Maxime Dubreucq / Umeå Institute of Design
EG – Personal head protection for the mining environment.
Boliden AB - Atlas Copco AB
EG – Personal head protection for the mining environment.
EG – Personal head protection for the mining environment.
EG is the first helmet dedicated to mining, bringing a new standard to head protection and comfort for miners. The ergonomic layered architecture and enhanced weight distribution reduces stress, load and fatigue for users carrying the helmet. For miners wearing the helmet all day, this design solution minimizes work-related injuries and prevents irreversible damages.
2. The Brief: Summarize the problem you set out to solve. What was the context for the project, and what was the challenge posed to you?We followed and studied Erik Stenberg’s working situation during several days. Erik is working forty hours per week, at 1300 meters underground, in the Renström Mine, a few kilometers away from the polar circle (Sweden).
Erik is working in a dangerous environment. In the mine, wearing a helmet is essential for his safety.
Research demonstrates that existing head protection on the market have poor ergonomics and are initially designed for industrial purposes, not for mining operations.
Today, the head protection used in the mine is an incorrect combination of a standard hardhat in addition to an over-weighted frontlamp.
This top-heavy quick fix, results to in unbalanced protection and expose sminers to serious back injuries.
(Everyday and prolonged neck stress leads to irreversible vertebrae damages, such as Low Back Pain (LBP) and Upper Back Pain (UPB) and cyphosis syndromes).
The challenge was to prevent these injuries by providing a safe and balanced personal head protection for extreme mining environments . An ergonomic, and protective solution, comfortable for several hours, and communicating an enthusiastic mining image.
3. The Intent: What point of view did you bring to the project, and were there additional criteria that you added to the brief?Although creating a lighter helmet could solve the initial problem. It was NOT for me a holistic solution. While doing the project, I’ve tried to re-think the way the head can be protected by looking to the nature.
In this project, my intent was to create a personal a symbiotic product for the user. I always kept in my mind to design a head protection capable to be hyper-protective and so comfortable for the user he would feel like it’s a part of his body.
It is so interesting to see how nature evolves to find the best solution.
4. The Process: Describe the rigor that informed your project. (Research, ethnography, subject matter experts, materials exploration, technology, iteration, testing, etc., as applicable.) What stakeholder interests did you consider? (Audience, business, organization, labor, manufacturing, distribution, etc., as applicable)EG is a bio-inspired concept, taking it’s reference in nature’s protection. Like the human skin, EG is composed of three different layers with specialized functions:
1) The first part, directly in contact with the head, is a comfortable and adjustable tailored hat. This layer acts likes a muscle, considerably increasing the ergonomic and comfort for the user. The main purpose of this first layer fit to the morphology and move according to the body movements. The low density of the material keeps away moisture and perspiration: a considerable advantage when some mines can reach 95% of humidity in the air. It is a personal, ergonomic and hygienic solution that can be easily washed and/or replaced.
2) On top of this first layer is integrated an extreme protection padding, made of shock absorbing foam. This second layer can be compared to the grease under the skin : It reduces impacts and protects the brain and crane against lethal shocks.
(Material : Poron XRD™ 90% Shock absorption. For more infos. : refers to Tech. Specs.).
3) Finally, a third layer lies on top of the others. It is a light and resistant piece of polycarbonate which acts as a barrier against perforation, liquid metal and other industrial acids and dangerous liquids. This last layer integrates the equiment of a miner : SuperBright HeadLamp, UltraLight rear battery and High-Visibility safety stripes.
The linked video, related to EG process, describe the rigor that informed my project. Please, do have a look to it ! 
Like the human skin, EG is a bio-inspired concept, taking it’s reference in nature’s protection.
EG’s protective layers can be easily replaced and reduces the ecological impact and the maintenance of the product.)
In addition to these features: the tailored part can eventually be worn after working hours. Giving the possibility to create an emotional link with the working equipment and to exhibit the mining standards. Conveying the mining image outside the work is a perfect medium to recruit new labor to experience the mining environment and enhance miners’ self-esteem of their work.
Today, EG is the first personal head protection created for, and dedicated to, miners and extreme mining environment.
Better balance promotes better protection, it’s more comfortable to wear and multi-functional: one could wear it during mining and after work as well.
It’s quite an innovation in the mining helmet industry with a breakthrough in ergonomics and material application. It shows another way to fix current problem.
As a student work, it was a good job on research and analysis before he started to design. His design considers material, safety, function, comfort and style based on his research on miners.