DCA and Belron win 2026 User-Centred Product Design Award for the Ezi-Prep®
DCA and Belron have won the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Stanley H. Caplan User-Centred Product Design Award 2026. This award recognises both the innovative design and the high standard of user-centred methods used in the development of the Ezi-Prep® system, a new suite of tools to enable Belron technicians to more easily and ergonomically fit windscreens.
“The judges were particularly impressed by the depth of the human factors and ergonomics work behind Ezi-Prep,” said Adam Shames, chair of the award “They highlighted the global research, involvement of installers and trainers…and the effort to design for a broader range of worker capabilities.”
The design process involved collaboration with around 100 Belron technicians, technical trainers and stakeholders from 12 different countries, reflecting the product’s global reach. Extensive research was performed by the DCA team throughout the development process, including field observations and ride-alongs with technicians, ergonomic assessments and interviews.
The research and engineering teams worked closely together throughout the development process. Fast and agile prototyping was crucial to project – rigs, mock-ups and design visualisation were used throughout the process to evaluate the design directly with Belron technicians and other stakeholders.
The resulting product – the Ezi-Prep® - eliminates the steps technicians found most difficult, resulting in a reduction of both high-risk postures and peak load carried by the technicians, and enabling technicians with less height and upper body strength to handle larger and heavier windscreens. It also includes features that address common problems technicians reported on the job, like independently adjustable legs for increased stability when working outdoors.
“We’re honoured that Ezi-Prep® has been recognized with the Stanley Caplan User Centered Product Design Award,” said Luke Berry, Head of Technical Innovation at Belron. “The project began with a simple goal: make a physically demanding task safer, easier, and more accessible for the technicians who perform it every day.”
This year’s HFES award will be presented on the 2nd of December – it will be collected by Grace Kane, DCA’s Design Research Skill Leader, who will give a presentation on the design methodologies that went into the Ezi-Prep®.
More information about the launch of the Ezi-Prep® can be found here.
