Stairchairs

[nlvassallo]

Hello every! I am conducting an independent research study on the Striker stair chair in part with Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA for potential future stair chair designs. I am also involved in EMS in CT myself and I am sure as well as myself, there are many of you who have opinions, comments, complaints, or thumbs for the stair chair. I have generated questions meant to facilitate discussion but by no means does this thread have to be bound to only these questions:

What is the best position for you to maneuver the stair chair from?

Which handles are the most/least easiest to grip?

Is the stair chair, without a patient, too heavy?

How secure do you feel the stair chair is to maneuver on stairs/terrain?

How well does the stair chair secure your patient?

How easy is cleaning the stair chair?

Where on your rig is your stair chair located/where do you prefer it to be located?

How easy or difficult do you find the stair chair to open & collapse?

Demographics: What are your age, weight & height (If willing to share.)

*Given answers will be used anonymously to generate statistical data

I would much appreciate all the comments/feedback and am interested to hear what fellow members really think. Should a better stair chair be in the works?

 

[Shishkabob]

Is it already that time of week again, when another design hopeful stops on by, to pass a class or make a lot of money, then never return by "perfecting" something? Man time flies...

What is the best position for you to maneuver the stair chair from?

Which handles are the most/least easiest to grip?

Is the stair chair, without a patient, too heavy?

How secure do you feel the stair chair is to maneuver on stairs/terrain?

How well does the stair chair secure your patient?

How easy is cleaning the stair chair?

Where on your rig is your stair chair located/where do you prefer it to be located?

How easy or difficult do you find the stair chair to open & collapse?

Demographics: What are your age, weight & height (If willing to share.)

Standing

All are equally as easy.

No.

Does its job as it's designed to.

Secures them as asked.

Wipe, wipe, done.

It's located in the O2 compartment, and that's where is is best.

Very easy to open and close.

23, 160, 6'2".

 

[nlvassallo]

Thank you for your answers, however, seeing how my entire senior thesis for my bachelors degree depends on this project, I am not just another "hopeful." As well when you say things such as it's in the 02 compartment, where it is best, why is that the best spot, and how do you know that is the best spot? Are you a design researcher? Have you already tackled this project? This thread is not meant to criticize people, it's to criticize or praise the topic.

 

[Shishkabob]

seeing how my entire senior thesis for my bachelors degree depends on this project, I am not just another "hopeful."

Conflicting statement that actually just proves my point, no?

As well when you say things such as it's in the 02 compartment, where it is best, why is that the best spot, and how do you know that is the best spot?

You didn't ask why before.


Why? Because that's where it fits, and it's out of the way for something that is not used that often, on a vehicle where space is at a premium.

How do I know it's best? My decision based off my experience from my years in EMS. The stairchair tends to go in one of two spots in all the rigs I've been on: O2 compartment and backboard compartment. When it's in the backboard compartment, it gets in the way of ingress and egress of backboards, which are used infinitely more often.

 

[bigbaldguy]

What is the best position for you to maneuver the stair chair from?
Not entirely sure what you mean. Tall person in front and short person in back when going up or down stairs.

Which handles are the most/least easiest to grip?
I like the fold out handles that are perpendicular to the back of the chair.

Is the stair chair, without a patient, too heavy?
It does seem overly heavy. Carrying it from the truck to the patient can be tricky in big apartment complexes.

How secure do you feel the stair chair is to maneuver on stairs/terrain?
Smooth terrain it is fine but rough no so good. On stairs it is fine if you use it correctly.

How well does the stair chair secure your patient?
Great for folks of average to slightly larger than average size but for obese not so well.

How easy is cleaning the stair chair?
You're supposed to clean it? Just kidding. There are actually quite a few little nooks and crannies in the thing that can be tricky to get clean luckily I've only had to detail it once due to a patient having an accident.

Where on your rig is your stair chair located/where do you prefer it to be located?
In an exterior compartment and it doesn't fit very well.

How easy or difficult do you find the stair chair to open & collapse?
It's not very intuitive and I think I'm going to loose a finger tip every time.

Demographics: What are your age, weight & height (If willing to share.)
between 35 and 40, 6'4 200lbs

 

[SoCal911]

It's not out place to question the Stryker Gods.

 

[nlvassallo]

How I should have worded "best position" now that I think of it is, is it easier/preferred to be the front person or rear. Thank you for the imput!

 

[lawndartcatcher]

If you look there's been several non-EMS design folks asking similar questions. The biggest problem with industrial design is that unless you're involved with the actual industry it's difficult to move beyond the basics of useability that are taught in Industrial Design 101 ("Why is a Teapot teapot-shaped?"). Add to this the fact that often product designers don't bother to do long-term useability studies in situ (using a stair chair in a lab to make sure the handles don't fall off is very different from 3 am jury-rigging a poorly designed piece of equipment so you can get your critical patient out of the house in a hurry) and you can begin to see the exasperation that folks in the industry have with product designers (especially ones who are designing stretcher widgets one week and designing wine bottles the next).

You said you're involved in EMS in CT; are you performing case studies with the service you work with? Being able to directly interview individuals as well as observe how they interact with your design is the best possible way to find out if your design is "good" or not. It's difficult to get useful information from strangers in a forum such as this; especially if you're "shotgunning" questions out (your questions seem better phrased and more directed than most who have come seeking design feedback).

As far as the "best place" question: there's no real good answer for that. If I were to try and cram my stair chain into my oxygen compartment on my ambulance it would actually be a horrible place for it since it (the compartment) was set up to accept long, tall items (main O2 tank, long padded board splints, papoose board, paramedic students who won't check their truck, etc.). However, there's a perfect place for it next to my long boards in that cabinet because it was specifically designed to hold the stair chair at the factory. Ambulance boxes are often custom-designed for the users; the only time you're likely to see exact copies is a fleet (often a private company since it's in their best interests to have as many of their trucks laid out in the same configuration as possible so folks can move between trucks without having to learn 50 different layouts).

Our stair chair and backboard cabinet was placed toward the rear of the passenger's side; this means that we can pull over to the right (with traffic) and the ambulance will shield us from traffic. Our oxygen compartment is on the complete opposite side of the box and our providers would be standing in traffic trying to pull long boards and stair chairs into traffic, but again, different services are going to operate differently and have different needs. The worst design is one that forces someone to perform a familliar task in an entirely new and different way that's uncomfortable for them. Especially at 3:00 am

As far as grips go, I'd look at some of the ergonomic handle stuff that's already out there. Remember, we need to be able to hold those grips close to our body, while wearing nitrile gloves, while not wearing gloves, while sweating our you-know-whats off, while wearing heavy winter gloves, in narrow stairways, up and down stairs that were never shoveled, in the rain, on a train, in a box, with a fox...etc.

Oh, and I do happen to have a degree in design, as well as a paramedic license.

 

[nlvassallo]

First I must say the biggest pit fall with forums are that there are too many "experts" that have trouble being open minded so yes it is difficult to get certain data off of forums, but it is a gold mine to get opinions to consider or test. Secondly, I am an active member in both Ledyard Volunteer Emergency Squad and Mystic River Ambulance Association in CT, and members of both companies have been very active in this project interacting with them as 1st hand sources and others not limited to only those 2 departments. I have also done design work and worked for large companies (such as Hasbro and Calphalon) so I know the evils of industry, unfortunately, but all of this is to hopefully not become a part of them.

 

[Trashtruck]

Stryker Stair Chair

I'll help you out with your project.

First and foremost, let it be known that I do EVERYTHING in my power to not use it. However, with that being said, when I do use it, it's not so bad.

1) Doesn't matter. The treads on the back allow for minimal exertion, especially with carpeted stairs. I've stairchaired ppl. out alone bc of the treads.

2) The handles have better grip because they're rubberized. I guess the pull-out bar on top could use some rubber if you're looking to improve, but it doesn't need it.

3) It's not heavy for me. It's more cumbersome than heavy. It depends on what sh*thole I'm in and how cluttered it is.

4) It's fine on stairs. On terrain, it blows if you have a crack in the sidewalk or a bump. I'd imagine it doesn't work in sand

5) It depends on the pt. If they're stroked out or post-ictal or an overdose or not in control of their body, they lean so you have to strap them in tightly. If they're conscious, it's fine, as long as they don't start grabbing things.

6) We use a sheet as a barrier. We don't wipe don't wipe it down unless something went through the sheet, ie urine, feces, blood. But yes, Linuss, wipe wipe is pretty much it.

7) It's located in the middle compartment on the driver's side of the box, along with our personal floatation devices, highway neon yellow vests, and chains for winter. We don't have main 02(seriously. I mean we do, but...), but that compartment has the Reeves, a fire extinguisher, and wheel chocks and usually somebody's bunker gear. I don't like it there bc it's horizontal and you have to bend down and lift out to retrieve it. Some medic units keep it in the with the spine boards.

8) It's easy as hell. Find something red and pull it, depress it, or pull it out and something moves. After you use it so many times, it's reflexive.

9) 30. Male. 5'10" 180.