The
existing door did not satisfy new American safety requirements. Amongst
other matters, an A.C.P.M.M. team was asked to improve the side impact
strength without changing the overall design of the door. After a number
of initial versions, one that looked promising only failed by the kinking
of the pieces of chassis tube of which it was made. By stiffening these
by inserting a length of wood, it far exceeded the requirements by a simple
and cheap method that was within the manufacturing capabilities of the
firm.
2. Child's X-ray Seat
Young children are often upset when being taken into a hospital chest
X-ray department. The A.C.D.M.M. team was asked to design two items -
one for children up to the age of 4 and another for up to 10 to reduce
this problem. It was decided to distract the attention of the older children
by providing them with a buggy that was kept in the waiting room and on
which they played whilst waiting. To reach the steering wheel, the youngster
had to lean forward against the plate holder. At the appropriate time,
the mother wheeled the buggy into the appropriate position in the X-ray
room, a snap was taken and the child driven back to the waiting room,
not even knowing that anything untoward had happened! Within 4 hours of
delivery, the buggy was in use. The team also designed, built and delivered
a second device, based on a slide, for the younger children.