DESIGN DESCRIPTION

W. DurfeeUniversity of Minnesota

The objective was to design a piece of equipment that could quantitatively measure the ability of a firefighter to chop through a roof.

The roof ventilation emulator is being designed for the Minneapolis Fire Department at the request of PDRI which is working with the fire departMent on their hiring and training proceedures.

The roof ventilation emulator is a piece of equipment designed so that firefighters can be trained and tested on chopping a hole in the roof of a burning building. This is an important task in fighting many fires and has the objective of letting the smoke out.

ROOF VENTILATION TEST

DATE TEST #:

NAME:

SEX: AGE: HEIGHT: WEIGHT:

YEARS ON FORCE:

CURRENT COMPANY:

CURRENT RANK

NUMBER OF TIMES VENTILATED ON JOB:

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU?

HOW MANY BLOWS OF THE AX?

ACTUAL TIME:

ACTUAL # BLOWS:

the

Subject Sex Age Height Weight TimeXA F 29 72 160 6.8XB M 55 69 170 7XC M 42 76 220 4.1XD F 33 67 210 8.7XE F 31 67 145 9XF M 47 66 190 3.8XG M 25 70 185 3.8XH M 40 73 180 4XI M 28 73 218 2.5XJ F 34 65 135 13.6XK M 47 68 190 4.1XL M 33 73 200 1.9

DESIGN CONSTRAINTS

Cost of design & construction

Ease of operation

Ease of setup, knokdown

Ease of storage (size/weight)

Operating environement (rain, snow, temp)

Movie

Estimated costItem Cost

Frame materials and welding 500

Strike target 75

Rebound bumpers 50

Paint 40

Sensor 125

PC board 150

Power supply 75

Connectors 50

Enclosure 75

Clock 25

Stepper motor 25

Tripod 100

Total $1,330

EquipmentDid not deal with technology in advanceDid not test movieRoom lighting too darkLights off during questions

Delivery"Can you hear me"Talking to screenNo eye contactHands in pocketMoving aroundReading slidePointing to screenUsing fingers for pointingSilence fillers ("ahh", "um")

ContentPoor organizationNo agendaNo motivation for audienceNo action requestedDid not show design until endWhat was point of the testing?Apologized for costMade Phoenix emulator sound greatMade my design sound expensive, complexWay over time. Did not cut. Questioner put-down.Made an exciting project really dull

VisualsUseless, content-free titleProse on slidesFont too smallData in tabular formAll data vs summaryNo photo of testingPhoenix pix too smallBad use of colorSloppy perspectiveWeird slide backgroundDumb PowerPoint tricks

Mistakes in Talk

Oral Presentations -- the basics

• Know your audience (who, why)• Incentive (why they should know)• Big picture (where you are going)

• Organize the talk• Create visuals• Rehearse (for timing)• Deliver

The very first considerations...

Creating the presentation...

Presentation organization

• The opening– Why, what, how– Put problem in context

• Body– Context dependent

• Closing– Conclusion– What do you want them to do

• Questions & Discussion– Leave time– Listen before answering

Presentation hints

• Will never have time ==> select important material• Give punchline first • Be credible, cite sources, be honest• Respect audience intelligence• Never apologize• Anticipate questions• Presentation, not a speech• Need not be a star

Visuals

• Simple, to the point• Imitate headline writers• Title that tells the

message, then text, data or images to back up the message

• Keep it simple!

• Careful color• Watch clutter• Fonts large and dark• 2 font families max• Dark text on light back• Watch fancy transitions

• Keep it simple!!

Which can you read?

LJUMFEQ MZW RPLXO LJUMFEQ MZW RPLXO

LJUMFEQ MZW RPLXO LJUMFEQ MZW RPLXO

Assertion-Evidence Structure

• Headline states the assertion of the slide• Slide body backs up the assertion with evidence

– Relevant images– Experimental data– Basic equations– Product rendering

UMN Library e-book

Examples

Subject Sex Age Height Weight TimeXA F 29 72 160 6.8XB M 55 69 170 7XC M 42 76 220 4.1XD F 33 67 210 8.7XE F 31 67 145 9XF M 47 66 190 3.8XG M 25 70 185 3.8XH M 40 73 180 4XI M 28 73 218 2.5XJ F 34 65 135 13.6XK M 47 68 190 4.1XL M 33 73 200 1.9

Heavier people chop faster

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

120 140 160 180 200 220 240

Weight (lbs)

Ch

op

pin

g ti

me

(min

)

Photos from Paraplegia News and Sports ‘n Spokes

People with disabilities are active

• Wheelchair sports• Disability Culture has

driven demand for solutions

• ADA has provided legal clout

• Health care cost-effectiveness drive reins in the pace

Delivery

• Eye contact with all• Speak to audience• Project• Don’t read• Practice

• Posture• Hands• Don’t block projector• Know room and

equipment, assume technology won’t work

Showing a prototype

• What do you want audience to see?• Size?• Demo of operation?• Backdrop picture• Live or canned video