Our project aims to construct guard rails for one of Legacy’s primary buses to accompany its ramp. This will ensure the safety of the community’s residents as they board and exit the bus.
In the bus’s original design, the handrails are attached to the doors, which only provide support for the upper portion of the ramp. Further down, there is nothing for passengers to stabilize themselves with.
Legacy’s employees have indicated several issues regarding the lack of barriers on the sides of the ramp. Firstly, many residents are hesitant to board the bus. They feel unstable even with the staff’s assistance. The lack of barriers also makes it so that the ramp is difficult to see, sometimes resulting in vehicles running over the ramp while it is deployed.
Over the course of the following semesters, EPCS aims to design feasible handrail extensions that will solve residents’ stability issues, as well as take into account community employees’ concerns and ADA guidelines for ramp handrails.
Currently, a functioning rail prototype has been constructed. However, as pressure is applied to the handrail, it cannot stay in a fixed position and shifts to the side. These stability issues must be addressed before the project can be finalized and delivered to our partners.
Current Semester & Recent Updates:
April 2024 Update
As the semester comes to an end, our project approaches being finished. We’ve made tremendous progress in the last month, including the following changes: Replaced the previous latches with a more sturdy and durable option. Removed previous leg and attached a new vertical stabilizer. Addition of a horizontal stabilizer at 30°. Attachment of stabilizers using…
March 2024 Update
Our team has been testing two different latches, and we are very close to selecting and finalizing our latch replacements. After collecting user feedback and data from physical testing, we will install both the latches and the ratchet straps onto the prototype. Regarding new additions to the model, we have begun working on implementing the…
Feb 2024 Update
During our preliminary testing process, we noticed multiple issues with the current prototype, including the latches, ratchet straps, and overall stability. The latches lacked durability and bent under moderate pressure, causing one to break during the testing. They also had to be constantly adjusted since they could not stay in a fixed position, which is…
May 2023 Update
As the semester comes to an end we are putting on the finishing touches to our project. We are continuing to refine the UI and update the functionality of our application. We have added a loading buffer that shows users when a new page is loading for simplicity and implemented our navigation bar to every…
April 2023 Update
We have added a fully functional login/signup form on the app homepage for users to create new accounts. This page allows us to identify who gets admin rights and who gets leader rights and determines what pages they can and cannot see. We are also continuing to refine the UI and create our different pages…
March 2023 Update
In March, we were able to build the basis of our project and make great progress overall. We implemented the majority of our front-end designs into real code and finalized our database implementation. We have all the static pages added and we are working on currently making all of them dynamic to connect the front…
About Our Partners:
The Legacy Senior Communities is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of seniors and their families. Several of their lifestyle accommodations include independent & assisted living, hospice care, and rehabilitation. They are committed to compassionate care, excellent quality, and service.
Our clients are located at the Legacy Senior Communities at Willow Bend. At this location, residents are taken on outdoor outings, where their main mode of transportation is by bus. This is where our project will come into play – ensuring the residents’ safety as they leave the facilities.
More information can be found on their website:
Updates
September 2023 -
We visited the senior home to look at the leg, make an assessment, and take measurement. After our first visit to the bus, the team began has began to order needed equipment and finish up designs to began construction
October 2023-
Visited the machine shop for consultation before attaching the stability leg. The team then proceeded to drill and tap the holes into the stability leg. The team concluded the month with attaching the leg to the rail and doing rough tests of the stability of the system, as well as ensuring that the leg was installed properly.
November 01 - 17 2023-
The team went to Legacy and tested the system with the added leg. After determining that the stability of the hand rail had improved but was not satisfactory, the team came up with a plan to add extra locks to increase support from the base to the extended portion of the rail. Additionally, progress with padding installation is in way and we have obtained the desired material that is expected to be durable. The team tested the padding material and is satisfied with its performance. The team concluded by coming up with a plan to install the padding, obtaining correct locks, and drilling + tapping the holes into the base.
November 27,2023-December 04,2023-
A stopper was added to the bottom of the stability leg, and the sharp edges of the rail were smoothed over. The teams went to Legacy to examine all new additions and see how the added locks and leg stopper helped improve the system. The team also checked the hinges and screws to make sure nothing was worn down.