Federation of European Ergonomics Societies Ergonomics in and for Europe

The aim of the already traditional students’ competition of the Hungarian Ergonomics Society is to give recognition to those product ideas which make our everyday life easier, more efficient, more comfortable and safe, while safeguarding our health.

The secondary aim of the competition is to attract university students to design products that comply with the requirements of ergonomics, human factors, usability and universal design and create healthy, safe, efficient and easy conditions for life. The applications are evaluated by expert juries from the Hungarian Ergonomics Society and invited experts from other NGOs.

Evaluation criteria for the high-level fulfilment of ergonomic aspects are as follows:

• assurance of conditions of healthy life,
• safety in use,
• effective emergence of ergonomic functions,
• efficient fulfilment of the overall function,
• comfort in use,
• high aesthetic quality.

The winners of the “Student's ideas for ergonomic day” student competition are below. Students have been invited to participate in the competition with their product ideas not yet introduced into the market since 2012. Note that detailed design have not been requested.

The winning application of the first turn aimed at facilitating work in gardens. was designed. Thanks to the rake combined with grab by Judit Bendig fallen leaves can be collected and moved without an additional tool, and with less effort.

In 2013 the expert jury judged the application by Orsolya Olasz to be the best. The designer intended to alleviate the life of those excursionists wearing contact lens by a combined storing and washing device. Thanks to her new product concept, all the materials and tools necessary for the change and washing of a contact lens can be accommodated in one holder. Due to the small, compact form the device can easily be carried along anywhere.

The best application in the year 2014 was aimed at facilitating the selective collection and transportation of kitchen garbage by Katalin Gyorgyevics. The sac made of reused textile is the combination of a bin hanged in the kitchen cabinet, as well as an easily transformable rucksack. The device is light, can be accommodated in pocket, thus easy to handle after emptying it.

The competition will continue in the years that come, and on the basis of experiences gained, we will develop and renew it. The next call for applications will appear in February 2015 (in Hungarian: www.e2o.ergonomiavilaga.hu).

The competition is sponsored by the UWH Simonyi Karoly Faculty of Engineering Wood Sciences and Applied Arts Institute of Wood Based Products and Technologies, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungarian Design Council and the Hungarian Ergonomics Society.

Chair: Peter Gyorgy HORVATH