Awards and Distinctions
- Nominated for Brit Insurance Design Awards 2009
- The Norwegian Design Council’s honorary award for good design 2008
- Red Dot Design Award 2008
- iF Gold Award 2008
- The first industrial design industry award in Norway: the Design Award 2007
The Aims of the Project:
Improved safety and health in manual mine-clearing through upgraded protection against explosions and work related injuries.
Improved efficiency in manual mine-clearing through better working conditions. Reducing the time used to find and destroy mines and duds will result in lower per-operation costs and consequently more mine-clearing operations.
Providing input to a revision of the standard for personal protection gear used in manual mine-clearing.
Hard Work Against Hidden Dangers
Every year, mines and explosives cause over 5,200 accidents in more than 68 countries. Mines are placed out during times of conflict, and even if peace arrives, life-threatening explosives lie concealed. Often times, they are left lying right under the surface until someone steps on them – maybe during play, clearing of arable land or on the way to a friend in a neighboring town. Few new mines are placed out.
To remove mines is hard, monotonous and dangerous work. The protective gear used up until now is solid and safe, but also heavy, warm and uncomfortable. That is why Design without Borders initiated a project to create a new and improved design of such equipment in 2002.
Project Initiation
Following an initiative by Design without Borders, a group of Norwegian industrial designers traveled together with Norwegian People’s Aid to Mozambique in 2002 to analyze the working situation for mine clearers. The conclusion was that there was a great potential for improvement of the ergonomics, safety and efficiency of the protective equipment.
The old face shields may reach temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius, which may lead to concentration difficulties and headache. Moreover, mine clearers are often tempted to open the face shield to get air, seriously reducing their safety. Also, the vests that were used were over-dimensioned and badly tailored for the most normal movements of the mine clearers. The result was back pains and a need for frequent breaks.
Interdisciplinary Development Team
Designers are experts on product development. They know how to analyze a situation and to steer the process towards a complete solution. However, designers are not experts on mine-clearing, so a broad collaboration was necessary to ensure a good result.
Kode Design was commissioned to lead the design process. They have specialized in involving different groups in the product development. Manufacturers, users, organizations and experts were invited to partake in a series of idea workshops where product requirements and possible solutions were discussed as a group. Norwegian People’s Aid, ROFI industrier, the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining were central participants.
Between each session, the designers processed the new information. The contributions from the different participants were taken into account when designing the product. The advantage of the interdisciplinary development team is that the needs of the manufacturers, the buyers and the users are attended to.
Functional and Profitable Mask and Vest
The new equipment consists of the ROFI Face Mask and the protection vest ROFI Armadillo. The products were introduced to the market in 2007. The costs during the lifetime of the products can compete with the equipment that has been used up until now. However, the new gear offers far better comfort, efficiency and safety.
The face shield on the mask gives less visual distortion and is less susceptible to scratching. The inside temperature of the mask is reduced by 19 degrees Celsius compared to the old face shield, and the airflow is twice as effective.
The vest distributes the weight to the hips and the shoulders, like on a modern backpack. The upper and the lower part move independently of each other, giving the mine clearer great freedom of movement. Mine clearers’ backs are not exposed to explosion, so the heavy and warm back protection is replaced with a ventilating net.
Employment of the Mine-Clearing Equipment
As of 2011, the new mine-clearing equipment is in use in several countries, including Afghanistan, Jordan, Somalia, Tanzania, Angola, Senegal and Tajikistan. ROFI industrier is responsible for the production and marketing. The feedback from the equipment users has been exclusively positive.
The aim set by ROFI industrier is for the new equipment to replace the production and sale of earlier models. Today, the ROFI Armadillo and ROFI Face Mask sales constitutes a small part of the company’s vest and face protection sales. The equipment offers a comfort and protection level higher to that of the older models, resulting in a higher price. ROFI industrier is confident that their products will have greater market shares in the future.
Design Updates
ROFI Armadillo has not undergone substantial changes since production start. Together with the users, ROFI industrier has created and introduced a supplementary version, the ROFI Armadillo Panty, that offers the mine clearer protection down to his or her knees.
Following some requests and feedback, ROFI Face Mask will undergo some improvements before the next production round. The mask will offer better visibility, as well as a brim over the face shield to prevent reflections from the sun when worn.
Product reviews and reports
Project report:
Analysis report:
Links:
Kode design
ROFI industrier
Norwegian People’s Aid
The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining
International Mine Action Standards