A Study on Powder Fire Extinguisher Design with RULA Technique Used

This study was intended to find methods of fire extinguishing system designs that can improve the equipment's usability. In this study, the fire suppression experiment through fire extinguishers and the data drawn through the experiment were analyzed, and then the guideline for the improvement of designs was presented. The procedure is as follows. A fire suppression experiment with the use of fire extinguishers was done by 43 average adults. The whole process of the fire suppression was videotaped, and then captured major scenes were analyzed with the use of RULA, a human engineering measurement tool. The analyzed data were divided into 4 steps, and then the guideline for design improvement was presented. The summary of the study is as follows. Step 1, Fire extinguisher distance step. To reduce overload occurring at the process of holding fire extinguishers suddenly, wheels are attached to the body of extinguishers, or pedestals are installed. Step 2, Fire extinguisher transportation step. The length of hose is extended, or fire fighting water is sprayed far, so that overload of legs occurring at the process of travel can be reduced. In addition, the weight of fire extinguisher shouldn't be over 2 kg. Step 3, Safety pin removal stage. Safety pins should be applied with button type, so that excessive posture of lower limbs and excessive twisting of wrists won't happen during safety pin removal process. Besides, safety pins should be designed for easy identification and operation. Step 4, Fire extinguishing agent spraying step. To reduce overload occurring at sudden spraying of fire fighting water, pressure should be increased gradually until high pressure. With the above study results applied to existing fire extinguisher design, it may contribute to reducing any fire damage.

RULA 평가기법을 활용한 분말소화기 디자인 연구