Crib Hazard Analysis an Interactive Qualifying Project
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Crib Hazard Analysis An Interactive Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute In Partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science Sponsoring Agency: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Submitted to: On‐Site Liaisons: Mark Kumagai Tongele Tongele, Ph. D. Project Advisor: Natalie A. Mello, WPI Professor Project Co‐Advisors: Constance A. Clark, WPI Professor David DiBiasio, WPI Professor Submitted By: Andreas Gartaganis Kimberly Martilla Stacey Rauen Date: 18 December 2009 This report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Abstract Although regulations exist for cribs, they remain to be the number one juvenile product for juvenile death. Working in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we researched aspects of this problem with our focus being on crib hardware, the human aspects of crib use and the economic factors surrounding cribs. We made recommendations to the CPSC on how to improve crib safety. ii Authorship Page Abstract Team Acknowledgements Team Executive Summary Team 1 Introduction Team 2 Background 2.1 Most Common Infant Deaths Kim 2.2 What is a Crib? Stacey 2.3 Crib Safety Regulation and Standards Kim 2.4 Incidents in Cribs Andreas 2.5 The Human Element Stacey 2.6 Economic Factors Stacey 2.7 Summary Kim 3 Methodology 3.1 Identify Current Crib Safety Problems Andreas 3.2 Identify Human Interactions that Lead to Crib Incidents Kim 3.3 Economic Influences Stacey 3.4 Summary Stacey 4 Results and Analysis 4.1 Current Crib Safety Problems Andreas 4.2 Human Interaction Kim 4.3 Economic Factor Stacey 4.4 Additional Results Andreas 5 Conclusions 5.1 Crib Component Integrity Andreas 5.2 Human Interaction Kim 5.3 Manufacturing Issues Stacey 5.4 Additional Conclusions Andreas 6 Recommendations 6.1 Standards Andreas 6.2 Consumer Knowledge Kim 6.3 Manufacturing Quality Control Check Stacey 6.4 Further Research Andreas 6.5 Summary Stacey References Team Appendices Team Formatting Team Final Revision Team iii Acknowledgements We would like to thank the people and organizations who were essential in providing us assistance and guidance throughout the project. We would like to express our gratitude to our liaisons: Mark Kumagai and Dr. Tongele Tongele, and our WPI advisors: Professor Natalie A. Mello, Professor Constance A. Clark and Professor David DiBiasio. We would also like to thank the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for sponsoring this project. Additionally, we would like to thank the employees of the CPSC, especially Dr. Rana Balci‐Sinha, Shawn Cerruti, Patty Edwards, Michelle Gillice, Dr. Jonathan Midgett, Dr. Suad Wanna‐Nakamura and Keysha Watson, as well as the Directorate of Engineering Sciences and the Directorate of Human Factors. We would like to give special thanks to several manufacturers and organizations that were able to give us information about current crib hazards and safety tips. In addition, a special thanks to the parents who took the time to complete our survey. Finally, we would like to express our appreciation to the Directorate of Health Sciences for allowing us to use their work space for the duration of our project. iv Table of Contents Title Page i Abstract ii Authorship Page iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents v List of Figures xi List of Tables xiii Executive Summary xiv 1 Introduction 2 2 Background 4 2.1 Most Common Infant Deaths 4 2.1.1 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) 6 2.1.2 Unintentional Injuries 7 2.2 What is a Crib? 8 2.2.1 Types of Infant Beds 8 2.2.2 Manufacturing Process 13 2.2.3 Outsourcing 14 2.3 Crib Safety Regulation and Standards 15 2.3.1 History of CPSC Crib Regulations 15 2.3.2 CPSC Crib Regulations 16 2.3.3 ASTM Standards and Testing for Cribs 17 MA2.3.4 JP Certification 17 v 2.3.5 Regulations and Testing Outside of the United States 18 2.3.6 Current Argument over Drop‐Sides 21 2.4 Incidents in Cribs 23 2.4.1 Consumer Misuse 23 2.4.2 Mattresses/Bedding Material 24 2.4.3 Poor Engineering 24 2.4.4 Poor Manufacturing Process 25 2.5 The Human Element 25 e2.5.1 Th Human Factor 26 2.5.2 Instructions 26 2.5.3 Human Interaction 27 2.5.4 Recall Compliance 28 2.5.5 Children’s Age and Health Related to Behavior in Cribs 29 2.6 Economic Factors 29 2.6.1 Cost of a Crib 29 2.6.2 Economically Disadvantaged Consumers 30 2.7 Summary 31 3 Methodology 32 3.1 Identify Current Crib Safety Problems 32 3.1.1 In‐Depth Incident Reports (IDIs) 32 3.1.2 Observations 33 3.1.3 Interviewing Crib Experts 33 3.1.3.1 Crib Manufacturers 34 3.1.3.2 CPSC Experts 34 vi 3.2 Identify Human Interactions that Lead to Crib Incidents 34 3.2.1 Identify Foreseeable Misuse thru IDI’s 35 3.2.2 Parent Interaction 35 3.2.3 Human Factors Experts 36 3.2.3.1 Developmental Psychologists 36 3.2.3.2 Human Factors Engineer 36 3.2.4 Cribs in Advertisements 37 3.2.5 Current Crib Safety Tips 37 3.3 Economic Influences 37 3.3.1 Organizations to Help Economically Disadvantaged 37 3.3.2 Parent’s Outlook 38 3.3.3 Crib Prices 38 3.4 Summary 38 4 Results and Analysis 39 4.1 Current Crib Safety Problems 39 4.1.1 What We Found In IDIs 39 4.1.2 Experimenting with Cribs 40 4.2 Human Interaction 42 4.2.1 Parent or Adult Interaction 42 4.2.1.1 Instructions and Assembly 42 4.2.1.2 Foreseeable Misuse 43 4.2.1.3 Additional Sleep Environments 46 4.2.1.4 Parent’s Crib Safety Knowledge 47 4.2.1.5 Second‐Hand Cribs Seen from Parents Surveys 47 vii 4.2.1.6 Crib Advertisements 48 4.2.2 Children within the Crib 50 c4.2.3 Publi Crib Education 50 4.3 Economic Factor 54 4.3.1 Observations of Material Quality 54 4.3.2 Crib Cost by Manufacturers versus Reported Crib Incidences 54 4.3.3 Crib Companies Manufacturing Country versus Crib Incidences 57 4.4 Additional Results 58 4.4.1 Virginia Tech Instrumented Crib Project 58 4.4.2 IDIs 58 5 Conclusions 61 5.1 Crib Component Integrity 61 5.1.1 Mattress Support System 61 5.1.2 Slats 61 5.1.3 Latch 62 5.1.4 Rail 62 5.1.5 Track 63 5.1.6 Connections 63 5.2 Human Interaction 63 5.2.1 Instructions, Warning Labels and Safety Knowledge 63 5.2.1.1 Instructions and Warning Labels 64 5.2.1.2 Crib Safety Awareness and Education 64 5.2.2 Second‐Hand Cribs 65 5.2.3 Cribs Portrayed on Display and in Ads 65 viii 5.3 Manufacturing Issues 66 5.3.1 Material Quality Check 66 5.3.2 Outsourcing 67 5.4 Additional Conclusions 67 5.4.1 Virginia Tech Instrumented Crib Project 67 5.4.2 IDIs 67 6 Recommendations 68 6.1 Standards 68 6.1.1 Mattress Support System 68 6.1.2 Slats 68 6.1.3 Latch 69 6.1.4 Rail 69 6.1.5 Track 69 6.1.6 Connection Tests 69 6.2 Consumer Knowledge 70 6.2.1 Instructions and Warning Labels 70 6.2.1.1 Single Way Constructed Crib 71 6.2.2 Crib Safety Awareness and Education 72 6.2.2.1 Second‐Hand Cribs 73 6.2.3 Marketing Cribs 73 6.3 Manufacturing Quality Control Check 74 6.3.1 Crib Manufacturing 74 6.3.1.1 Further Interviewing Crib Manufacturers 75 6.3.1.2 Annual Quality Control Checks 75 ix 6.4 Further Research 76 6.4.1 Virginia Tech Child Behavior Project 76 6.4.2 IDI Improvements 76 6.5 Summary 77 References 79 Appendix A: Interview Protocol 84 Appendix B: Assembly Instructions 89 Appendix C: Cost Incident Table 90 Appendix D: Safety Pamphlet 91 Appendix E: IDI Spreadsheet 93 Appendix F: Virginia Tech Project 94 Appendix G: ASTM Standards 114 Appendix H: 1508‐Requirements for Full‐Size Baby Cribs 122 Appendix I: 1509‐Requirements for Non‐Full‐Size Baby Cribs 130 Appendix J: Crib Company’s Manufacturing Country with Number of Incidents per Company 139 Appendix K: IDI Investigator Job Description 183 x List of Figures Figure 1: Most Common Causes of Infant Death in 2005 (Mack et al., 2007). 5 Figure 2: Cradle (2009) Source: Baby Crib. 9 Figure 3: Bassinet. (2009) Source: Bassinet Liner. 9 Figure 4: Standard Crib (2009). Source: Modified Crib Designs. 10 Figure 5: Round Crib. (2009). Source: Something New! Round Cribs. 11 Figure 6: Canopy Crib. (2009). 11 Figure 7: Convertible Crib. (2009). 12 Figure 8: Portable Crib. (2009). 13 Figure 9: Folding Side Crib (Atlantic Hospitality, 2009) 22 Figure 10: Stationary Crib (NurseryFurnitureOnline.com, 2009) 23 Figure 11: Incidents in IDIs 40 Figure 12: Sample Crib Instructions, Warning Page 44 Figure 13: Distribution of Foreseeable Misuse in IDIs 45 Figure 14: Crib Warnings Continued 45 Figure 15: Distribution of Infant Sleeping Environments 46 Figure 16: Distribution of Parents' Crib Safety Knowledge 47 xi Figure 17: Example 1 of Misuse in an Advertisement (Wal‐Mart Inc., 2009) 49 Figure 18: Example 2 of Misuse in an Advertisement (Targetfacef.com, 2009) 49 Figure 19: Figure from Keeping Babies Safe website 52 Figure 20: Comparison of Brand Prices to Number of Report Incidents 55 Figure 21: Price categories of Crib cost versus Incidents 56 Figure 22: Hardware for Single Way Constructed Crib 72 Figure 23: IKEA Gulliver Crib (IKEA, 2009) 74 xii List of Tables Table 1: Public Education by Companies and Organizations 53 xiii Executive Summary When healthy infants die unexpectedly, parents wonder what they might have done to prevent this tragedy.