Participatory ergonomics in design processes: the role of boundary objects

The aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of boundary objects in order to better understand the role of objects in participatory ergonomics (PE) design processes. The research question is: What characterizes boundary objects in PE processes? Based on two case studies, we identify eight characteristics of boundary objects and their use, which make them particularly useful in PE design processes. These characteristics go beyond the object itself and extend into the context of their use. We argue that the selection of boundary objects in PE processes is of great importance, since different objects enable workers’ participation and collaborative design in different ways. The framework developed may serve to provide criteria to guide practitioners and intervention researchers in the selection of objects to facilitate a PE process. The paper concludes with a list of recommendations for ergonomic practitioners that are based on the framework.     

Integrating ergonomics and engineering in the technical design process

Leyland DAF and the University of Nottingham collaborated in establishing an ergonomics team to support the truck design and development process in the company. The project was planned within the framework of a Teaching Company Scheme funded jointly by Leyland DAF and the UK government. This framework provided a training environment in which the team, which was formed of young professional ergonomists and engineers, could quickly acquire the specialist skills needed for work in the automotive industry in addition to gaining practical experience in applying ergonomics, and the programme was structured to promote the integration of ergonomics and engineering considerations within the technical design process. The experience gained in this project has shown the benefits of such an approach to implementing ergonomics in product design, and provided an insight into the ways in which ergonomists and designers can communicate more effectively in a manufacturing organization.     

Integrating ergonomics into production system development - The Volvo Powertrain case

Understanding the barriers and assists to integrating ergonomics into production system design remains a research issue. An action research case study at Volvo Powertrain/Sweden was conducted. Researchers worked collaboratively with the firm in efforts to improve the company's ability to handle ergonomics in their daily work of improving and developing production systems. Researchers observed and reflected collectively on the change process using field notes and recordings to support their observations.Observed integration barriers included both individual level issues like life events, and organisational aspects such as communication barriers between groups or assignment of tasks to people not involved in decision-making. Observed assists included the ‘political reflective navigation’ (c.f. Broberg, O., Hermund, I., 2004. The OHS consultant as a ‘political reflective navigator’ in technological change processes. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 33 (4), 315-326) by the project owner to find new ways to overcome barriers and anchor ergonomics into the organisation. While special ‘ergonomics’ groups did not survive long, progress was observed in including ergonomics in regular design groups. A cross-functional workshop that fostered discussion across organisational boundaries helped shift focus from retrofitting systems to future production systems and improve engagement of engineering teams. Progress was marked by both success and setbacks and full integration appears to require more than 2 years time. It is concluded that support by senior managers should include succession planning for personnel that are key to the change effort.     

Frontal geometry from sketches of engineering objects: is line labelling necessary?

A tool which can quickly interpret line drawings (with hidden lines removed) of engineering objects as boundary representation CAD models would be of significant benefit in the process of engineering design. Inflation of the drawing to produce a frontal geometry, a geometric realisation of that part of the object visible in the drawing, is an important stage of this process.Previous methods of producing frontal geometries have relied on the technique of line labelling (labelling edges as convex, concave or occluding). Although restricted subsets of the line-labelling problem have known solutions, reliable methods have not been found for the general line-labelling problem, and traditional methods, when adapted to drawings with non-trihedral junctions, are unacceptably slow.Many other papers assume that line labelling is an essential step. Here, we show this is not necessarily true, and that comparable results can be obtained by a novel alternative approach. Firstly, we consider what outputs from line labelling are essential to the production of frontal geometry. Secondly, we investigate by what other means these outputs can be produced.Our work indicates that the only essential output from line labelling for frontal geometry is the determination of which T-junctions in a drawing are occluding and which are non-occluding. This information is required for inflation, and also for detection of symmetry and for constructing hidden topology.Thus, we propose and analyse a new method which, in the absence of line labels, simultaneously inflates a drawing to produce the frontal geometry and attempts to determine whether each T-junction is occluding or not. For drawings of objects with holes or pockets, and for cases where line labelling is particularly unreliable, our new method can provide a better alternative.     

Cognitive processes in engineering design: a longitudinal study

Abstract

In this paper we report an empirical study of the cognitive processes of semi-expert electronics engineers pursuing real-world design projects. Extensive diary and interview data were analysed so as to reveal the organization of on-going design activity and the goals that were motivating behaviour. Our analyses indicated that subjects were implementing a highly systematic design strategy which deviated only a small amount (12%) from a top-down, depth-first procedure. Some of this deviation could be accounted for by social demands impinging on the individual designer, and whilst there was also evidence of ‘opportunistic’ deviation from a structured design approach, this did not appear to be a significant feature of our subjects' behaviour. We present a model of the design process as a set of production rules which describe an abstract ‘design schema’ for electronic engineering. This design schema embodies processes which control and co-ordinate problem-understanding and problem-structuring activity as well as the essentially top-down, depth-first pursuit of design solutions. The schema also allows for flexibility in the design process, permitting subjects to cope with contingencies arising through social influences and performance breakdowns. A further aspect of the design schema is that it encapsulates a ‘satisficing’ procedure which reflects a principle that dominated our engineers' solution-search and evaluation activity—they characteristically focused exclusively on initial, satisfactory (but usually sub-optimal) solution concepts rather than comparing alternatives with the aim of optimizing choices. We conclude our discussion by recommending facilities that we feel computer-based design aids should offer users if they are to be genuinely useful adjuncts to design activity.     

Improving engineering design- contributions of cognitive ergonomics

Engineering design is analysed in terms of design problem-solving. Engineering designers of differing productivity hardly differ in mental abilities, especially their tested intelligence. However, they differ in their strategies concerning the analysis of requirements and of the problem, in their search for general principles solving the relevant problem, and in the procedures used for developing specific solutions. Experimental and interview results stress that the interrelationship of thinking and sketching, as well as other kinds of an early low-cost prototyping are of crucial importance for the efficiency of the problem-solving procedure and the result. Possibilities for assisting design problem-solving and to improve the training of designers are discussed.     

The role of ergonomics in office-systems design

Abstract

The office is a major target for the suppliers of computer systems but it is rather more than the ‘paperwork factory’ of the advertisements. Various items of ‘new’ technology promise all manner of benefits from electronic filing to video conferencing. However, many of the components of the advanced office system are similar to the displays, keyboards, printers, black boxes and wiring of traditional computing and bring with them the same ergonomic problems for the users when they interact with the office environment. Solving these problems involves taking a systems approach to the office. A key concept is the system life cycle and in this paper eight ergonomics inputs relevant to the different stages of office-system design are identified.     

The role of ergonomics in office-systems design

The office is a major target for the suppliers of computer systems but it is rather more than the 'paperwork factory' of the advertisements. Various items of 'new' technology promise all manner of benefits from electronic filing to video conferencing. However, many of the components of the advanced office system are similar to the displays, keyboards, printers, black boxes and wiring of traditional computing and bring with them the same ergonomic problems for the users when they interact with the office environment. Solving these problems involves taking a systems approach to the office. A key concept is the system life cycle and in this paper eight ergonomics inputs relevant to the different stages of office-system design are identified.     

Supporting collaborative learning in engineering design

In team-based project courses, collaborative learning is the dominant learning mode. Collaborative learning has been shown to increase individual learning through co-construction and personal reflection. Rapid adoption of web-based communication and mobile computing by students provide opportunities to take advantage of computer-supported collaboration for engineering education. We present preliminary findings on a computer environment, the Kiva Web, that supports the activities of group collaboration for interdisciplinary engineering design teams. We have employed methods from human–computer interaction (HCI) to iterate on the design in the context of use. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of the Kiva Web and the implications for both student design teams and professional design teams.     

Curve interpolation with directional constraints for engineering design

An algorithm to interpolate data points with directional constraints is given in this paper. The interpolating B-spline curve passes through the data points and assumes tangent directions at arbitrarily selected points. The advantages of the method is that the user is free to select any number of directional constraints and the method produces full parametric continuity up to C ^{p − 1} for any degree p interpolation. The method is a generalization of Piegl and Tiller (The NURBS book, 2nd edn. Springer, New York, 1997] in two directions: (1) there is no restriction on the degree, and (2) no need to specify derivatives at all data points.     

Integrating task analysis into system design: Surveying designers' needs

The authors are presently developing tools to enable software designers to carry out task analyses (TA). The tools will support a methodology comprising techniques for carrying out task analyses and will also take account of integrating the resulting TA information into system design. To support integration and to identify the requirements for TA tools, a group of designers were surveyed. The survey identified how the designers approach design, whether the designers believe TA would be of use to them and how, why and where TA might contribute to design. Finally the designers' views of the desired characteristics of TA tools was sought. This paper outlines the results of this small, detailed survey of what designers want, need and expect from TA tools.     

关于三网融合的FTTH工程设计问题研究

近些年来随着我国经济的发展与国际地位的提高,我国对各个行业都做出了一定的改进。当今时代是一个网络发达的时代,国家的发展与进步离不开网络。网络已经涉及到生活的各个方面中。如工作、学习、娱乐购物等等。本文将对三网融合的FTTH工程设计问题进行浅要的分析,希望对相关人士有所帮助。     

Integrating a reduced-order model server into the engineering design process

Engineering design is a complex and iterative process that involves multiple engineering teams sharing and communicating information during the design process. One aspect of engineering design involves the development of physics-based models and their analysis via numerical simulations that are computationally expensive. To overcome the time constraints due to the complexity of numerical simulations, reduced-order models (ROM) such as proper orthogonal decomposition are being increasingly used. Decreasing the simulation time, however, does not address the inefficiencies in communicating engineering models and analysis during the design process. This paper proposes developing and incorporating a ROM server into the design workflow. The ROM server stores all data associated with a given engineering model and automatically constructs a ROM every time a model is created or updated, thus maintaining a consistent version of information across multiple engineering teams. A common engineering workflow is compared with one using a ROM server. A cost of synchronization metric has been defined based on the parameters of data size, size of the engineering team and design iterations. This metric has been evaluated and compared for the cases with and without a ROM server and it was found that the cost of synchronization is lower when a ROM server is used in the design workflow. It is shown that as the team size increases, the ROM server helps with more efficient information storage and transfer. Finally, an example problem of a heat-exchanger fin shape design is used to demonstrate the ROM server framework.     

Computer-aided ergonomics: a case study of incorporating ergonomics analyses into workplace design

One of the primary goals of computer-aided ergonomics is to develop software tools that allow ergonomics information to be accessed at the earliest stages of design. This case study discusses a PC-based software program that allows a designer to quantify a worker's biomechanical risk for injury based on a proposed workplace design. The program couples an established software tool for biomechanical analysis, the Three-Dimensional Static Strength Prediction Program (3DSSPP), with a widely used computer-aided design software package, AutoCAD. The use of this "3DSSPP/AutoCAD interface" in the proactive analysis of an automotive assembly task is described and the results compared with an independent assessment using observations of workers performing the same task. Both studies yield similar conclusions, suggesting that proactive use of software such as the 3DSSPP/AutoCAD interface may be a valid tool in evaluating proposed workplace designs. In this context, issues in the analysis of workplace designs regarding the use of supporting ergonomic tools, assumptions, and posture selection are discussed.     

Learning with web-based interactive objects: An investigation into student perceptions of effectiveness

In its efforts to continue the modernization of its curriculum, the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto has developed a series of web-based interactive learning applications. This article presents the production cycle of these new interactive learning objects and the preliminary study conducted to measure the students’ perception of the objects’ effectiveness for learning. Three applications are described in detail in this article, namely: Panoramic Radiography: Principles and Interpretation, Gross Human Anatomy 3D Atlas and Restorative Dentistry: Virtual and Interactive Cavity Preparation. Each of these applications introduces unique elements of interactivity with the learning content, specifically designed to address hard-to-grasp concepts in their respective dental disciplines. The results of a student survey conducted post-deployment suggest that the visual and interactive features embedded in the three applications have the potential to induce positive outcomes in mediating the students’ conceptualization of difficult theoretical notions.     

Qualitative design support for engineering and architecture

Conventional design support software tools cannot effectively manage the complex, heterogeneous information used in engineering and architecture (EA) tasks. Crucially, despite uncertainty being an inherent quality of EA information particularly in the early stages of a design project, current tools solely rely on numerical approaches which do not support such incomplete and vague information. In this paper, we establish a complete framework for developing qualitative support tools that directly address these shortcomings. Our framework is application oriented and addresses the broader issues surrounding the actual use of qualitative methods. It provides design principles and strategies that allow a software engineer to develop custom qualitative software tools according to their specific EA task specifications. Our framework also provides the engineer with practical theory and guidelines for implementing their custom qualitative model and validating their system using context specific test data. We demonstrate the validity of our framework by presenting a case study in architectural lighting in which a prototype qualitative reasoning engine successfully automates qualitative logic about the subjective impressions of a lighting installation.     

Expert systems in engineering design: an application for injection molding of plastic parts

The rich development environments of expert system shells provide tools for developing knowledge-based expert systems for complex tasks such as engineering design. The diverse knowledge in engineering design combines heuristics with deterministic knowledge, from multiple sources, and involves complicated, interrelated components. The hybrid capabilities in emerging expert system tools effectively address this diverse knowledge, and facilitate the rapid development of design aids by the engineering designer. A prototype expert system for injection-molded plastic parts demonstrates the utility of expert systems for design applications. The prototype is implemented in an object-oriented, rule-based environment, and incorporates solid modeling software and external material databases.     

Developing a multi-layer reference design retrieval technology for knowledge management in engineering design

Engineering design is a knowledge-intensive process that encompasses conceptual design, detailed design, engineering analysis, assembly design, process design, and performance evaluation. Each of these tasks involves various areas of knowledge and experience. The sharing of such knowledge and experience is critical to increasing the capacity for developing products and to increasing their quality. It is also critical to reducing the duration and cost of the development cycle. Accordingly, offering engineering designers various methods for retrieving engineering knowledge is one of the most important tasks in managing engineering knowledge.

This study develops a multi-layer reference design retrieval technology for engineering knowledge management to provide engineering designers with easy access to relevant design and related knowledge. The tasks performed in this research include (i) designing a multi-layer reference design retrieval process, (ii) developing techniques associated with multi-layer reference design retrieval technology, and (iii) implementing a multi-layer reference design retrieval mechanism. The retrieval process contains three main phases—‘customer requirement-based reference design retrieval’, ‘functional requirement-based reference design retrieval’ and ‘functional feature-based reference design retrieval’. This technology involves (1) customer requirement-based reference design retrieval, which involves a structured query model for customer requirements, a case-based representation of designed entities, a customer requirement-based index structure for historical design cases, and customer requirement-based case searching, matching and ranking mechanisms, (2) functional requirement-based reference design retrieval, which includes a structured query model for functional requirements, a functional requirement-based index structure for historical design cases, and functional requirement-based case searching, matching and ranking mechanisms, and (3) functional feature-based reference design retrieval, which is a binary code-based representation for functional features, an ART1 neural network for functional feature-based case clustering and functional feature-based case ranking.     

On technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval in engineering knowledge management

Engineering design is a knowledge-intensive process, and includes conceptual design, detailed design, engineering analysis, assembly design, process design, and performance evaluation. Each of these tasks involves various aspects of technical knowledge and experience. Whether this technical knowledge and experience can be effectively shared is key to increasing product development capability and quality, and also to reducing the duration and cost of the development cycle. Consequently, providing engineering designers various query methods for retrieving engineering knowledge is one of the most important tasks in engineering knowledge management.The study develops a technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval as a decision support mechanism, which can assist engineering designers to retrieve relevant design and associated knowledge for reference in conducting functional requirements of a product. This study involves the following tasks: (i) designing a functional requirement-based reference design retrieval process, (ii) developing techniques related to the technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval, and (iii) implementing a functional requirement-based reference design retrieval mechanism. The retrieval process includes the steps of functional requirement-based query, case searching and matching, and case ranking. The technology involves (i) a structured query model for functional requirements, (ii) an index structures for historical design cases, (iii) functional requirement-based case searching and matching mechanisms, (iv) a functional requirement-based case ranking mechanism, and (v) a case-based representation of designed entities. Finally, the experimental example with indexing and retrieving similar designed entities is conducted to demonstrate the proposed techniques worked efficiently.     

A new programming paradigm for engineering design software

Currently available programming and database systems are insufficient for engineering applications. The authors contend that a logical progression from a formal conceptual model of the engineering domain to a computational model will lead to new programming paradigms capable of directly supporting engineering applications in a rigorous, concise manner. A formal domain model devised by the authors, theHybrid Model (HM) of design information, is briefly introduced. It is an extension of axiomatic set theory and is discussed in detail elsewhere. HM forms the basis ofDesigner, a prototype-based object-oriented programming language supporting a signature-based canonical message-passing mechanism and multiple inheritance. Designer is implemented using the Scheme programming language. Because Designer satisfies a formal conceptual model, and because it is based on a formally specified language, its robustness and logical validity are superior to those of other languages not founded on formal principles. Designer combines concepts of functional and object-oriented programming to provide the formal rigor and flexibility to capture the complex and strongly interrelated information that designers use. Examples demonstrate how Designer represents design information. The results of the authors' research indicate that Designer can capture design information (including aspects of functional requirements and design intent) effectively and efficiently.