Browse Topic: Ergonomics
ERRATUM
This Information Report relates to a special class of automotive adaptive equipment which consists of modifications to the power brake booster systems provided as original equipment of motor vehicles. These modifications are generically called "Reduced Effort Power Brakes" (REPB) The purpose of the modification is to lower the amount of driver effort required to apply the brakes. Retention of reliability, ease of use and maintainability for disabled drivers, passengers, and the general public is of primary concern. Reduced Effort Power Brake modifications should be qualified by the tests referenced in the Recommended Test Procedure. The tests set forth in that procedure should be applied, and failure of a Reduced Effort Power Brake modification to meet those tests should disqualify the modification from the claim of meeting the specifications of this Information Report. Because this is an Information Report, the numerical values for performance measurements presented in this report and in the accompanying Test Procedure, while based upon the best knowledge available at the time, have not been validated by a testing of the Test Procedure.
Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
One of agricultural tractors most important aspects is operator comfort. In addition to working long hours, tractor operators may be at risk for health problems due to vibrations and mechanical shocks. The tactile vibrations of a tractor are a major consideration when choosing one for agricultural use. This project's mandate includes a study of tractor vibration control problems. It is essential to investigate the governing system in order to determine the cause of the problem. Evaluating the vibrations transmitted via the tractor and using the design of experiments (DOE) approach to lessen vibrations on particular tactile regions were the study's goals. There are several measures currently under investigation which can be used to reduce the vibrations caused by resonance in this paper, these include reducing the natural frequency so as to be able to avoid resonance with the second order engine frequency and the damping coefficient; this will ensure the amplitude of vibration at resonance becomes minimal. The tactile testing is done on the specific tactile places. The findings give an insight into the ways of reducing operator fatigue and improving the tractor ergonomics.
In vehicle development, occupant-centered design is crucial to ensuring customer satisfaction. Key factors such as visibility, access, interior roominess, driver ergonomics, interior storage and trunk space directly impact the daily experience of vehicle occupants. While automakers rely on engineering metrics to guide architectural decisions, however in some cases doesn’t exist a clear correlation between these quantitative parameters and the subjective satisfaction of end users. This study develops a methodology which addresses that gap by proposing the creation of quantitative satisfaction curves for critical engineering metrics, providing a robust tool to support decision-making during the early stages of vehicle design. Through a combination of clinics, research, and statistical analysis, this project outlines a step-by-step process for developing (dis)satisfaction curves, offering a clearer understanding of how dimensions like headroom, glove box volume, and A-pillar obscuration influence occupant perception. This project highlights the importance of aligning engineering targets with human-centered insights, enabling the delivery of more comfortable, user-focused vehicles. Ultimately, this research contributes to the development of a systematic approach for integrating subjective feedback into objective design criteria, enhancing overall product quality and customer satisfaction.
Occupant comfort is a fundamental consideration during the early stages of vehicle development, with internal spaciousness serving as a key pillar in creating a pleasant in-cabin experience. Among the various factors that contribute to this perception, legroom plays a particularly significant role, especially for rear-seat passengers. This study investigates the relationship between second-row legroom and occupant satisfaction under real-world driving conditions, employing a combination of research, statistical data analysis, and dynamic clinics to assess perceptual comfort. The findings reveal that shin and leg heights are the primary drivers of satisfaction or discomfort, while gender and overall height exhibit only minor influences on perceived comfort. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of other interior dimensions, such as shoulder room, knee clearance, and chair height, in shaping overall comfort since if they were poorly chosen, they would have affected clinic results. The results underscore the need for meticulous ergonomic design and continuous evaluation of vehicle dimensions to meet evolving consumer expectations. Ultimately, this research reinforces the value of occupant-centric design approaches in enhancing comfort and ensuring competitiveness within the automotive industry.
In today’s medical equipment market, reliability is not a luxury — it is a necessity. Every adjustment, every movement, and every interaction with the equipment must be performed flawlessly to ensure patient safety, caregiver efficiency, and long-term service life. Behind this design and precision are highly engineered motion control components, such as gas springs, electric linear actuators, and dampers, that ensure safe, ergonomic operation of medical equipment across a wide range of healthcare applications.
Accurate defect quantification is crucial for ensuring the serviceability of aircraft engine parts. Traditional inspection methods, such as profile projectors and replicating compounds, suffer from inconsistencies, operator dependency, and ergonomic challenges. To address these limitations, the 4D InSpec® handheld 3D scanner was introduced as an advanced solution for defect measurement and analysis. This article evaluates the effectiveness of the 4D InSpec scanner through multiple statistical methods, including Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (Gage R&R), Isoplot®, Youden plots, and Bland–Altman plots. A new concept of Probability of accurate Measurement (PoaM)© was introduced to capture the accuracy of the defect quantification based on their size. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in measurement variability, with Gage R&R improving from 39.9% (profile projector) to 8.5% (3D scanner), thus meeting the AS13100 Aerospace Quality Standard. Additionally, the 4D InSpec scanner improved detection accuracy, provided automated defect quantification, and eliminated the need for time-consuming replication processes. Beyond performance improvements, the adoption of the 4D InSpec scanner led to a 75% reduction in direct labor time, significant cost savings, and the elimination of ergonomic risks and human error associated with traditional inspection methods, and enhanced defect reporting and data collection. The article closes with implementation requirements and areas for future improvement.
Advanced motion control technologies are essential to modern aerospace design, supporting a wide range of safety-critical and comfort-driven applications. In aerospace, motion control components such as gas springs, actuators, and dampers are integral to nearly every commercial aircraft, rocket, satellite, and space vehicle. These critical elements support flight safety and transport functions, from the dependable deployment of landing gear and cargo doors to the smooth, ergonomic operation of seating for pilots and passengers.
Mesekon Oy, a Finnish welding manufacturer that produces complex welded steel structures for the marine, energy, and paper industries, needed a flexible and collaborative solution to improve efficiency, reduce defects, and enhance workplace ergonomics by automating repetitive and physically demanding welding operations.
This research aimed to explore the integration of Virtual reality technology in ergonomically testing automotive interior designs. This objective was aimed at ensuring that such technology could be used to ameliorate user comfort through controlled simulations. Existing ergonomic testing methods are often limited when it comes to recreating actual driving situations and quickly repeating design improvements. VR could be used as a solution because its ergonomically tested simulation can be used to provide users with the real experience of driving. The users can be observed while they experience it and asked for their feedback. For this research, an interactive VR environment imitating a 10-minute-long trip through traffic and changing road conditions was created. It was populated by ten users, concatenated equally in men and women, both aged 20-35, representing approximate demographics of workers in the automotive production industry. Participants of the research were asked to use assessed metrics, which included subjective comfort rating, control reachability, visibility rating and overall user experience within the VR simulation. The VR environment was overall well-received by the demands of this research. Its uses found it comfortable and easy to use, with average metrics of 7.5, 8.0, and 7.5, respectively for comfort, controls, and visibility. The overall user experience averaged at 7.8. The information obtained through this research proves that VR environments can be used effectively to simulate the interior of cars and ameliorate the ergonomics of their designs. This could potentially be a revolutionary technology, accelerating automotive development by the early detection of design mistakes and facilitating iterative improvements with subsequent iterations.
Airworthiness Considerations for Human Engineering in Acquisition.
Occupant packaging is one of the key tasks involved in the early architectural phase of a vehicle. Accommodation, as a convention, is generally considered related to a car’s interior. Typical roominess metrics of the occupant like hip room, shoulder room, and elbow room are defined with the door in its closed condition. Several other roominess metrics like knee room, leg room, head room, and the like are also specified. While all the guidelines are defined with doors in their closed condition, it is also important to consider the dynamics that exist while the occupant is entering the vehicle. This article expands the traditional understanding of occupant accommodation beyond conventionally considering the vehicle interior’s ability to accommodate anthropometry. It broadens the scope to include dynamic conditions, such as when doors are opened, providing a more realistic and practical perspective. As a luxury car manufacturer, it is important to ensure the best overall customer experience at each touch point of the vehicle. When the customer enters the vehicle, there should be sufficient space provided by the door opening angle for a comfortable entry. The larger the opening angle, the better is the “entry accommodation” and vice versa. However, a wide-open door also necessitates the customer to bend more, after being seated, to reach its handle and close it. Thus, it becomes a compromise between what is possible as accommodation while the customer is entering the vehicle and how easy it is to close the door after being seated. The same logic holds good while the customer opens the door and exits the vehicle. This article aims to develop a customer loss function (CLF) between the two conflicting criteria by considering relevant anthropometric distribution of customers. This study focuses on driver compartment and the methodology developed is also pertinent to rear compartment with minor adaptations. Since driver’s seating position is heavily dependent on anthropometry, finer details of occupant seating position are also considered in this study. CLF developed in this article will help the designer and packaging engineers in making informed decisions on the door opening angle, by being conscious of the customer loss/gain for defined performance metrics.
Ergonomics plays an important role in automobile design to achieve optimal compatibility between occupants and vehicle components. The overall goal is to ensure that the vehicle design accommodates the target customer group, who come in varied sizes, preferences and tastes. Headroom is one such metric that not only influences accommodation rate but also conveys a visual perception on how spacious the vehicle is. An adequate headroom is necessary for a good seating comfort and a relaxed driving experience. Headroom is intensely discussed in magazine tests and one of the key deciding factors in purchasing a car. SAE J1100 defines a set of measurements and standard procedures for motor vehicle dimensions. H61, W27, W35, H35 and W38 are some of the standard dimensions that relate to headroom and head clearances. While developing the vehicle architecture in the early design phase, it is customary to specify targets for various ergonomic attributes and arrive at the above-mentioned dimensions. In general, specifications that relate to headroom are only a consequence of static assessments carried out inside a laboratory and not on real-time driving condition. The static assessment can be as simple as positioning a digital manikin in CAD environment and then specifying how high or low the interior trim of the headliner be to achieve a certain head clearance. In actual driving scenario, the vehicle would experience rough terrain. In such cases, the road undulations can displace the occupant from their normal seated position in effect reducing the head clearance. Therefore, it is important to understand this dynamic variance of head clearance on actual driving condition. Undertaking a volunteer test to study this variance comes with risk of endangering the participant and has other measurement related complexities. Hence, we adopt a simulation-based approach for the same using Human Body Models (HBMs) of different anthropometry, which are proven having high bio-fidelity. The aim of this study is to validate this hypothesis and develop a head envelope for drivers considering dynamic road conditions, thus enabling vehicle manufactures digitally evaluate head clearance during early development phase. A typical driving scenario with various vehicle speeds on different stochastic roads and braking conditions are simulated using MBS vehicle models and the acceleration signatures from the simulations are used to estimate the vertical lift of driver over the seat. The resulting displaced posture is compared with the normal driving posture and various head clearances are analyzed. The outcome of this work will help in validating and (or) updating the static head envelope and use it for specifying the headroom target for driver in the early phase of the vehicle design.
Designing an automotive seat, it is required to perform a detailed study of anthropometry, which deals with measurement of human individuals and understanding human physical variations. It also requires application-based movement study of driver’s hands, feet’s & overall body movement. It is very difficult to design seat curvatures based on any static manikin-based software. We at VECV, have developed a new concept using mixed reality VR technology to capture all body movements for designing best in class seat curvature to accommodate variety of drivers with different body types. We have designed a specialized static bunk, which has a wide range of seat, steering and ABC paddle adjustments, which are integrated with virtual data. We use to study and capture the data of driving position and other ergonomic postures of wide range of people with different body types on this static bunk according to their comfortable driving posture. In this comfortable driving posture, user is immersed in virtual environment, where we further study different body movements as per different applications. This data is used to design seat curvatures to achieve best driving comfort for long range driving. POC of concept design is completed.
Efficient transportation for carrying heavy loads is a common challenge across various applications, from supermarkets to industrial purposes. Conventional trolleys often fall short when loaded with heavy cargo, resulting in increased exertion and diminished productivity. Moreover, these challenges can adversely affect posture and lumbar spine health, especially for elder people and persons with cervical problems. There is a need for more user-friendly, ergonomic, and space-efficient solutions. This project addresses these challenges through an innovative design that encompasses various aspects of trolley functionality, including the study of comfort, wheel selection, and material considerations, drawing from ergonomic research. Multiple methods are employed to optimize the trolley’s dimensions to improve its overall performance. The trolley’s design features a collapsible basket for the transport of smaller-sized items and a base frame for larger goods and luggage. The project underscores the trolley’s potential to reduce musculoskeletal discomfort and reduce fatigue among users, showcasing the positive impact of ergonomic interventions. This adaptable folding cart represents a promising solution for the efficient and comfortable transportation of heavy loads, benefiting a diverse range of users in various applications.
Sometimes an innovation comes along that changes the manufacturing landscape. Pro Spot International has created a unique Cobot Spot Welding solution. By bringing this new tool to the sheet metal fabrication market, the company aims to bring game-changing gains in productivity, reliability, traceability, and ergonomic safety to the manufacturing world.
In industry, and more particularly in the aviation maintenance industry, Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) is increasingly considered by maintainability stakeholders in the aircraft development process. However, most of the stakeholders are not specialized in HFE, therefore the compromise between HFE and design criteria is not optimized. This paper introduces a methodology proposal to enhance integration of HFE in aviation maintenance by maintainability stakeholders without HFE skills and knowledge. This methodology, called PEAM (Preliminary Ergonomics Analysis in Maintainability) will not replace the HFE specialist but will help all maintainability stakeholders to anticipate the maintenance operator's activity in the preliminary phases of aircraft design. This paper will also introduce the first results regarding PEAM deployment efficiency.
The SAE J1100 based standard cargo volume index methods and predefined luggage objects are very specific to United States population. The European luggage volume calculation and standard luggage calculations are primarily based on DIN and ISO standards. Luggage volume declaration by manufacturers are based on any of these methods. The calculations are complicated and there is a possibility of declaring different values for similar luggage compartments. The major purchase decision of vehicle is based on its luggage capacity and current methods are very limited to make an intelligent decision by a customer. Market specific customer usage patterns for luggage requirements and protecting them in vehicle architecture upfront in concept stage is important to retain the market position and buying preference of customers. The usage patterns is collected from customer clinics and marketing inputs. These patterns are used to build virtual luggage models representing the actual luggage at different scenarios like Travel to airport, Casual drive etc. These blocks are stacked up in the proposed luggage area to identify the packaging and Ergonomics issues and suitable design corrective action is taken to ensure the actual luggage accommodation is protected inside the vehicle at concept phase. During concept stage, the initial luggage volume is decided based on the vehicle segment. Then the different user scenario is built and virtual luggage models representing the actual condition are evaluated in the initial luggage volume area. The modification is done as per the evaluation results and the luggage compartment dimensions are finalized in vehicle architecture. This paper describes the virtual ergonomic methodology developed based on actual luggage space requirements depending on the target population usage pattern and protecting the design space for luggage area in the concept phase of the vehicle design.
ABSTRACT
Anthropometric data are crucial to vehicle ergonomics and safety design. The Chinese population has smaller body size than that of the Western population, while the current crash dummies were developed based on statures of the Western population. To provide effective crash protection for Chinese occupants and pedestrians, Chinese anthropometric data are needed. In the present study, three available Chinese anthropometric databases were surveyed and compared, and it was found that none of them can give reliable and complete anthropometric data. Thus, a mapping method was developed based on correlation and regression analysis to rebuild a reasonable and completed Chinese anthropometric database. Furthermore, the differences between Chinese body size and that of the current dummies were discussed and an example was given to demonstrate the influences of body size on injuries.
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