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.
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