD, CPE
ergonomic protection
Who would have thought we could improve on the basic manual wheelbarrow, a tool that goes back, depending on whose history you believe, to somewhere around 118 AD (for example, see Wikipedia/wheelbarrow)? An after market product, called Simply Dump It, attempts to do just that.
I’m particularly attuned to wheelbarrow operations because I’ve handled many over the course of my life. In my younger days I was a laborer in the construction and landscape industries, and the wheelbarrow was one of my primary tools. Even recently, as part of an ongoing home remodeling project, I’ve handled hundreds of loads — just last week I hauled roughly fifteen loads of broken concrete and soil, up and down hills, through tight spaces, and even up and down a short stair case — and I have more to do before that project is complete. Wheelbarrows are a great tool, but their operation is still physically demanding, and any design that effectively reduces those demands is worth considering.
Simply Dump It uses a pivoting handle design to dramatically alter the biomechanics of wheelbarrow operation. A traditional wheelbarrow design uses the mechanical advantage provided by leverage to reduce the forces experienced by the operator. Those forces are born at the hands and the body reacts by producing internal muscle, bone and joint forces to maintain control of the wheelbarrow. Those internal forces are directly affected by the operator’s posture and the magnitude and direction of the forces at the hands. The key ergonomic feature in the Simply Dump It design is the pivoting handle, which allows the operator to maintain mechanically advantageous postures throughout wheelbarrow operations, resulting in lower internal biomechanical forces.
Traditional manual wheelbarrow operation consists of 3 primary tasks:
- loading;
- transporting; and
- dumping the load.
Simply Dump It does not impact the loading task, so that will not be considered in this review. Its impact on the transporting task is subtle, yet still worth mentioning, and its impact on the dumping task, as the name implies, is significant.
The transporting task is where traditional wheelbarrow designs are particularly effective at reducing force exposures. Using the mechanical advantage of leverage, the wheelbarrow reduces the effective load at the operator’s hands by half (not considering dynamic/inertial forces). Further, with the arms positioned near the sides of the body, the direction of the force in the hands is roughly in-line with the large muscle groups of the body, making wheelbarrow operation a combination of a lift/lower and a push/pull activity. (Dynamics, including the velocity and accelerations generated by the operator and the loaded wheelbarrow, tend to define how much of the activity is lifting/lowering vs. pushing/pulling. At low speeds and accelerations, the task is more lifting/lowering; at higher speeds and accelerations, the task can become more pushing/pulling).
secure grip
Improved Transporting Postures
In transport mode, the pivoting handle provides the rotation that would normally be occurring at the wrist (manifested as ulnar or radial deviation). That is, instead of the operator bending at the wrist to accommodate different handle orientations, the handle automatically pivots in reaction, and the operator is able to maintain a more neutral wrist posture, reducing the force multiplying effects created by moments/torque.
controlled dumping
Improved Load Dumping Postures
The process of tipping the wheelbarrow forward to dump the load is where the Simply Dump It provides the greatest biomechanical benefits. The operator is able to maintain neutral wrist postures and align the force directions at the hand to those of the arm posture (i.e., reducing moments/torque that result in increased muscle and joint forces). When maneuvering a tradition wheelbarrow with a rigid handle, the operator must either assume very awkward wrist, arm and sometimes torso postures, or must adjust his/her grip, temporarily introducing instability that sometimes ends in an accidental load dumping. Either way, the dumping task in wheelbarrow operation is where much of the biomechanical risk exposure occurs, and it is also where the most accidents and user frustration occur. The Simply Dump It handles put the rotation in the handle, not in the operator’s body.
Precautions
Like any product that may provide ergonomic benefits, the Simply Dump It changes a user’s interaction with the system, a wheelbarrow and the working environment in this case. Introducing change can create resistance or rejection from the users it is meant to protect, so users should either be involved in the improvement process (so that they’re a part of the decision and will “buy-in”), or they must be informed/trained in why the change is an improvement. If they are unable to experience and appreciate the improvement for themselves, the application will likely fail. In the case of the Simply Dump It, some users will recognize and embrace the improvements, and others will not. A challenge for some will be the minor but important changes in wheelbarrow handling and maneuvering techniques the new grips require. Since the rigid handles a user was accustomed to with traditional wheelbarrow handle design will now pivot, the Simply Dump It handles require some getting used to. The handles will not allow a user to transport or dump more material, but with a little practice, the handles will reduce the force exposures typical of traditional designs while achieving the same level of productivity (and perhaps even increase productivity by reducing fatigue and force exposures).
Also, note that this review is not based upon a thorough biomechanical analysis, mechanical testing, or device reliability testing, nor does it constitute an actual or implied approval or recommendation by Ergoweb. Instead, this is the opinion of one reviewer’s cursory experience using the product. Further use and testing may result in a change of opinion. However, at $22-$25 a set, the Simply Dump It pivoting wheelbarrow handles are well worth a try if you, a family member or employees use a wheelbarrow for any appreciable time.
2012 World Ag Expo New Product Award
2012 World Ag Expo New Product Honorable Mention
Out of over 55 nominations, Simply Dump It Pivoting Wheelbarrow Handles was chosen by a judges panel made up of farmers, ranchers and industry professionals as a Runner Up in the 2012 World Ag Expo New Product Competition.
Article From the Top 10 New Product Digest
Pivoting handles make wheelbarrows safer, easier to use
New Product Digest 2012
The patented Simply Dump It pivoting wheel-barrow handles give users a secure, comfortable grip for more control when carrying and lifting loads, while reducing strain on wrists, elbows and lower back. The design takes advantage of continuous momentum for a smooth and precise delivery of the load. Recommended by safety consultants, physical therapists and physicians, the product dramatically changes the way people work with a wheelbarrow. The ergonomic handles increase maneuverability, especially in tight areas such as livestock stalls, produce rows, through gates, around tight corners, and on uneven landscapes. They are especially useful in controlling the load on downhill grades. The Simply Dump It handles have been tested in extreme heat and cold for last-ing durability. Developed and made in the U.S.A., they are constructed of nylon with fiberglass strands throughout for maximum strength. The Simply Dump It installs easily on the handles of most wood, metal or fiber-glass wheelbarrows.
2012 World Ag Expo Details
The International Agri-Center is home to World Ag Expo, February 14-16, 2012 in Tulare, California. An estimated annual average of 100,000 individuals from 70 countries attend World Ag Expo each year. The Expo is the largest annual agricultural show of its kind with 1,600 exhibitors displaying cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment on 2.6 million square feet of show grounds.
About Simply Dump It Pivoting Wheelbarrow Handles
Accurate dumping of wheelbarrow load.
The Simply Dump It system allows the person using the wheelbarrow to smoothly lift and deliver loads, even heavy loads such as sod or concrete. By maintaining a firm grip on the handles as it is being lifted to dump the load, the user of the Simply Dump It system has improved control – so tipping the wheelbarrow sideways is greatly reduced – since the user doesn’t have to remove their hands from the handles. The perfect pivot allows the user to move the wheelbarrow, lift and extend to dump the load in one smooth motion. Any person, a homeowner, gardener or construction worker who uses a wheelbarrow will benefit from, and appreciate, the Simply Dump It pivoting wheelbarrow handles. These ergonomically-designed handles greatly reduce the potential injury to wrists, elbows and the lower back from excessive torque stress.
Press Release – Cool Tools
Simply Dump It Pivoting Wheelbarrow Handles
These pivoting nylon wheelbarrow handles let you go from a walking position to lifting and dumping without repositioning your hands. They’re also amazing for me, because I am tall: When walking with a wheelbarrow the nose can sometimes catch the ground causing several problems. The handles lower the wheelbarrow’s handles several inches, allowing me to walk upright instead of hunched.
Although I’ve only started using them, they’ve already had quite a workout. I am replacing the gravel pushed off of my 350′ driveway by the snow plow. I load the wheelbarrow quite heavily. These handles have eliminated my hunching AND they let me dump the gravel easily.
Installation took me about ten minutes, being very careful, as they require you to drill permanent holes. They come with clear directions, a long screw, and nylon lock nut for each handle (also included are tubular shims to adjust the fit, if necessary). The steps are: 1) Slip it over the handle; too tight? Sand the handle. Too loose? Add shims. 2) Position as desired. 3) Drill hole in marked location through entire handle. 4) Put screw through the hole, apply nylon lock nut on the other side. Done.
I’ve found them to be stable. UV degradation is my primary concern, since I leave my wheelbarrow outdoor all year. Still, they are cheap enough that a second pair in 4-5 years would be acceptable to me, considering the convenience and back saving.
