ABSTRACT
An automotive product is used by a number of users in a number of different usages. To assure that the vehicle being designed will meet the needs of its customers, the ergonomic engineers must conduct evaluations of all ergonomic vehicle features under all possible usages. A usage can be de›ned in terms of each task that needs to be performed by a user to meet a certain objective. A task may have many steps or subtasks. For example, the task of getting into a vehicle would involve a user to perform a series of subtasks such as (a) unlocking the door, (b) opening the door, (c) entering the vehicle and sitting in the driver’s seat, and (d) closing the door. The ergonomic evaluations are conducted for a number of purposes such as (a) to determine if the users will be able to use the vehicle or its features, (b) to determine if the vehicle has any unacceptable features that will generate customer complaints after its introduction, (c) to compare the user preferences for a vehicle or its features with other vehicles, and (d) to determine if the product will be perceived by the users to be the best in the industry. The purpose of this chapter is to review methods that are useful in ergonomic evaluations of vehicles.
