The Ergonomics of the Brooklands Case

From the customer's point of view, a refrigerated display case is a very simple product. All it has to do is present food in a convenient accessible location for browsing and selecting and keep it at the right temperature. So ergonomics for the customer involves making the case structure as unobtrusive as possible and ensuring that most people can reach and pick up the merchandise without falling into the case or hitting their heads when they lean forward.

Major considerations

Other major considerations in setting basic dimensions obviously include access for cleaning and maintenance (a traditionally difficult area in supermarkets with space at a premium) as well as where to locate the surprising amount of machinery necessary to maintain an even temperature in an open fronted case (fans, temperature probes, evaporator coils, valves, electronic controllers and so on).

In addition to ensuring that most customers could reach most of the case, it was important to avoid the 'trapped in a canyon' effect which tall display cases often create in aisles. Cutting the top of the case back reduces this effect. The multi-disciplinary team including product design (Priestman Goode), ergonomics (System Concepts) and refrigeration specialists from Hussmann Manufacturing, Carter Retail and George Barker devised an aerofoil front canopy edge which was cut back, unobtrusive and delivered an appropriate air flow.

The other main 'customers' for the case are the staff in the stores who load merchandise, clean and maintain the cases. The team included a hygiene consultant from the Food Safety Consortium to ensure where possible that surfaces were easy to clean, with no sharp corners and accessible with a minimum of fixings (which get lost) and tools. Time trials show that it is quicker to clean the Brooklands case to Marks and Spencer's demanding standards than conventional cases.

Ergonomics benefits

However, one of the biggest ergonomics benefits for staff was the design of a 600mm shelf module with integral brackets. Traditionally, display cases have large metal shelves with separate brackets and removing them for cleaning is a major manual handling challenge. The smaller shelf, designed to suit the Eurotray standard merchandise unit, is easy for even the smallest shop assistant to move and adjust. The shelf frame also provides a base for different inserts - clear acrylic to improve visibility, baskets for loose packs, pin bars for hanging merchandise and so on. A major spin-off from the smaller shelf was that staff now find it easier to adjust the shelving to suit the merchandise - giving them much more control over product display as well as making more efficient use of space.

Tom Stewart

Last updated: August, 2009

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