Sound Quality Target Development Process for Agricultural and Construction Machinery

Sound quality has become an important factor in determining customer perception of overall vehicle quality and value in the automotive industry [1]. Recently, in the agricultural and construction machinery industry, the concept of sound quality has gained merit as a possible vehicle for delivering quieter products to customers [2]. This paper studies the application of sound quality methodology for agricultural and construction machinery. Accordingly, the state of agricultural and construction machinery sound quality in the market place is evaluated and sound quality metrics that correlate well with the customers' subjective preferences are identified. The relevance of the chosen sound quality metrics is established by combining the results of the listening-jury evaluation and the requirements for product noise control as driven by competition and regulations. The process of cascading the overall product sound quality targets to the subsystem targets to facilitate sound quality improvements through necessary design changes is also addressed.