Manual repositioning of persons with reduced mobility aboard aircraft
Development and evaluation of a handling aid
Due to demographic changes the number of people with reduced mobility (PRM) aboard aircraft is increasing. When supporting PRM high physical loads can occur, especially of the lower back. This study shows the development and evaluation of a handling aid to reposition PRM from one aircraft seat to another or to an onboard wheelchair and vice versa.
The developmental process took place iteratively in an interdisciplinary working group. For the evaluation an onboard usability test was performed with flight attendants at the flight training center (FTC) of a large German airline and a biomechanical load estimation in the laboratory. For this purpose, the ground reaction force was measured while repositioning a PRM as a measure of the action forces exerted by flight attendants.
Furthermore, the compressive forces at lumbar intervertebral discs were calculated as a measure of low back load by applying the simulation tool the Dortmunder and compared the results with the maximum load limits of the lower back recommended by the revised Dortmund standard values. The new handling aid consists of two identical slings of silicon-laminated polyester fabric.
The average handling time for moving a PRM from the window seat to an onboard wheelchair in the aisle was 02:14 min. The usability test showed that 5 out of 14 handling tasks needed increased instruction. With 81 percent the user satisfaction was estimated to be good to very good. By applying the handling aid the action forces were reduced by approximately 30 percent and the forces acting on lumbar discs by approximately 50 percent.
In conclusion, the newly developed handling aid enables a quick, easy and safe repositioning of PRM by flight attendants on board aircraft. The physical load is clearly reduced, especially the load on the lower back.
