THE CEREAL BOX CHALLENGE
Scenario: NCSU’s ergonomic department has issued a statement to the public in a recent academic journal titled International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics. This article states that there is new evidence to support a link between the packaging of food and arthritis in the hands of employees, when handling food items in high volume on a daily basis.
Some of the largest food companies in the United States have enlisted your services as a consultant and want your help to take this new information and revolutionize the food packaging industry, with newly shaped cans and boxes. These packages need to be easier to handle and eliminate some of the stress placed on the identified hand muscles that were mentioned in the study.
Your first consultant contract is to create a new prototype cereal box in the shape of a rectangular prism. It’s important to the company that the surface area remains the same but they also have questions about how the new designs might affect the volume of the product. Design the new “product package” for each and determine if it will indeed impact the volume of food in each.
Problem - State the problem as it was presented to you by Kellogg’s. Be sure to include the following points:
Solution – Use what you know about the medical concerns facing employees of Kellogg’s to tackle the problem. Which dimension should be addressed right out of the gate? Will you have to modify either of the other two dimensions?
Progression of Work
b. Original dimensions
c. Surface Area
d. Volume
2. New package
a. Net
b. New dimensions
c. Surface Area
d. Volume
3. Present your solution
a. Start by addressing your consultation position with NCSU’s Ergonomic department
b. Mention the problem presented to you by Kellogg’s
c. Explain your solution and how/why this will fix the problem
d. Show the 3D shape, net, work and calculations for surface area and volume
4. Things to consider
a. What presentation tool(s) will you use?
b. How will you show images of the before and after packages?
c. How will collaboration happen?
Some of the largest food companies in the United States have enlisted your services as a consultant and want your help to take this new information and revolutionize the food packaging industry, with newly shaped cans and boxes. These packages need to be easier to handle and eliminate some of the stress placed on the identified hand muscles that were mentioned in the study.
Your first consultant contract is to create a new prototype cereal box in the shape of a rectangular prism. It’s important to the company that the surface area remains the same but they also have questions about how the new designs might affect the volume of the product. Design the new “product package” for each and determine if it will indeed impact the volume of food in each.
Problem - State the problem as it was presented to you by Kellogg’s. Be sure to include the following points:
- Medical concerns with the employees who work on the packaging line?
- What were the parameters given to you by Kellogg’s (keep surface area the same but concerned about impact on volume)?
- Will the new box design have an impact on the product pricing? This is important because Kellogg’s doesn’t want to lose money by giving away extra product for the same price. They also want to keep the trust of its customer base by not over changing them.
Solution – Use what you know about the medical concerns facing employees of Kellogg’s to tackle the problem. Which dimension should be addressed right out of the gate? Will you have to modify either of the other two dimensions?
Progression of Work
- Original package
b. Original dimensions
c. Surface Area
d. Volume
2. New package
a. Net
b. New dimensions
c. Surface Area
d. Volume
3. Present your solution
a. Start by addressing your consultation position with NCSU’s Ergonomic department
b. Mention the problem presented to you by Kellogg’s
c. Explain your solution and how/why this will fix the problem
d. Show the 3D shape, net, work and calculations for surface area and volume
4. Things to consider
a. What presentation tool(s) will you use?
b. How will you show images of the before and after packages?
c. How will collaboration happen?