Project Overview

A hybrid dustpan / lobby pan that fuses the benefits of both items delivering a household cleaning item that cleans quickly, easily and effectively. It is extremely suited to the elderly population where crouching down to clean small areas is eliminated and its space efficient design can be conveniently stored away for later use. At a very affordable cost of less than $15.

Project Commissioner

Oates

Project Creator

Charlwood Design

Project Brief

Charlwood Design held a "brainstorming" workshop with Oates, where both teams sat down to discuss new ideas and products that could be introduced to the Oates range.

One of the ideas raised was to improve on the pre-existing Lobby Dust Pan and Broom already being sold by Oates- a successful product in its own right, but aimed at a more commercial market.

Oates and Charlwood Design believed there was a gap in the market for a compact Lobby Dust Pan and Broom, targeted at home users. It needed to be like a regular dustpan and broom, but prevent the user from having to crouch down.

Both teams decided the new pan must feature the following attributes:

- Long upright handle, with a length ergonomically suitable for the elderly population
- Compact sizing, shorter than the existing commercial lobby pan
- Aimed at home use and sale in supermarkets
- Self Standing
- Smaller shelf footprint
- Longer, flagged bristles to effectively trap dirt
- Beautiful in appearance
- Quality production and finishes

Project Innovation/Need

The product has been designed with a long upright handle to prevent crouching associated with the traditional dustpan set found in most households. This is especially suited to the aging population where crouching or kneeling to clean small areas is problematic or not possible. Additionally, the handle is ergonomically designed to make it easier to grip than traditional plastic tipped steel tube.

Smaller than a traditional lobby pan, this product can be stored away in a small to medium size cupboard and is light enough to hang on most storage hooks for easy access, or simply kept freestanding.

The bristles have been designed to provide the optimal sweeping action to ensure dirt and dust matter are collected and swept into the pan with the minimum amount of sweeps. The ends of the bristles are flagged to ensure that fine particles are trapped and not left behind on the floor surface.

Traditionally domestic dust pans are of a very low quality and are not made to last. All mouldings can with stand extreme use without failing. The handle is ultrasonically welded so not to snap apart due to flexing.

Design Challenge

Whilst all areas of the design process possessed challenging aspects, the area which needed the most thought was probably the overall ergonomics. Obviously one of the main reasons we created the Ezy Reach Dust Pan was to prevent people from having to bend over when sweeping up small piles, so the finished product needed to be very ergonomically viable.

Charlwood Design rigorously tested the product throughout several prototyping stages to ensure the end user could comfortably and easily sweep the floor and empty the waste.

Careful thought and testing went into deciding the correct length of the handle, without unnecessarily increasing the height of the unit- which would have impacted both the cost and storage capabilities. The end height is suitable for all heights, however is particularly aimed at the elderly population.

Catering for the elderly population also affected the final handle grip diameter. The decision was made to move away from the typical small diameter steel handle- replacing it with a thicker plastic molded design. This gave us more flexibility in the design of the grip area, with the end result catering for not only elderly, but also arthritis sufferers.

Sustainability

The idea behind the Ezy Reach Dust Pan is as follows- allow the user to clean quickly, easily and effectively. It is these core aims that help define the projects sustainability approach.

This is a product that needs no electricity, is incredibly easy to use, is made up of 4 core parts all made out of fully recyclable Polypropylene, needs no replacement parts throughout its life, can be stored easily around the house and is cheap to produce and purchase.

We feel that by combining all these features in one, that we have successfully offered a sustainable competitor to the many compact vacuum cleaners and dust busters currently on the market.

Hopefully, the Ezy Reach Dust Pan can start reducing household carbon footprints by providing a more sustainable cleaning environment.