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Extinguish
To solve for everyday exposures firefighters go through leading to long-term health hazards.
TEAM
A team of 2 computer engineers, 1 product designer
YEAR
2023 - 3 Months
MY ROLE
Design strategy and research for MVP product
Primary and Secondary Research, Low-fidelity, Hi-fidelity wireframing and prototyping UI and Interaction DesignUsability Testing
Whats the status of Firefighters Health now?
Multitude of challenges in their demanding profession, ranging from physical and mental stresses to significant health risks stemming from exposure to hazardous materials.
Moreover, there is a gap in comprehensive documentation of their exposures and health status, which poses a potential risk to their well-being. Additionally, issues related to sleep management, SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) usage, and stress levels further compound these challenges.
Firefighters are exposed to highly toxic substances. Are they aware of it?
01
Early detection is the best way to prevent cancer
Do they know when to be more aware of their situation?
02
03
we provided,
Firefighters one-stop shop to record daily exposures and constantly monitor their health.
Initial Problem Statement
How might we assist the fire fighters with a better healthcare system?


What did I do?
Problem research
Finding the problem space and gathering all the data to be churned as insights of actions.
User interviews
Led the creation of our study plan, wrote interview protocol and scripts and moderated 4 interviews
Synthesis and analysis
Collaborated with our team to synthesize and analyze findings using stakeholder mapping ,affinity diagramming.


Feature building and Wireframes
Corroborated, synthesized points to develop them into features as a seamless tracking experience starting from tech integration to actionable insights.
High Fidelity screens
Spearheaded our UI designs after multiple iterations playing around the mood boards, themes, colors, and style of design.
What Research went behind it?
Problem space
Why the problem persist
Problem space
Limited protection offered by current PPE ( personal protective Equipment )
Resistance to behavioral change within the fire fighting community
Late detection of cancer
Stakeholder
What has been done for this?


Features
-Health Diary
-Documentation
-Reporting
-Exposure Tracking
What went wrong:
-It involved a lot of Manual entry of data points the fire fighters were not even aware of.
-There was no place for actionable points from this application.
Technology
Leveraging technology that already exist to give a solution
A new and more technically advanced PSM system is now being developed by a team led by Globe and Foster-Miller for use by the military and the fire service. It embeds a built-in sensor system into a moisture-wicking and fire-resistant T-shirt that would be worn in place of the current, cotton T-shirts that are worn today by almost every firefighter.


Sensors measures:
Heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, activity level, and posture.
What happens now
To understand the story of now
Doing on-field work of understanding the everyday life of a fire-fighters. We conducted Observation sessions and semi-structured interviews with
Research Questions:
8
Fire-fighters
2
Public Health
01
What Health Awareness do they have and require from this job
02
How do they feel about the role of technology in the health monitoring.
03
How does the reporting and documentation of incidents happen?
Insights from the words
#1
Avoiding any additional weight burden on their already heavy gear


"Adding extra weight to our already heavy gear can slow us down and hinder our ability to respond effectively in emergencies. It's essential to keep our equipment as lightweight as possible."
#2
Eliminating the need for manual entry of exposure data to save time and reduce effort.
"Automating the process of exposure data entry not only saves valuable time but also significantly reduces the effort required, allowing us to focus more on critical tasks and less on paperwork."
#3
Simplifying the process of reporting and tracking exposure incidents.
"Simplifying the reporting and tracking of exposure incidents streamlines our operations, making it easier to monitor and address potential risks effectively."
#4
Ensuring the ability to safeguard their long-term health.
"You know, it's not just about the immediate dangers on the job. What really concerns me are the potential long-term health effects."
The big pivot to building a better healthcare system
In light of these insights, we pivoted away from the initial hypothesis that Fighters might require assistance in getting better health care, and instead, focused on creating awareness in seeking for health care before it's too late.
Straight-forward
Instead of providing the direct way of giving a healthcare systems which is already found to be good, emphasis should be given on when to take the health care.
Pivotal
Providing Real-time insights and data enriching awareness of every fire fighter gives them a better result in their health Monitoring.
Refined Problem Statement
“How might we simplify the process of reporting and documenting environmental hazards and exposures faced by firefighters to support long-term health monitoring?”
Design ideation
DOT VOTING METHOD:
In a fast-paced UX design process by quantifying preferences, we made more data-driven decisions, which can lead to better outcomes in UX design.
Design a firefighter monitoring app integrating wearable sensors and tracking technology to collect real-time physiological data during firefighting.
As simple as connecting Airpods
Avoiding any additional weight burden on their already heavy gear
The system aims to provide insights into health and exposure metrics, facilitating data sharing with healthcare professionals for timely medical guidance and testing recommendations, ultimately enhancing firefighter safety and well-being
App:
This will receive and display real-time data from a combination of T-shirts and wearable devices equipped with sensors to monitor heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, exposure levels, time in smoke and activity level
Data Storage:
A rudimentary data storage system to retain records of firefighter health and exposure data.
Ideation
Starting with Low-fi sketches, I experimented with different ways of showing the different data points in a comprehensible form to decode the environmental hazards into multiple health metrics. It is essential to give them the flexibility to toggle through different runs and days and grasp the essential details.
Data display Dashboard
Personalized analysis
Interactive medical reports
Information Architecture
Moving on to mid-fidelity wireframes I delved deeper into the specifics of how each screen would function and adding the visual elements to it.
Design principles for the application
Elevating the usability with visuals
To accumulate ideas into one app with the integration of technology
The final outcome
" A health-tracking app connected to wearables with sensors, providing real-time data for post-analysis. "


Eliminating the need for manual entry of exposure data to save time and reduce effort.
Generate a summary of exposure data
Easy track and look up for the exposure details giving seamless navigation and Data lookup.
Enhanced Visualisation of Data
Simplifying the process of reporting and tracking exposure incidents.
Making the manual reporting process easier and better for the fighters and making it more engaging.
Ensuring the ability to safeguard their long-term health.
A comprehensible tracking of diseases on-duty and off-duty with records of doctor appointments.
Tracking all along to give more accurate results
Reflections
Future Scope
The app's scope can expand to serve industries beyond firefighting, including emergency response, construction, and industrial sectors. Its collected data holds potential for collaboration with research institutions, contributing to a better understanding of long-term health effects from environmental exposures. Additionally, the app could play a pivotal role in training programs for diverse professions, fostering safety awareness through educational modules and partnerships with training academies.
If we had more time
In retrospect, a missed opportunity lies in not conducting interviews with doctors to grasp the data necessary for enhanced user treatment and exploring the potential for doctors to interface directly with user records. Further research on the manual entry protocol was desired to understand the specific fields and data essential for fire department use. Additionally, a deeper investigation into data privacy measures was warranted to ensure robust safeguards for user health information. Adhering more closely to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards was also identified as an improvement area, recognizing the potential use of the app by individuals beyond firefighters.
Meet the team
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