Abstract

Ergonomics aspects are usually considered within a product design process from the beginning, and therefore all possible ergonomics issues should be taken into account in this phase. However, designers sometimes use readily designed sub-elements (semi-finished products) like accessories, where the criteria for the evaluation of their ergonomics may differ when they are used as an element of a new design. In this paper, it was investigated how the ergonomics evaluation process takes place when designers tend to use a semi-finished product in their designs. As a case study, furniture handle production and application is researched, and interviews are conducted among handle producers, wholesalers/retailers and furniture designers separately. The aim of this paper is to investigate how ergonomics knowledge is produced and transferred between the phases from the design of handles to their application in furniture design.

Keywords

Design, ergonomics, information flow

Share

COinS
 
Jun 16th, 12:00 AM

Ergonomics Information Flow in Product Design: A Case Study About Handles Used by Turkish Furniture Producers

Ergonomics aspects are usually considered within a product design process from the beginning, and therefore all possible ergonomics issues should be taken into account in this phase. However, designers sometimes use readily designed sub-elements (semi-finished products) like accessories, where the criteria for the evaluation of their ergonomics may differ when they are used as an element of a new design. In this paper, it was investigated how the ergonomics evaluation process takes place when designers tend to use a semi-finished product in their designs. As a case study, furniture handle production and application is researched, and interviews are conducted among handle producers, wholesalers/retailers and furniture designers separately. The aim of this paper is to investigate how ergonomics knowledge is produced and transferred between the phases from the design of handles to their application in furniture design.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.