We dreamed of a simple way to save lives and reduce injuries by reducing...

mistakes in taking or administering medications...

a whole class of highway collisions...

workplace injuries and improving reliability of critical work performed...

and more...

  

Ergonomic Safety Information?

  

A Revolution in the Making: ErgoStat!™

This is extremely important, and so this presentation is in depth; there is no value to anyone in a quick explanation. If you are really in a hurry and just want the sound-bite version, simply look at the images at the bottom. But we feel is it is so important that we are willing to make our License Agreements available FREE of charge for use in any life saving application (e.g., prescription labels) provided that the vendor does not in turn charge more for their product/service as result. Interested parties should contact us directly.

As a point of reference, you may recall in media coverage that Dennis Quaid's twins and one other newborn were nearly killed by a wrong medication at the hospital, a matter caused by confusing labels on similarly named drugs such that even the medical professionals made a frightening and tragic error which could negatively impact all parties involved for the rest of their lives. Unfortu- nately, this is not as rare as anyone would like to hope. Fortunately, ErgoText has a way of helping to eliminate this kind of problem from happening again. It can impact anywhere where fast and accurate access to critical information is otherwise hampered by confusing elements. Highway signs, maintenance manuals, and any legal document or form, for the matter, can be made more functional to more people by use of ErgoText in what we call an ErgoStat!use.

When it comes to confusing or critical material, its presentation is often made more confusing by the sheer volume of key information which must necessarily play against a certain urgency for finding specific material. Therefore, any improvement which helps insure the reader does not make mistakes in their search will not only meet their need for urgency, but also for accuracy. In addition to the benefits described above for any reading (or writing) application, ErgoText additionally has the inherent ability to bypass this problem altogether: it can lead the reader to the correct information without having to read a single word until they get there!   

ErgoText allows material to be organized  and displayed in standardized ways such that select kinds of information are always displayed in one of several distinctively recognizable methods. Of key importance for critical applications for safety and health, the use of multiple display options further establishes an automatic memory aid, as the mind can associate specific information with the way it was displayed: no longer do all the words look the same, the key words look different, much in the same manner as using bold or colored words, but based on shape and layout which impact both brain hemispheres — far better than color or font changes which still largely engage only the left-brain.

This makes it possible for the reader to quickly find exactly what they are looking without having to look for a specific word/phrase (they can look for a visual shape of how the words are displayed, instead) and that results in less confusion and zero delay, and they can come away with the intended understanding, as well as better retention. Restated yet again, as the point is extremely important, there is no need to ‘trial-and-error’ read words here and there in hopes of finding the right topic, and that means less confusion with more speed. This shape difference is itself based on the root concept behind ErgoText and is what actually makes it ergonomic in the first place, and why it offers readers all the stated capabilities.  

In Prescription Labels and drug box information, and perhaps even in medical records and forms, ErgoText can be used to quickly zero in on vital and urgently needed information. In fact, our sister technology for handwriting, ErgoScript, can be of significant benefit in forms fill out, as well. Of specific urgent need to users is the ability to quickly find dosage and use instructions and warnings. They could care less about manufacturer and government information, and drug technical information when they have an urgent need to use the product — yet that information must share the same label for obvious reasons. The question is, how do you make it easier to locate and read amongst the competing mire of words and topics?   

  

  

  

In this version, all we did was to substituted ErgoText which also allowed us to eliminate ALL CAPS in the key areas:

We elected to rely upon slant down right text for the Warning section, which we labeled, and full arcuate text for the instructions section. These two sections are the most key with respect to errors in medication. The third area of concern is the type of medication (errors in choice), which we address in the next improvement.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Because the use of ErgoText was more efficient and saved space, we were able to reorganize the label and simplify it. This also improved informational relationships and offered other benefits.

We first addressed error in medication type by giving it the NUMBER ONE spot on the label, along with related details. We eliminated 1 color box and 4 sectional divisions which greatly reduced confusion and actually allowed better organization, and gave more room for instructions. We intruded the WARNING! into the right half of the label: this is going to compete with the reader's attention regardless of which information they are after (warning, instructions, name), and EQUATE the other information elements to whatever they are looking for, essentially subconsciously forcing them to double check for cross reference just WHO is DOING WHAT at WHAT RISK.

  

Which one of these labels (first or last) would you rather be using struggling in confusion with the bottle at 3:00 in the morning with dizziness and stomach pain, and wondering if you should take another Vicodin?

  

About ErgoStat!
FAQ

Most such labels rely upon a maze of boxes, bold letters or differing sizes of text, and color in an attempt to help make it easier to differentiate and find information. But there is no standard in place for a number of reasons which are not likely resolvable, typically based on variables such as the amount of information, and size and shape constraints, and user needs (there are many different kinds of users, each with differing needs and considerations). Fortunately, rather than attempting to standardize the size, shape, and so forth, standardizing in the use of ErgoText can solve the problem, and incurs no such roadblocks.  

ALSO COMMON AND PERHAPS LEAST USEFUL OF ALL IS THE UNFORTU- NATE PRACTICE OF HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANT MATERIAL UTILIZING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, A METHOD WHICH ULTIMATELY MAKES THAT INFORMATION JUST THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO READ QUICKLY AND ACCURATELY, ESPECIALLY WHEN INVOLVING MATERIAL APPROVED BY A LAWYER AND MEDICAL EXPERT... does it not? Well, if we put those Caps into ErgoText, it would be somewhat easier to read, but the good news is that we would not want to: ErgoText can make it unnecessary by offering better inherent alternatives in the first place.  

All these differentiation methods tend to be used together, but all this does in the end is create a hodgepodge of competing forms of highlighted material scattered across the label. Especially when the user is not intimately familiar with the layout of information (a problem compounded when there is no standardization) and especially in an urgent emergency situation, this ‘mess’ of highlights defeats, rather than aids in the finding of the right information. This can easily lead to wrong use with significant life-threatening  consequence. It can even cause professionals to make a mistake, as we find in the Quaid case. Let's look at a medicine label application:  

Decide if you agree  

Compare the original and the ErgoText modified label versions below. You may be amused that the prescription is entirely fictional, a rather a well known and driving story element in the popular TV Series, House. It is not our intent to be amusing, but we could not use a real prescription for privacy’s sake and so as not to offend a real-world pharmacy. This image was made available to us in kindness by House fan, who made it up as a gag for a party, modeled after an actual label from her own pharmacy.  

 

Here we see a typical (fake based on TV show House) prescription:

       Note it relies upon trying to divide information types using 7 different box sections divided by two colors, with 6 additional box sections created by lines, and reliance upon different 5 different font sizes and a mix of ALL CAPS and regular text. There are a total of 17 different information types or cubbyholes created by this attempt to 'organize' information and make it 'easy' to locate.

What about Highway Signs?

  

Who hasn't encountered a confusing blizzard of highway signs? Who hasn’t had some idiot execute a last second radical lane change at an exit as if there were no other cars on the road, forcing cars into screeching or swerving to avoid a crash? Perhaps you’ve been one to be honked at for some similar transgression? This writer has, but he has done something about it. Now, so can you! Tell your highway department about ErgoText.  

Below are samples of ErgoText versions of actual highway signs compared with the original. Here, the methodology is more to the point: establish uniformity of meaning by means of various forms of ErgoText. Where multiple lanes have a common destination, the full arcuate line is used as if an umbrella over the stated destinations. Where there is a lane dedicated to one destination, straight line text is used. Where there is an exit, a half arcuate line points the way based on the direction of its slant. Four different possibilities, four different visual depictions. Simple! 

Again, we will make our technology free to government agencies for such use.

  

  

  

  

In this example we see that a turn is indicated by the slant of the arc, no turn is indicated by straight line text.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

More complex situations need not change the rules of use

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Here we have a turn and multiple lanes with the same destination, which employs full arcuate text to so indicate. We have argued amongst ourselves that it might be useful to use a reverse arcuate line (sags rather than bridges) to indicate a 'this lane only' situation such as for Cesar Chavez Ave. in this image. However, it was felt the orange 'ONLY' sign element is sufficient.

  

What about Technical Manuals?  

The same features for the same reasons as described for labels make ErgoText a natural solution for making technical manuals and other forms of instruction easier to read and for any contained safety information to stand out. As with he labels, ErgoText also makes it easy to differentiate between types of content. In this case, the key divisions are general information (the bulk of text), actual instruction steps, and precautionary information, which can include safety issues as well as cautions which relate to quality assurance.  

  

In this case, the power of ErgoText for general reading comes into play as the full arcuate version becomes the best choice for the general text, which makes it easier to grasp and to remember the main body of material. The half arcuate lines are used for cautions and safety warnings, one using downward and one using upward slants. Ordinary straight line text remains in play for the actual steps in the traditional list-like construct. Four different kinds of information, four distinctly different visual cues to more quickly find them.

Again note that ErgoText has conserved space which allowed adding a safety warning icon), and additionally made room for 3 more lines of text from the next page. A manual prepared in this way would take fewer pages and thus cost less while still being easier to read with improved safety. That is the green technology aspect of ErgoText in action.

But the important question is this: which of the above manual pages would you rather quickly double-check for a safety precaution, or a critical bit of technical information?