ANTHROPOMETRY-BASED SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR MULTIPLE GLOBAL POPULATIONS

177 Pages·2012·13.72 MB·English

ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity
TheGraduateSchool
CollegeofEngineering
ANTHROPOMETRY-BASEDSUSTAINABLEDESIGN
FORMULTIPLEGLOBALPOPULATIONS
ADissertationin
MechanicalEngineering
by
GopalNadadur
©2012GopalNadadur
SubmittedinPartialFulfillment
oftheRequirements
fortheDegreeof
DoctorofPhilosophy
August2012
ThedissertationofGopalNadadurwasreviewedandapproved*bythefollowing:
MatthewB.Parkinson
AssociateProfessorofEngineeringDesign,MechanicalandIndustrialEngineering
DissertationAdvisor
ChairofCommittee
TimothyW.Simpson
ProfessorofMechanicalandIndustrialEngineering
ArvindRangaswamy
AnchelProfessorofMarketing
LingRothrock
AssociateProfessorofIndustrialandManufacturingEngineering
JeremyJ.Michalek
AssociateProfessorofMechanicalEngineeringandEngineering&PublicPolicy
SpecialMember
CarnegieMellonUniversity
KarenA.Thole
ProfessorofMechanicalEngineering
DepartmentHeadofMechanicalandNuclearEngineering
*SignaturesareonfileintheGraduateSchool
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ABSTRACT
This dissertation research had the broad objective of enabling more widespread
applicationoftheprinciplesofanthropometry-(i.e.,bodydimension-)baseddesign. The
more specific goals were: a) to allow for the use of easily- and widely- available body
dimensionalinformationintheformofdescriptivestatistics(means,standarddeviations,
and/or by-percentile values of anthropometry), b) to more objectively compare the
variation of relevant body measures across the populations of interest, c) to utilize
observations from these comparisons in guiding the selection of appropriate strategies
for top-down global product design, and d) to implement virtual fitting techniques and
providespecificdesignrecommendationswithintheframeworkoftheselectedstrategy.
The anthropometry-based global design (AGD) methodology was formulated to
satisfy these goals. It consists of three phases. Phase A focuses on anthropometry
synthesis using the existing regression-based approach and the newly-developed
percentile combinations datasets (PCD) method. The main strength of the PCD method
is in its ability to use descriptive statistics as inputs in accurately “reverse engineering”
the underlying anthropometric database. The ability to synthesize such comprehensive
databases enables better utilization of numerous papers and reports that provide
descriptive statistical information for a variety of populations; this allows for more
thorough,multivariateanthropometricanalysesthroughtheuseofdetaileddata.
Phase B of the AGD methodology involves the application of the newly-developed
anthropometry range metric (ARM) in assessing anthropometric variation across the
populationsofinterest. Thisvariationisstudiedforeachrelevantbodymeasurebetween
the 1st and 99th percentiles, and results in the categorization of the body measure into
regions of low, medium, and high variability. Guidelines are then proposed for the
selection of the most suitable technique—sizing, adjustability-allocation, etc.—for the
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satisfactionoftheusagerequirementsrelatedtothatbodymeasure. Theguidelinesalso
include suggestions on when to consider incorporating components related to the body
measure into a platform, when to build them into modules, and when to offer them as
uniquevariants.
Theselectionoftheaforementionedtechniquesisbasedontheglobalproductdesign
strategy that is chosen as the overarching framework for the top-down design of the
newproductline. Threestrategiesareproposedinthisresearch. Non-platformeddesign
involves the creation of a separate design for each group of target markets or user
populations. Static platform design entails the development of the product line around
a common platform that remains unchanged across the populations of interest. Flexible
platform design is aimed at making the platform itself adaptable to the requirements of
differentpopulationgroups;thiscapabilityalsoallowsforeasiermodificationstosatisfy
temporalchangesinrequirements.
PhaseCoftheAGDmethodologyinvolvestheapplicationofthetechniquesselected
in Phase B. This yields design recommendations that are likely to achieve the desired
performanceobjectivesforthepopulationsofinterest.
The proposed methodology is then demonstrated in two case studies, the first of
which involves the design of a wheelchair for populations that are largely from the
developing world. The second case study is an exploration into three sustainability
benefits—increasing raw material allocation efficiency, lengthening the lifetimes of
certain kinds of products, and better considering some ethical ramifications of design
decision—that could accrue from the application of the AGD method for multiple user
populations.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LISTOFTABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
LISTOFFIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. ANTHROPOMETRYANDERGONOMICSINHUMANDEVELOPMENT 6
2.1 StoneAge(–4,000B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 CopperandBronzeAges(4,000B.C.-1,000B.C.) . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 IronAge(1,000B.C.-400A.D.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.4 MiddleAges(400A.D.-1500A.D.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 TransitionalAge(1100s-1700s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.6 ModernToolAge(1800s-Present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.7 ConclusionandResearchMotivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
III. DESIGNINGFORGLOBALPOPULATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.1 GlobalVariabilityinProductRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2 GlobalDesignStrategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2.1 StrategyI:Non-platformeddesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2.2 StrategyII:Staticplatformdesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.2.3 StrategyIII:Flexibleplatformdesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
IV. DESIGNINGFORANTHROPOMETRICVARIABILITY . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.1 SourcesofAnthropometricInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
4.2 AnthropometricVariability: TheAnthropometryRangeMetric . . . 39
4.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
V. SYNTHESIZINGANTHROPOMETRICDATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.1 ExistingAnthropometrySynthesisMethods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.2 ThePercentileCombinationsDatasetsMethod . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.2.1 Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.2.2 Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2.3 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
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5.2.4 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.3 VirtualFitting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
VI. THEANTHROPOMETRY-BASEDGLOBALDESIGNMETHOD . . . . 76
6.1 PhaseA:ObtainingAnthropometricData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.2 PhaseB:AssessingAnthropometricVariability . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.3 PhaseC:ImplementingaDesignStrategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
6.3.1 StrategyI:Non-platformeddesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
6.3.2 StrategyII:Staticplatformdesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
6.3.3 StrategyIII:Flexibleplatformdesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
VII. CASESTUDY:WHEELCHAIRFORGLOBALPOPULATIONS . . . . . . 93
7.1 Wheelchairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7.1.1 Wheelchair-specificConsiderations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
7.1.2 WheelchairUserAnthropometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
7.2 WhirlwindWheelchairInternational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
7.2.1 RoughRider2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
7.3 PhaseA:ObtainingAnthropometricData . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
7.4 PhaseB:AssessingAnthropometricVariability . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
7.5 PhaseC:ImplementingaDesignStrategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
7.6 Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
VIII. CASESTUDY:PRODUCTSUSTAINABILITYTHROUGHANTHROPOMETRY-
BASEDGLOBALDESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
8.1 SustainableDevelopment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
8.1.1 SustainabilityinProductDesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8.1.2 SustainabilityBenefitsofAnthropometry-basedDesign . . 114
8.2 CaseStudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
8.3 StepI:Reducingrawmaterialconsumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.3.1 Casestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
8.3.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
8.4 StepII:Increasingusagelifetimesofproducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.4.1 Casestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
8.4.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
8.5 StepIII:Consideringethicalconsequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
8.5.1 Casestudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
8.5.2 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
8.6 ConclusionandOpenQuestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
8.6.1 Question1: Howcanotherhumanvariability-relatedfac-
torsbeconsidered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8.6.2 Question2: Howcantheentirelifecycleoftheproductbe
takenintoaccount? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8.6.3 Question 3: How can the intricacies of the Profit criterion
bemorethoroughlyexplored? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
IX. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
9.1 MainContributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
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9.2 OpenQuestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
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LIST OF TABLES
4.1 The availabilities of the 24 body measures for the 9 national user popula-
tions. Also shown is the age range of the surveyed population that is the
basisforthesummarystatistics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5.1 AcomparisonofmaleandfemalestatureandBMIforthreerace/ethnicity
groupingsintheU.S.Civilian(NHANES2003-06)population: Non-Hispanic
blacks(B),Hispanics(H),andNon-Hispanicwhites(W). . . . . . . . . . . 52
5.2 AcomparisonoffemaleANSUR(A),CAESAR(C),andU.S.Civilian(weighted
NHANES2003-06,N)anthropometryatcertaincrucialpercentiles. Lengths
areinmm,BMIisadimensionlessnumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
5.3 A comparison of male ANSUR (A), CAESAR (C), and NHANES 2003-06
(N) anthropometry at certain crucial percentiles. Lengths are in mm, BMI
isadimensionlessnumber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.4 A comparison of ANSUR (ANS) and actual (Act) and synthesized (Syn)
femaleJapaneseanthropometryatthekeypercentilesutilizedintheirsyn-
thesis. Weightisinkg,BMIisunit-less,andallotherunitsareinmm. . . . 68
5.5 A comparison of ANSUR (ANS) and actual (Act) and synthesized (Syn)
male Japanese anthropometry at the key percentiles utilized in their syn-
thesis. Weightisinkg,BMIisunit-less,andallotherunitsareinmm. . . . 69
5.6 A comparison of the mean and standard deviations of the anthropomet-
ric proportionality constants calculated for female ANSUR and the actual
andsynthesizedfemaleJapanesepopulations. Alsoincludedarethemean
proportionalityconstantscalculatedfromtheMeasureofManvalues[193]. 70
5.7 Acomparisonofthemeanandstandarddeviationsoftheanthropometric
proportionality constants calculated for male ANSUR and the actual and
synthesized male Japanese populations. Also included are the mean pro-
portionalityconstantscalculatedfromtheMeasureofManvalues[193]. . . 70
6.1 The availabilities of the 8 required body measures for the 6 national user
populations. Thesizeofeachpopulationisalsoshown. . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6.2 TheproposedguidelinesfortheselectionofanappropriateDfHVmethod
for the satisfaction of the performance objectives related to each relevant
body dimension. These guidelines, when used in conjunction with the
ARM assessments, can help implement the anthropometry-based aspects
oftheglobalproductdesignstrategy,whichischosenafterconsideringall
theuser-,business-,andregulation-relatedfactorsinvolved(Section3.2). . 82
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7.1 Specifications for the Whirlwind RoughRider 2010 wheelchair. The four
designattributesofinterestinthecasestudyareshowninboldertext. . . . 101
7.2 TheRoughRider2010designrecommendationsthatresultedfromPhaseC
oftheAGDmethod. Thepopulationsaredividedintothethreegroupsof
interest. Therequiredsizesofseatwidthandseatdeptharespecified,asis
thenecessaryrangeofseatheightadjustability. Sinceitremainsunchanged
for all seven populations, seat height is recommended as a static product
platform for the wheelchair. Note that with the current RoughRider 2010
design, accommodation achieved for the populations are: 92% (Brazil),
60%(U.S.),90%(China),91%(Korea),96%(Japan),72%(India),46%(Kenya).108
8.1 The evolution of the design decision through the three stages of the case
study. Thepopulationsexaminedare: Brazil(B),India(I),China(C),Kenya
(K),theNetherlands(N),currentU.S.(c-U.S.),andfutureU.S.(f-U.S.). The
finaldesignspecificationsareexpectedtoachieve90%accommodationfor
even the future female U.S. population, which is shown to be dispropor-
tionatelydisaccommodated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
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LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Themajoreconomicregionsoftheworld. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 The development of this dissertation research, starting with the motiva-
tions driving the effort and to the main contribution: the anthropometry-
basedglobaldesignmethod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 ExamplesofStoneAgeimplements. Source: www.clipart-history.com . . . 8
2.2 Ahieroglyphicillustratingfurniture-makinginAncientEgypt. Alsoshown
areastoolandachairfromtheCopperandBronzeAges[99].. . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Examplesofasurgeon’stoolsinAncientGreek[77]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.4 BenchseatsinancientGreektheaters[189]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.5 Examples of the function-based variation of the ergonomic design of An-
cientGreekliquidstoragevessels[189]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.6 AnillustrationofanergonomicworkenvironmentinAncientChina[41]. . 13
2.7 Mongol horseback archers [191], a typical Mongol bow [125] and saddle
[126]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.8 An example of the sketches made by Leonardo da Vinci based on his dis-
sectionsofhumancadavers[42]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.9 Maslow’shierarchyofhumanneeds[117;118]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.1 The trifecta of user-, business-, and regulation- related concerns in global
productdesign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2 The three design strategies for global product design. Also included are
examples of products that have been designed with each strategy and to
satisfyvariationsinthethreesetsofrequirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.3 Classification of non-platformed designs based on the nature of the oper-
ating environment, the objectives to be achieved, and the changeability of
systemvariables[53]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 All-in-oneuniversalplugadapter[Amazon]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 TheapplicationofStrategyI(non-platformeddesign)intheexampleofthe
AdidasJabulanisoccerballusedinthe2010WorldCup. Alsoshownisthe
Grip’n’Grooveprofileoftheball[PopularScience]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.6 TheapplicationofStrategyII(staticplatformdesign)intheexampleofthe
left- and right- hand drive vehicle cockpits (top and bottom, respectively)
ofthe2011CitroenC4GrandPicasso. Source: OfficialCitroenwebsitesfor
Switzerland(http://citroen.ch)andtheU.K.(http://www.citroen.co.uk). 31
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