A project to design and test an improved footway transition walk board design, to make it easier for vulnerable customers to navigate from the footway to the carriageway and vice versa around our street works
Objectives
To design, manufacture and test an improved footway transition walk board design, to make it easier for vulnerable customers to navigate from the footway to the carriageway and vice versa around our street works
Learnings
Outcomes
The project has successfully developed a prototype ramp which meets customer needs better than the ramps currently used by the networks. User feedback was gathered on the test day and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Common themes in the user feedback were that the new ramp was as grippy or grippier than the current ramp and the ramp surface was nicer to travel over. The new ramp felt much safer and more secure when going up and down it. A new style of barrier was also used on the new ramp, which were thicker than normal barriers and had built in weights that were flat on one side so could be put tight up to the ramp, the barrier acted as a hand rail which made users feel much safer and less likely to fall off the edge of the ramp.
A key concern raised about the current ramps is that getting on and off them safely can be a challenge and that the ramp gradient is often very steep. The user feedback indicates that the new ramp has addressed these concerns and that it is much easier and less intimidating to use.
The users asked that future versions of the ramp had colour coding for the different parts of the ramp (such as making the sloped part a different colour from the flat part and vertical barriers). There was also a concern raised about the grip level of the surface when using a walking stick as the grip is applied in strips and the uncovered surface could be slippery if touching the metal of the ramp. Both of these concerns can be addressed in the next iteration of the design.
Concerns raised by others on the test day were that the new ramp is larger and more complex so will be harder to deploy than the current ramp. The intent of any further field trials will be to determine whether these concerns are valid or not.
The TRL of the new ramp has increased from TRL 2 to TRL 6.
Lessons Learnt
Manufacturing of Prototype devices
Following the first national lockdown there reached a period where it was believed that the testing session could take place safely with the levels of restrictions being eased. However, due to furlough and business closures, the prototype devices were not ready for testing. Before manufacture could be completed, the pandemic worsened, and testing was postponed as a result.
Stakeholder Communication
Initially, 3 manufacturers were participating in the project with a view to designing and developing an enhanced product offering. However, due to the nature of manufacturers needing to protect design processes and competitive advantage, independent and silo working can become second nature. To counteract this style of development, consistent communication and engagement was front and centre of project progress. This tackled potential slippage or general lack of progress and awareness because it ensured all stakeholders were fully engaged and reassured. As part of the ongoing engagement and communication, all parties were reminded of critical project milestones, timelines and asked to supply progress updates.
Collaboration
This project has encouraged collaboration and proactive engagement between networks, innovators / manufacturers, and end users to solve an everyday, common problem. For wider industry challenges, this approach could be replicated to ensure innovative solutions have engaged key stakeholders prior to launch, especially with regards to end users. End users via Whizz-Kidz have been represented every step of the way, ensuring product ideas and iterations are feasible, practical, efficient and beneficial. Encouraging manufacturers to collaborate on an issue and in confidence has also helped with solving mechanical / technical issues which may have been more difficult if a single manufacturing partner was involved in the project.