18 Jul 2007 0604H

Designing human error out of windows, doors

Not that windows, made by that firm in Redmond, WA, but glass and wood and plastic windows. Some kid fell out of a window in a high rise in Toronto, reports the CBC and so on Metro Morning this morning, they brought in an industrial designer to talk about how they might approach the problem and some of the policy implications to make windows child-proof while allowing all the things that make windows desirable. The show’s not up yet, but it will be on that link tomorrow, I figure. Will update as necessary.

Oh, oh! Here’s the link to the interview Jane Hawtin did with Jules Goss, chair of the industrial design department at the Ontario College of Art and Design on safer high-rise windows. It’s in RealMedia, runs 5:55.

Edit: There was a follow up on redesigning windows in Toronto high rises this week (24 July 07).

Did anyone see that bookmark on delicious I put in a few days ago? Some guy in Shanghai got crushed between a train and the safety doors that would otherwise protect people from falling onto the tracks when the train isn’t present. We have a system exactly like that at O’Hare for intraterminal transit. Apparently he tried to get into a packed train, couldn’t, the doors shut behind him and he was shut out of the train, and there was just enough space to admit a human body, and enough to crush him as the train with all that mass slowly accelerated to speed away from the station. Horrific enough, but how was that allowed to happen in the design process?

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1 response to "Designing human error out of windows, doors"

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19 Jul 2007 1131H

Tim writes:

Wow that Shanghai story is pretty disgusting.

Did you see this:http://www.nbc10.com/news/13699918/detail.html

Those little shits need to pay.

And now it's your turn.

Fire your weapon, soldier. Just be careful of friendly fire. NAME & EMAIL required.

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