Capstone with Impact: TAMU-CC Team Builds Life-Saving Harness Innovation
A team of five electrical engineering majors from Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) designed and built a potentially lifesaving device as part of their senior capstone course. Kaselyn Counterman, 25, and her teammates dedicated their final two semesters to applying the knowledge and technical skills they developed throughout their undergraduate studies to create a Suspension Trauma Relief Innovation. From initial concept to final implementation, the project highlighted their ability to collaborate, problem-solve, and bring an idea to life through hands-on engineering design.
The Suspension Trauma Relief Innovation is a new and improved harness to help reduce suspension-related deaths and injuries by accelerating rescue response time.
“Typically, in the industry, if someone must work six feet or more off the ground they are required to wear a harness in case of a fall. With a traditional harness, if a worker falls, they are suspended vertically, and due to this position, blood can start to pool in the lower half of their body. If response times are too slow, this scenario could lead to unconsciousness or even organ failure,” explained Counterman.
This was the problem that Counterman and her team addressed by creating both a harness that would put a fallen worker into a safer, reclined position and an electronic alert device to inform responders that a fall had taken place.
To bring this project from ideation to reality, Counterman and her team had to implement their mathematical and technical skills including coding, programming, and 3D printing. The team heavily relied on all these skills, but the one that ended up being the most important to the success of the team was communication.
“All five of us had our own tasks that we worked on separately, so we had to be in constant communication to seamlessly integrate each part into the final project,” stated Counterman.
Counterman acted as the capstone project manager, and she, along with the guidance of their faculty advisor Dr. Hongwei Hsiao, led her team to placing second overall in the Capstone Award ceremony. The team received this award for their impressive performance, with a strong focus on design comprehension and report quality.
Through their dedication, teamwork, and commitment to solving real-world safety challenges, Counterman and her teammates demonstrated the impact engineering students can have beyond the classroom—developing solutions that have the potential to save lives.