DCA talk to The Ergonomist about designing a more ergonomic fire extinguisher

Published on: 15th April 2015

Dan Jenkins (Research lead) and James May (Industrial & Commercial Sector manager) recently wrote a short article for The Ergonomist explaining the ergonomic process behind the design of the new Chubb FX range of fire extinguishers.

The article explains how an iterative design process was adopted involving prototyping and user testing to develop a product that is instantly recognisable; however, contains a number of unique features to improve its usability. As a result of the redesigned safety clip and contoured grip, the product is notably easier to handle and actuate. Additional thought has also gone into the design of the safety pin to ensure that it is easy to identify units that require servicing and to prevent the use of 3rd party pins with incorrect release forces.