Product Design Specification

Performance: The product must be able to be used to up an 2 hours of use and so within
those two hours of use the sliders must be able t work effectively. The sliders won't need to
move quickly from point to point so there should be no need to account for this. Each slider
will carry a load and so there must be acknowledgement of wear from the movers having a
weight and moving around. This may mean that materials may have to account from this
type of wear and tear.
Environment: The environment of this product is important to consider as this may first
range from one space to another or the environment the place is situated in could be an
extreme. Weathering may be an important thing to consider as well as it may result in
corrosion from rain. Also fluid will be passing through he product when being watered so
must be able to run off excess water and be able to cope with possible corrosion. In hot
temperatures metals may expand making the mechanism less freely moving, so may have to
put a degree of tolerance to allow for this. In cold temperatures the product must be able to
be used by slightly less able bodies as this could with affect their body and abilities.
It must also must be considered that handlers in the production process may not be too
careful with the product to must allow for some abuse. This may come from the packaging
which may hold the product with a degree of impact absorption. The packaging must be
further water resistant to a degree to ensure that product inside is not detraining so early.
Life in service: This product must be able to used for a maximum of 2 hours of continuous
use. This is related to the research phase where a maximum of 2 hours of gardening was the
most comfortable level of exercise per day.
Maintenance: The product should not need regular maintenance as the user in need may
not have the ability to maintain the product. For assembly there should be a possibility that
some basic tools should be supplied, as to tight screws etc. This would then mean they
would be available for the maintenance if necessary.
Shipping: The product should be made in the cheapest way but with the highest quality. This
may mean that off shore manufacturing will be necessary. However the size of the product
will mean that it can be transported by land (courier service) to the user when it is bought.
Packing: The packaging should have some level of environment weather protection and
shock protection. The main requirement should be the ability to not get broken in the
transportation from handler to user. This will mean that shock protection must be
important to ensure this. The weather protection is important but not as important as the
product should be able to be protected from weathering at most points.
Quantity: Medium level of quantity should be run off. However as there are multiple parts it
may be difficult to run off this amount of product. This will be related to the manufacturing
method and ability to run off at different quantities. Ideally a medium amount should be run
off to quench the demand.

Manufacturing facility: The product will try to reduce as must cost as possible and so an
exisitng machinery plant will be necessary. This will need research into best tooling, workers
and costing.
Size: The product should be square and so easily be able to handled by whoever is needed.
The actual size of the product should be between 1200x800 as to fit in a smaller area that
fits the persona presented in the human factors stage. The product should not be bigger
than this as then it would make the product less space efficient for smaller gardening
spaces.
Weight: Regarding transportation weight, it is important to not exceed the capable load
that the transit company can move around. This will then make the product easily
transferable from place to place and make the shipping cheaper as it will be easier to move.
The weight will be important to the user as it must not be too uncomfortable or straining to
use. The weight for the plant pot to be push around must not exceed 7kg as this is the top
level of weight that is desirable to lift and move around.
Aesthetics, appearance, finish: The product must be a socially acceptable design and so the
aesthetics will be important in making it a desirable idea. The colours must remain neutral
or gardening themed to provide a blend in effect to the product within its environment. The
finish must also be to a high quality to give of a quality feel to the product but also to make
it a comfortable product to interact with when sliding or moving the products from one
space to another.
Materials: It will be important to keep the same outside like style within the product. So
wood should be considered for the exterior of the product as to ensure that the product has
a natural style. Also weathering must be considered if the product is going to be outside, so
materials that can withstand damp and hot conditions would be useful.
Product life span: The product should have the ability and range to last up to 10 years. In
this way the product would be able to last a lengthy amount of time that would correlate to
the amount spent on the product.
Standards and specifications: As said in the quality criteria it must satisfy the UK and
European checklist for the moment as this will be the target audience for the product once
it is launched. This will include the British standards checks and the CE checks. This will
ensure the product can be sold in a UK and European market. There are no relevent
gardening checks that are a necessity, s the standards checks will be the most vital standard
specifications to satisfy.
Ergonomics: The product should incorporate all anthropometric data collected and adapted
from the human factors phase as to make the product as comfortable as possible. all
products to some degree have a human-machine interface, certainly during manufacture at
the very least. This must account for the problem that elderly peope have in movements as
well as measurements and strength. The ergnomics must also consider the effect that the
environment will have on the user and the relative capabilities these users have. What
height, reach, forces, operating torques are acceptable to the user?

Quality and reliability: The nature of the designs function requires that the product must
work within high tolerances to allow movement between different pieces. This high
tolerance will mean that it will that the product will produce a high reliability. The
aesthetical quality must be considered as well as the product could be a part of a display,
and so the finish is an important factor. Also it must comply with BS checks and the ISO9000
checks. There are no quality checks in regards to gardening so it will be important to focus
on British and European standards. This may also be relevant as this will be the starting
audience to the product.
Shelf life (storage): The product may not sell quickly as it is a long term product and so the
product must be able to survive a longer shelf life. The product will not need renewing by
the customer often and so it should sell much slower than a shorter life product. This
means that the materials n the product must be able to last long without use in non-ideal
environment.
Time scales: It will be important to plant the time wisely throughout this stage, a gannt chart
may satisfy this. Continuing to design the way the product will work and be made will be a
integral part to the products success .But also time spent on other aspect of this task must
be accounted for, time wise.
Testing: Testing should be done after manufacture (1 every 10) as to ensure that the
product is in a working condition once the produce is given to the user. There may need a
minor working test once it is set up in the users environment but that can be done by the
user itself. This may involve testing the state of the structure once weight is added to the
product and too the effectiveness of the sliding mechanism.
Safety: One of the most simple safety features to qualify for is the product is the British
standard checks in order to succeed in what they suggest is quality and reliable. It may also
be useful in satisfying the criteria for the European standards checks to ensure your product
satisfies the European standard. Also labelling the packaging with relevant safety
procedures necessary when handling the product.
Installation: The installations should be as simple as possible, and the main installation
should be the wall mount. This wall mount may consider joint or wall fixings for an easy wall
mount. To consider how and what tools will be necessary will be integral to find out this
part of the PDS.
Disposal: It should be important that at least 30% of the product can be taken part from the
rest of the product to be recycled or reused elsewhere. This can be from the plant pots or
rear bracket mechanism to be broken down and recycled.