The Water Fountain Problem
Project-Based Learning: The Design Thinking Process
Introduction
Over the course of 8 months, our group of four (Kalo Kellow, Jairo Baguio-Larena, Janessa Baguio-Larena, and Adrian Burke) used Project-Based Learning (PBL) and the design thinking process to find a problem around our campus and find potential solutions.
Empathy Stage: Empathy means understanding the feelings of another. So in the first of the process, someone must gather information and make observations to gain perspective on their subject matter.
Ideation Stage: The Ideate Stage begins the process of brainstorming ways to solve the problem. These ideas don´t have to be concrete, but multiple views can build upon one another to create the final product.
Prototype Stage: This stage combines all the tangible ideas from the ideate stage and puts them together into a visual representation.
Reflection: The Design Thinking Process is an infinite cycle. There is always room for the product to improve, so reflection is essential for creating a solution that reaches its highest potential.
The Design Thinking Process
Defining the Problem:
After going through the design-thinking process multiple times, our team ultimately concluded that the water fountains at school are not high quality enough that the students are comfortable drinking from them.
To fully grasp the severity of our problem, the research team observed and inspected every fountain on campus to find common deficiencies in each one. The group later looked into the questions and topics that arose from these observations to come to our solution. This process of observing and questioning to define the problem thoroughly is the Empathy Stage of the Design Think Process.
And with the Empathy Stage, we came to these observations that ultimately defined our problem:
- Water access is poorly distributed across the school
- Water is tainted in many places
- Water fountains are designed for the wrong purpose
- Water fountains can catalyze disease transmission
Empathy Stage
The Empathy Stage is the most significant part of the design process because it sets up the context of our project and allows our team to be informed and gain perspective on each aspect of our problem. So to make the Empathy Stage more manageable, we split it into two parts: Inquiry and Research.
As part of our inquiries, our group sent out a survey to gain perspective from our target audience: HP Baldwin High School students. The survey allowed us to gauge how the students felt—ranging from the cleanliness of the fountains to if the fountains fulfilled the purposes needed by the students.
Data from the student-based survey:
One question included in our survey was about the cleanliness of the water fountains, which was graded on a scale from poor to excellent. Most students rated the cleanliness of the fountains as poor or, at the most, mediocre.
They similarly rated our fountains' efficiency or ease of use as mediocre quality.
Due to the cleanliness and efficiency of the water fountains lacking in quality, it is no surprise that most students refuse to use the water fountains.
But for students who did utilize the fountains at school, we asked them about the purposes of the fountains to see if they fulfilled what the students needed from them. According to our survey, about half of the student body uses the fountains to fill water bottles. However, when looking around campus, only one out of the sixteen water fountains at our school had an adequate feature to fill up bottles comfortably. Additionally, the later studies on the contaminants in our water systems made it harder for students to drink safely.
Because the fountains were not adequate in fulfilling their purpose for the students, our team asked if the Baldwin High School needed new fountains with updated features. About 78 percent of students believed it was necessary to implement new fountains of higher quality than what we currently have.
Since the students believed in implementing new fountains, our group needed to find characteristics that the students wanted to feature in the new fountains. The current fountains do not provide cold water, so we asked about the importance of refrigeration in water fountains. As a result, most students thought that refrigeration and cold water were essential additions to water fountains.
Additionally, with the fountains' cleanliness in mind, we also asked about the implementation of filtration in our fountains. If the students approve of filtration, it's another step towards improving the cleanliness of the fountains. Most students thought it was essential that filtration gets integrated into the water fountains at school.
Research and Water Testing:
After our inquiries and the student-based survey, our research turned towards testing the cleanliness and safety of our water. We used the Varify Water Test Kit and its color swatches to test if our school has contaminants in the water. Each color represents an element or mineral that could be present in our water and the levels safe to drink.
Each color indicated the levels (ppm) of each mineral. The graphic above gives a numerical value to the level each color represents. The green line underneath some colors means that these elements are safe to drink if they do not exceed a certain level. For example, in the table, there is a green line underneath the lead levels ranging from 0-0.015. If a water system contains any lead levels below 0.015, then it is safe to drink, but if the lead levels exceed that number, then it is not.
This graph shows the water test results from Baldwin's fountains. Situated on the x-axis are the properties of water, meaning that each column of data is the elements/minerals that showed up in the water of every fountain at school. Furthermore, each color represents the levels or how much of a compound is present in the water. Then the y-axis showcases the number of fountains that contain each property.
Since lead is historically a significant issue plaguing Hawaii's school's water system, our group mainly honed in on the levels of elements that could be potentially dangerous to our bodies. As a result, 15 out of the 16 water fountains at school showed harmful amounts of lead in their water.
The table above the graph shows the lead levels safe for drinking. In the graph below, it can be seen that only one fountain at Baldwin has been in that safe range for drinking.
Because of these results we also based our research heavily around the topic of lead.
Lead and General Research
Lead Health Risks -High amounts of lead can lead to a higher chance of contracting cancer, stroke, and kidney disease. -Children are more at risk because they can absorb lead more easily How Does Contaminate Water -The use of lead in plumbing systems was popularly used in the twentieth century until laws restricted its use. -Water dissolves lead from soldering and lead pipes in plumbing systems through corrosion -Corrosion and lead amounts are directly proportional. So the more lead is dissolved from the pipes, the higher the lead levels are. -Water’s corrosivity is attributed to the water’s hardness and pH. Generally, water with a pH of less than 6 is more corrosive than water with a high pH. -Baldwin High School installed a plumbing and pipe system during the twentieth century when lead plumbing was still legal. Additionally, Baldwin’s water has a pH of less than 6, making it more corrosive and more susceptible to higher lead levels.
General Research -Aside from lead, our research also focused on the importance of water fountains -Water fountains provide a cheaper, eco-friendly water alternative to hydro flasks, which can drive up to 30 to 60 dollars. Some families can not afford to buy reusable bottles, which leaves some students without water, leading to dehydration, especially in Hawaii's not weather. -Additionally, water fountains provide a way for athletes to refill their water. So fountains are essential to the reopening of high school sports.
ArcGIS Map
Pinpointing Water Fountain Locations
One of the central defining aspects of our problem was the location of each fountain. The map to the right visualizes how clustered, and inefficient fountain locations are at school.
Most fountains, symbolized by the circles, are condensed into D and B buildings on the map. Places where you would expect students to hang out and use said fountains, but this is not the case. The two most used fountains are in the cafeteria and resources center due to their water being generally colder than other fountains at school.
Additionally highlighted on the map are the results of the water and lead tests our STEM group took of each fountain. As the circle’s color darkens, the higher the lead levels are. On top of this, we found that porcelain fountains had higher lead levels than metal ones.
(The map needs to be expanded to see the full extent of our results.)
Design-Thinking Process
Ideation Stage and Prototyping
Ideation Stage
After multiple brainstorming sessions we decided on the folowing solutions:
The next stage after the Empathy stage is Ideation. In this stage, we brainstormed various potential solutions to the problems presented. Every member of our team presented their ideas and gave their thoughts on other's possible solutions until we all agreed on what we wanted to integrate into our final design. This brainstorming process is called the Ideate Stage.
- Foot pedal instead of button to reduce disease transmission.
- Seprate spouts for people and water bottles (for both ease of use and reduced disease transmission)
- Purification systems to reduce the impact of contaminated water.
These features were decided on primarily as a result of the reasearch and surveys conducted in the Empathy stage, however our decisions were partially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Prototype Stage
Next, we put all our ideas and compiled them into one design that would meet all of our standards through a 3D model. Our team designers, Kalo and Adrian, began to sketch the inner workings of our fountain with all the addition we agreed upon. When we were satisfied with the sketch, Kalo started to make the 3D model.
The first addition to our final product was the foot pedal located in the bottom right. Adding the food pedal would limit the students from activating the fountains with their hands and therefore be more COVID-safe.
The foot pedal would control the drinking spout for students that want to drink directly from the fountain
Additionally, another spout is located further back for filling up water bottles. This spout would be activated by a pressure plate so that when a student put their bottle down, it would provide a hands-free way of filing the bottles.
Budget
Our design innovates on other fountains and offers a compelling value by adding functionality and eliminating some costly non-essential features. While this is only an estimate of the materials cost and not installation or labor fees, we find it a considerable alternative to solve this water fountain problem.
To create a working prototype of this model, we estimate the materials would cost $636 without labor costs. However, our team believes that this price is competitive with other solutions to our fountain problem. Further refinement of our design could offer a compelling economic product.
The Next Steps
-Awareness of the issue
As for the next steps for solving this issue, our group believes we can spread awareness of this problem by using our research and presented to our peers and stakeholders.
-Concrete Solutions
Our team could also build a working product which would help inspire change for those interested in supporting this project.
-Beyond Baldwin
Then, not just thinking about our school, this project could become a complex or state-wide mission to improve the quality and quantity of water fountains in all of our schools.
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