Developing more gentle solutions
A key aspect within hygiene is usability. However, people with reduced hand strength, due to disabilities or just old age, often have difficulties operating products. In our process of developing future Tork soap dispensers, this insight was taken into special consideration in order to create a solution with low push force.
To identify insights about disabilities and hand hygiene practice we collaborated with the Swedish Rheumatism Association (SRA) and performed tests through test panels with various degrees of reduced hand strength. The tests were carried out both from a user and a maintenance perspective. A key learning was how different the disabilities are (e.g. MS, weak hands, paralyzed hands etc.) and the variety of different requirements as a result.
Besides benefits from a low push force, other aspects were noticed, such as how the foam and its natural ready-made lather made it easier to apply and rinse off. Another key factor was the reachability and placing, e.g. in order to suit someone in a wheelchair. When carrying out additional field tests it was evident that children experience the same benefits. Two-year-olds could all of a sudden extract soap themselves.
A concrete result from the efforts was a new foam soap dispenser which was also evaluated and received well on all parameters in order for the SRA to label it with an “Easy to Use” accreditation, the first of its kind. No other competitor holds this kind of third party endorsement, and with the new design the product is also aligned with the national ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) (www.ada.gov) standards in the US.
The collaboration with SRA goes both ways. We have received important insights for future development, and SRA has achieved a valuable partner as Tork through its global operation can bring forth this perspective within applied hygiene in dialogue with facility managers worldwide.