Improving body posture while fueling with a newly designed pump nozzle.

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics
• Occupational Health
• Product Design

Background:

• Petrol pumps, while common, often neglect design for user comfort and safety.
• High-pressure loads and musculoskeletal injuries are risks associated with current petrol pump designs.
• This neglect is prevalent in many countries, including Iran.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design an improved petrol pump nozzle.
• To evaluate the impact of a new nozzle design with an integrated price/volume display on musculoskeletal load.
• To assess changes in body posture during fuel dispensing.

Main Methods:

• Postural analysis of 100 randomly selected customers at petrol pumps.
• Utilized the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) technique for evaluating musculoskeletal load.
• Photographic recording of user postures during the fueling process.

Main Results:

• The newly designed pump nozzle led to significant improvements in RULA scores.
• A reduction in musculoskeletal load related to body posture was observed.
• The integrated display on the nozzle did not negatively impact RULA scores.

Conclusions:

• The redesigned petrol pump nozzle effectively reduces musculoskeletal load.
• The new design enhances user safety and comfort during fueling operations.
• This ergonomic improvement is crucial for widespread adoption in petrol stations.