Year  2021

Role  Industrial Design Lead

Studio  Husqvarna Group (in house / SWEDEN)

A brand new face guard to protect operators from accident.

A new visor and chin protection embeded on an helmet has been developed together with a jacket and a blade protection to better protect operators when using power cutters. These products were part of a new category of product for Husqvarna Construction focusing solely on operator's safety and improve prerequisites to perform work with our machines. This product was not existing on the market before.

My role on the industrial design side was to work on a design that protect operators while being lightweight and comfortable for the user. I spent my time proposing concepts & solution to test in labs and adapt my designs to meet our safety requirement. The challenge was to design a robust product that will not hinders users from doing their job properly as well as offering a product that people will accept to wear.

Credits   Carl Heinemark, Lead Design Engineer
Credits     Mikael Arvidsson, R&D Manager
Credits    Daniel Lovenbäck, Product Manager
Credits     Hannes Jensen, Surface Design Lead
Credits     Mats Lawenius, Primary Development Engineer

THE KICK BACK ACCIDENT.
.A kick back is an accident that occurs when an operator loses control of a power cutter while cutting through hard materials like concrete, stone or metal.
An unexpected resistance is causing the machine to suddenly jerk or kick back the blade back towards the operator body/face and cause serious injuries.
.This kind of accident is unfortunately common on construction sites, with an estimated 5,000 injuries with over 200 amputations and 50 deaths reported each year in the US alone.

When working with power cutters, safety & comfort is the main concern for the user. This solution is part of the SmartGuard™ family of products.
Together with the blade protection and the protective jacket, the face guard will ensure maximum protection and confidence to users.

Engineered for professionals

New & unique protective equipment - that doesn’t exist on the market - designed to reduce the severity of injuries and blade contact.

We designed a modular product with parts that are easily taken on and off from the helmet depending on the work situation.

We developed user friendly clip on visor solution that is both affordable and easily replaced.

Sturdy yet lightweight, we focused on developing a versatile solution that allows room for anti dust mask and personal eye protection.

Process
The special design and features are based upon our extensive field researchs, prototype testing and expertise from developing and manufacturing power cutters.
If you've ever experienced a power cutter kickback, you will know why you should wear the SmartGuard™ helmet.

TAKE CONTROL
OF YOUR SAFETY.

Whether it is for construction workers operating machines,
rental companies wanting to provide safer products, or construction companies delivering the best equipment to their employees, we're giving them an important step that helps them take more responsibility for their safety.
Providing them even more confidence and freedom in their work.