Three students from the Department of Industrial Engineering (DTI) Faculty of Engineering (FT) Universitas Indonesia (UI) created Lenka, an ergonomic pempek printing tool. Tri Inayah Bagus Setyawati, Hasna Hamida Nurkamila, and Muhammad Azzamulhaq (2021) created the Lenka design to help increase productivity, provide profits, and increase the competitiveness of pempek MSMEs in Indonesia.
In the midst of the growth of MSMEs which increasingly encourage labor productivity, ergonomic and efficient work equipment conditions are crucial. In Indonesia, pempek MSMEs still face challenges in terms of production effectiveness. MSMEs in this sector still depend on manual methods which result in worker fatigue and an unergonomic work environment. In response, Azzam and his members of the Impulse Team designed Lenka as a work aid for pempek MSMEs.
Lenka is designed to be easy to use without requiring special skills and pays attention to ergonomic factors for production efficiency. This tool can be used to print three types of pempek: lenjer, curly, and adaan. This tool is equipped with different molded tips that can be adjusted according to needs. The mold for pempek lenjer has a circle shape with a diameter of 3 cm, for pempek adaan there is a circle shape with a diameter of 2.3 cm equipped with a funnel, and for curly pempek, it has the shape of small circles with a diameter of 5 mm.
“The way this tool works is very easy; users can use Lenka by inserting the pempek dough that is ready to be molded through the hopper. The dough will then enter the cutting tube vertically. The pempek molding process is carried out by turning a lever to push the dough out through the pempek mold according to the desired type. The dough will come out of the mold by moving the cutting blade lever, the lenjer and curly pempek can be cut with a cutter to the desired size or can be spooned through the funnel above to form pempek adaan,” said Azzam.
Lenka’s superior features include an extender feature that can be adjusted to the user’s height, an ergonomic handle feature that uses rubber material to reduce the effort required by the user, as well as three types of molds that can be adjusted to the pempek‘s needs.
”Apart from functional aspects, we also pay attention to health, safety, and environmental aspects in designing Lenka. The team uses food grade stainless steel raw materials which are safe, anti-corrosion, and heat resistant, as well as rubber material which is safe for users. The design of this tool is also adapted to the body size of Indonesian people to ensure user safety and comfort. The basic materials and other materials for making this tool are also adjusted to the ergonomic aspects of the environment,” said Tri Inayah.
Dean of FTUI, Prof. Dr. Heri Hermansyah, S.T., M.Eng., IPU said, “Lenka’s innovation is not just a pempek printing tool, but also a smart solution that will have a significant impact on pempek MSMEs in Indonesia. With its ergonomic advantages, Lenka will increase pempek production efficiency, reduce worker fatigue, and create a safer and more comfortable work environment.
Thanks to Lenka’s design, the Impulse Team succeeded in becoming 1st Place in the 2023 Industrial Design and Seminar Competition (INDISCO) organized by the Diponegoro University Industrial Engineering Student Association. In the competition announced last Monday (30/10), the Impulse team was able to beat 21 student teams from various universities in Indonesia.
Author: FTUI Public Relations / editor: Finda Salsabila
