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Cody Parker

Product Description:  The product consists of fusing together the every-day, high-visibility safety vest with a 2L hydration bladder and drinking tube. Modifications to the current safety vest would be minimal, as it would consist of simply stitching an extra pocket (of approximately 10" x 3.5") on the uppermost back side of the vest along with a thin foam insert to go between the hydration bladder and the worker's back to prevent heat transfer. A 2L hydration bladder can then be slipped into the pocket and filled with water accordingly. The drinking tube would not interfere with the craftsmen's movements and could simply clip to the shoulder part of the vest. This would solve problems such as productivity, contribute to Heat Illness Prevention, reduce waste on the job sites, and advance sustainability efforts.

Annotated Bibliography:

Ellis FP. (1972) Mortality from heat illness and heat-aggravated illness in the United States. Environmental Research.

A good place to start when researching heat illness is with one of the president days in U.S history when it comes to mortality from heat. The “Indian Summer” took place on the east coast mainly in New York in September of 1970. The biggest takeaway from this article is that in most heat illness cases come after the peak temperature day with a one-day lag.

Allyson S. Howe (2007) Heat-Related Illness in Athletes. The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

I was very interested to see the correlation between workers in the construction field and athletes when it came to heat illness. This article covers all symptoms of heat illness when your body is exerting energy such as you would in a game for an athlete and on a job for a construction worker.

Clowes GHA, O’Donnell TF. (1974) Heat Stroke. New England Journal of Medicine.

“Heat Stroke” suggests different forms of heat illness and what causes it in our bodies. Depending on its cause a heat stroke can be identified either as passive or exertional. The root of either form derives from the central nervous system.

Dalia A. El-Shafei, D.A., Bolbol, S.A., Awad Allah. (2018). Exertional Heat Illness: Knowledge and Behavior Among Construction Workers. Environmental and Science Pollution Research.

Dalia A. El-Shafei identifies construction workers as one of the most vulnerable health group workers. Also gives an overview of studies that were conducted on construction workers and the benefits of health and hydration education had on the studies after.

Bates, G.P., Schneider, J. Hydration status and physiological workload of UAE construction workers: A prospective longitudinal observational study. J Occup Med Toxicol. (2008).

Published article, Hydration status and physiological workload of UAE construction workers gives insight into the psychological factors that heat illness and dehydration do to someone. An investigation is running on a number of construction workers through three different 12 hour shifts.

Lisa R. Leon and Bryan G. Helwig. (2010). Heat stroke: Role of the systemic inflammatory response. Journal of Applied Psychology.

Lisa and Bryan give a descriptive article on how heat stroke attacks your nervous system and the many damages on your body it can have after recovery.

G. Bryce Thatcher. Ultimate Direction Inc. Water Pouch Backpack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,833. United States. Patent. 1994.

The invention relates to a sportsman's water pouch backpack having padded and adjustable shoulder straps and a padded and adjustable hip belt.

David Fischer. Greif Flexibles Trading Holding BV. Portable Water Backpack. US9295318B2. IN. 2012.

The carrying bag and food safe liner shows another way to carry water in a pouch that also rolls down with a built-in spout for dispensing water.

Dana W. Gleason Jesse B. Thompson. MARMOT MOUNTAIN LLC. Bladder frame backpack. US5975387A. 1997.

This water carrying backpack focuses on handless use and convenience. To fulfill this need of, hikers, bikers, skiers, snowshoers, and skaters. Others have used water bottles carried on hip belts, on bike frames, or elsewhere but this claims to be the most convenient. It uses should straps to adhere to the body and has a single bladder pouch.

Doug Kelliher Tony Roina Brad Mina. EASTERN MOUNTAIN SPORTS INC. Combination Backpack and Hydration Pack. US6422439B1. Worldwide Applications. 2001.

A combination backpack and hydration pack that has a hydration pack portion and a standard backpack portion which are detachably connected to each other. The two part can thus be used together as a hydration pack/standard backpack combination or separately as a pack just for hydration purposes.

Stephen W. Pratt. Worldwide applications. Combination Workout Backpack and Detachable Backpack Bag. US6216926B1. Worldwide Applications. 1999.

This application turns the standard workout weight vest into a combination weighted vest and also a hydration bag. It is meant to build strength and endurance while also keeping you hydrated. It also has two storage compartments each side to add weight if wanted.

Roger R. Fawcett. Pack with easy-access pocket. US5803333A. United States. 1996.

This invention relates generally to packs and, more specifically, to a pack-mounted pocket with an opening that provides a person with easy access to the contents of the pocket while the pack is on the person's back.

Vincent C. Mares. Worldwide applications. Pack frame assembly and hydration systems incorporating. US6892915B2. United States. 2003.

This invention adapts to conform in multiple dimensions to the shape of a user's back or other body portion. Which in my opinion is a great idea to keep the buyer comfortable. I would have to imagine having a large amount of water on your back can not be the most comfortable feeling. This device takes care of that problem.

Robert Choi Herbert Douglas Barley A. Forsman Jeremy Galten . Personal hydration system with component connectivity. CAMELBACK PRODUCTS Inc CamelBak Products LLC. US7073688B2. United States. 2003.

One of the more known inventions when it comes to hydration packs is the Camelbak. It’s main buyers are mostly the outdoors kind such as hikers, campers, and outdoors sports. The pack comes in many different sizes and can also carry a lot more other than water with multiple different compartments.