Design, Analysis and Prototype Development of Adjustable Ablution Workstation for Wheelchair Users

Abstract

Ablution is an obligation religious activity to clean specific limbs from certain impurities. However, most facilities are inaccessible due to poor design, mismatched anthropometry, and a variety of wheelchair designs. The Malaysian wheelchair user’s anthropometry and type of wheelchair were considered in the designing adjustable ablution workstation. The adjustability features of Work Surface Height (WSH) and Foot Washer Height (WSH) may improves the workstation ergonomic and accessibility. Thus, three type of wheelchairs were measured to differentiate the wheelchair dimension. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was used to analyze the workstation design with a specific force applied onto the selected geometry. It was then tested by Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method to evaluate user exposure to ergonomic risk factors. The method was repeated among the 5^th, 50^th, and 95^th percentile for both genders with a different type of wheelchair. This study found the maximum displacement recorded 0.28mm and 19.92Mpa for a maximum of stress XX. The recommended adjustable WSH range from 56cm to 63cm and 9cm to 33cm for FWH. Wheelchair with foldable armrest got an acceptable score for those percentiles with a similar result pattern for both gender populations. However, other two wheelchairs have design limitations that prevent the WSH from being lower than the wheelchair armrest height. The adjustability features, automatic water taps, and product safety were working correctly in the fabrication process.