1. Product Design Specification

2. 1.Performance: how fast, how slow, how often? Continuously or discontinuously? Loadings likely (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic)? Tolerance of speed, rate of working? Hand held so no electrical parts needed, will not experience friction with a fast use as it only moved by hand. Therefore friction will not be an issue as there is not high powered movement. Object will be moved discontinuously over brief periods of approx. 10 minutes, each day.

3. 2.Environment: temperature range, pressure range, humidity, shock loading, how dirty/dirty, corrosion from fluids/chemicals, noise levels, insects, vibration, type of labour/persons who will use, degree of abuse, unforeseen hazards to customer/user/environment? Used in kitchen, temperature varies, however the temperature in this environment will be between approximately 15-28 degrees. Will need constant cleaning as in an environment with food so there are hygiene factors. Also there maybe blunting of tools if cleaning regularly and corrosion of plastic and rubber parts. During transportation there will be a high level of shock, during this period the objects will need to be able to withstand this. Product will be used daily should will experience a large about of abuse. Primary users are to be university students, with sharp items such a knife and peelers hazards are to be expected though prevented as much as possible.

4. 3.Life in service: what is the service life per hour/day/year? This item would be used in the kitchen so on a regular basis. Average usage would be once a day and the item would have to last between 3-4 years for the target users. Parts would not be sold separately so item needs to stay intact for this duration of time. Though parts would become worn with every day usage they need to still be functional over a 4 year period

5. 4.Maintenance: is regular maintenance available/desirable? Are parts available to order? Are parts accessible on the assembly? What tools are needed? No extra parts available as it comes as a singular item. As it would be of minimum price it would not be cost effective to have removable and replaceable parts. Parts would be accessible on assembly as there is a lot of parts that need to be put together manually or via machinery.

6. 8.Packing: requirements for packaging? Should it protect against salt water, corrosion, shock? To make item cost effective the majority of the parts and assembly would be outsourced to other countries, in turn this means that the packaging should be air tight to prevent any water damage when travelling across seas. All items should be wrapped and protected by materials such as bubble wrap to prevent damage or corrosion. To help prevent from shock parts should be shipped in corrugated box with materials such as polymeric foam to aid protection.

7. 11.Size: are there restrictions? Size constraints should be specified initially! Does the size/shape influence how the product is handled? This item has been designed for hand held use and therefore fit comfortable in the palm of the hand. The ranges of size of the product would be from the 95 th percentile male to the 5 th percentile woman. With this size difference there could be issues with the shape of the product. Size greatly influences how product is handled, if too big the grip isn't stable and product could be dangerous. If too small then product would be uncomfortable to use. (Sources: DTI, 2002; Ergonomics for Schools, 2008; RoyMech, 2008)DTI, 2002Ergonomics for Schools, 2008RoyMech, 2008 DimensionGender5 th percentile (mm) 50 th percentile (mm) 95 th percentile (mm) Palm lengthmale173-175178-189205-209 female159-160167-174189-191 Hand breadth male788795 female697683-85

8. 12.Weight: what is the desirable weight? This is typically directly related to cost. Effects on handling on shop floor/during manufacture/in transit/during installation? Should it be modular or lifting points be provided? Considering the dimensions of the product, it should weight no more than 40g. Materials such as Acrylic (£15-150), stainless steel (£108 per sheet) and rubber (£70) vary in price. Due to its lightweight the product should be easy to handle and wouldn’t need any heavy machinery for transportation. This also applies to manufacture and installation, it can all be manually handled.

9. 13.Aesthetics, appearance, finish: difficult to specify! Colour, shape, form texture should be considered from the outset. Everyone is a design critic: sales, marketing, production and others will always criticise a design once it exists…get opinions as early in the process as possible! Remember: customers see products first, physical performance comes later. This object is a symmetrical sphere, included may be small indentions to make the object easier to grip and hold. To make object aesthetically pleasing use of bright colours on the main body with a gloss finish. Oh the grip sections materials needs to be grooved to increase stability. By making the object symmetrical with dimensions of 80mm circumference and 50mm maximum depth it appeals to a sense of order therefore it makes the object more desirable.

10. 14.Materials: Are special materials necessary? What standard is relevant? Must specific materials be avoided? Main material should be pvc plastic as it is cheap to manufacture and easy to shape and mould. Also this would come in a range of bright colours which is important to the product. For specific sections for comfort and grip rubber should be used. Finally for the utensils part of the item stainless steel would be the optimum material. Heavy weighted materials should be avoided to make product easier to use. Stainless steel British standards: BS EN ISO 18286:2010 Rubber British standards: BS ISO 4664:1998 Acrylic British standards: BS EN 13245-3:2010

11. 15.Product life span: how long should it remain in production? Under a year approximately 10-11 months. As there are no electrical parts there time frame should be shorter than other products. However with quite a few parts assembly will take the majority of production. Also with out sourcing manufacture, shipping and travel will also be a large contributor into the product life span.

12. 18.Customer: it’s essential to obtain first hand customer likes, dislikes, preferences and prejudices. This will have been covered in research, and should clearly inform the specification. For the target market I am looking at of 18-25 years olds, the preferred to kitchen objects are ones for bright colours based on consumers current products. Also for this age range there is very little disposable income so for the product to be bought it would have of minimum price, approx. between £5-£10. There is also concerns for left handed people if the product would be comfortable and efficient.

13. 20.Shelf life (storage): often considers rusty parts, perished rubber, seized bearings, defective linings, corrosion and general decay. Product should last 3-4 years, stainless steel will not rust or decay however it maybe become worn down and sharp edges might become dull and less efficient. Pvc is a cheap material and over time it could become discoloured which will affect the overall appearance of the item. As well as this is there are rubber sections to help hold the item, these will become worn down and may break or peel off.

14. 23.Testing: testing after manufacture, in factory, on site or both. Do you sample 1 in 10, 1 in 100? How will the products be tested against the PDS? Will a test rig be required? How to ensure testing can be done effectively/efficiently? Once manufactured product will be tested on site before to make sure there are no issues with the final product or any safety issue. On side testing 1 in 100. Each section of the PDS will be marked against the product to see if it meets and the criteria, marked from lowest 1 to highest 10, then these problems can be sorting. After this testing will be done by a mixed group of people, of different ages (within the target age range) and backgrounds, to see how they interact with the product, results will be observed and recorded. To test efficiently it will take place in the correct environment, a kitchen, under different scenarios.

15. 28.Political and social implications: effect of consumer movements, stability of the market, avoidance of product features that can create social upset. The catering equipment market is very stable and has seen growth over the past few years. By creating this product to its simplest form of a ball like shape there is little room to create social upset. The main consumer movement recently has been towards the importance of recycling, products have more appeal if they can be recycled. As well as recycling consumer want more out of their products, a multifunctional item is a key aspect that would be attractive to customers.

16. 30.Installation: many products interface with other products or be assembled into larger products. Consider fixings, holes, lugs, access, volume available, system compatibility, power compatibility etc. Product consists as a single item and would not need to interact with other items as it has a singular purpose. However other parts of the same product could be manufactured and become interchangeable, giving more options to the consumers. Also the product would come in a range of colours so this could be interchangeable to make it more visually exciting. For maximum use of this all parts would have to connect in the same way with a flat surface, the best way to do this would be with magnets or snap fit.

17. 32.Disposal: design for disassembly or recyclability? The product can be disassembled and the stainless steel, pvc and rubber can become separate components. The stainless steel can be recycled along with other scrap metals. Rubber can be melted down and changed into other products. The acrylic can be taken to special plants and recycled. Therefore all parts can be recycled making the product ecological, this factor appeals to many consumers who have environmental concerns.