{"id":382212,"date":"2019-05-15T16:20:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T20:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=382212"},"modified":"2024-06-13T09:55:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T13:55:16","slug":"students-make-assembly-line-more-accessible-for-workers-with-disabilities-382212","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/students-make-assembly-line-more-accessible-for-workers-with-disabilities-382212\/","title":{"rendered":"Students make assembly line more accessible for workers with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hannah Goldring \u201919 decided to major in biomedical engineering at the URochester because \u201cit seemed like a way that I could make a direct impact on people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldring and three of her classmates \u2014 Rebekah Abrams \u201919, Taryn Milnes \u201919, and Olivia Uttamsingh \u201919 \u2014 have enjoyed the opportunity to do just that with their senior design project.<\/p>\n

Working with Unistel Industries<\/a>, a Rochester area company that provides employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the students analyzed an assembly line for producing radio dust covers for a defense contractor.<\/p>\n

The process, which must meet exacting tolerances, includes fitting plastic knob covers and key rings onto pegs on a wood fixture, so they can be connected with cords that must then be clipped. This assemblage is then lifted off the fixture and hand carried to a toggle press where the clips are crimped. Any excess cord must then be burned off within two millimeters of the crimped clip with a burning blade.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome parts of the process are really difficult, requiring a lot of motor skills and focus, and currently only one or two people are trained to do them,\u201d Goldring explained.<\/p>\n

And even then, errors creep in. For example, it is easy for the cords to tangle or the clips to shift out of place when the assemblage is picked up and moved to the toggle press.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to minimize the number of steps and modify the assembly line to be more accessible to more individuals \u2014 so Unistel can not only employ more people who wouldn\u2019t otherwise have the opportunity, but can also switch people around who are doing the tasks in case someone is out ill,\u201d Goldring says.<\/p>\n

The students created a 3D-printed, adjustable platform that fits on the toggle press, where the knobs, key rings, cords, and clips can be connected and then crimped in one place, with no picking up and carrying in between.<\/p>\n

The students also came up with a more powerful fume absorber, with an extra filter, to better protect workers from the fumes created when the excess cord is burned off.<\/p>\n

They even devised a long-handled, tong-like device that workers can use to hold the excess cord up to the burning blade. This minimizes the chances of fingers getting burned, and it automatically burns enough of the excess cord to meet the two millimeter requirement.<\/p>\n

Much of this was done on students\u2019 own initiative. \u201cWhen we got there, they told us to do whatever we thought was needed,\u201d Abrams says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely open-ended,\u201d Milnes adds. \u201cFor a lot of senior design projects, the clients present a specific problem and ask you to solve it. We had the additional challenge of finding the problems, and then solving them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unistel has been \u201cvery encouraging,\u201d Milnes says. \u201cThey\u2019ve been more than flexible; they\u2019ve answered our questions.\u201d And they\u2019ve given the students positive feedback. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

First all-female team to compete<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The students presented their project at the CREATE (Cultivating Resources for Employment with Assistive Technology)<\/a> competition sponsored by the New York State Industries for the Disabled.<\/a> A total of 21 teams of college students entered, many of them graduate students who had worked on their projects full time for two years.<\/p>\n

The Rochester team, called THOR Designs, placed seventh, and \u201creceived high praise from judges and participants for our design\u201d Goldring says. THOR Designs was the first all-female team to compete.<\/p>\n

The project was satisfying, the students say, because they felt they were making a real difference for workers with disabilities. They say the project was a good learning experience as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with a customer has given me experience that I could use for consulting, or other jobs where you have to work with other companies,\u201d says Goldring.<\/p>\n

Working as a team \u2014 not just for a week or two on a classroom project, but for several months on a senior design project \u2014 was also useful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I learned more about my personal strengths by being in this group,\u201d Milnes says, \u201cand realizing that when I didn’t know something, someone else in the group did. And I could admit that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve liked the most about the biomedical engineering program here is that it is super collaborative,\u201d Abrams adds. \u201cI think engineers get a bad rep sometimes, for being a little antisocial, and not being able to work with people so well. This program really challenges us to make sure we defy that stereotype, and that we are able to work really well as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The graduating seniors behind THOR Designs are the first all-female engineering team to compete in a state-wide competition to bring assistive technologies to New Yorkers in the workplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":286,"featured_media":382222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[26692,18742,15792,18632],"class_list":["post-382212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-class-of-2019","tag-department-of-biomedical-engineering","tag-hajim-design-day","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStudents make assembly line more accessible for workers with disabilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The students behind THOR Designs are the first all-female engineering team to compete to bring assistive technologies to New 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