Dust Away

From dust to glory. Discover how design saved the day - and water - at this steel plant.

Industrial SaaS Solution

Recognized Innovation

Sustainability Win

Role

UX/UI Designer

Tools

Adobe XD

Responsibilities

Research, Ideation, Testing, Wireframes, Hi-Fi Designs

Uncovering the Challenge

Our client’s steel plant was on the brink of shutdown and facing environmental penalties due to dangerously high dust levels from daily operations. Dust clouds impaired visibility, endangered worker health, and disrupted nearby communities—an urgent, innovative solution was needed.

Lost in the Dust, our Users…

To mitigate dust, three water trucks were operated continuously across the site. These trucks were driven by site workers under the guidance of supervisors, who identified critical areas each day and directed drivers where to focus their efforts.

Therefore, we had two key user groups: water truck operators and supervisors.

Therefore, we had two key user groups:

Water Truck Operators

Goals

Ensure dust levels are consistently managed throughout their shift, allowing for a steady work pace.

Frustrations

Not knowing if certain areas need additional watering.

Reaching a location only to find that the tank is not fully filled.

…and Supervisors

Goals

Ensure efficient water truck operations to maintain optimal dust control and reduce disruptions to production.

Frustrations

Experiencing delays between dust alerts and operator response.

Operators sometimes don’t answer radio calls promptly.

Receiving frequent notifications about overspilling at water towers.

Our Mission

Foster Seamless Cooperation
Ensure Consistent Dust Control
Improve Operational Efficiency

Filling up the Tanks

Based on our user insights and requirements, we ideated a cross-platform solution featuring a tablet app for water truck operators and a web portal for supervisors managing logistics from their office.

The Tablet

Initial prototypes showcased designated watering zones and enabled users to start and complete watering jobs. This generated a dynamic timeline of watered areas, informing the priority order for subsequent tasks.

The Desktop

The initial web dashboard provided supervisors with real-time visibility into truck operations, allowing them to set zone priorities and plan proactively with a built-in weather widget for forecasting watering needs.

Steering Through Puddles

The following rollouts of the app saw the inclusion of sensors to automate the whole process and skip the need of users logging in their watering activities which were proving to be cumbersome.

But upon visiting the site to observe users in action, we realized that our attempt at full automation ran into the reality of Tesler’s Law—we discovered that eliminating every nuance of complexity wasn’t just unrealistic, it actually hindered the system’s effectiveness. We needed to reintroduce some manual controls to strike the right balance.

The Improvements:

Automation and manual input balance: Operators now choose zones, updating a live status board to reduce random watering and ensure full coverage.

Consideration of pass-through watering: As workers water high-traffic areas on the go, unscheduled tasks are logged separately, while original tasks remain active.

Map visible on screen: As users were constantly consulting a printed map they kept in the cab, we took the chance to free up the UI of unnecessary information and show the map directly on the dashboard screen.

"Refill Water Tank" button: Direct control of the water tower valve minimizes spills and safety risks, streamlining the process.

To address these issues, we redesigned the app to allow users to select a zone to water, which reserves that zone and displays its status to colleagues. If users water other areas while driving to the selected zone, those actions are logged as unscheduled jobs, while the original task remains on standby. Once the operator reaches the selected zone, the job screen automatically opens to guide them.

We also upgraded the dashboard by integrating tablet data and dynamic water usage infographics, enabling precise tracking and more efficient resource allocation.

Outcome

The solution proved to be more than beneficial for the client

Award-Winning: This transformative effort not only helped avert a potential shutdown but also garnered industry recognition for innovative design, efficiency, and environmental commitment.

80% Water Savings: The optimized water truck logistics enabled the company to reduce water usage by 80% compared to pre-app operations.

Fluent Operations & Enhanced Teamwork: Operators now manage dust mitigation effortlessly with real-time visibility eliminating unreliable radio communications and ensuring no area is overlooked.

Conclusion

While engaging with users is essential, observing them in action often reveals the unspoken cues that drive truly exceptional solutions. This project reinforced the importance of adhering to UX principles and design laws while remaining keenly observant of real-world interactions.

I am proud to have contributed to a project that not only exceeded expectations and garnered industry recognition, but also provided invaluable on-field learning and fostered a lasting partnership with the company—now eager to explore further technological innovations to enhance their operations.