Development of driver environment in crane cabin

Sammanfattning: This report is the result of a master thesis performed at MacGREGOR (SWE)
AB (Crane Division), Örnsköldsvik. MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division) is
the world’s leading marine cargo crane supplier with cranes designed for
operation in harbor and sheltered water environments. The project aimed to
identify and investigate needs and problem areas in the crane cabin with
the purpose to design an ergonomic and user-friendly driver environment.
Besides ergonomics and user interaction, sturdiness, comfort and safety
have been keywords throughout the project.
It has not been possible to observe drivers at work because of the world
wide location of the cranes. Therefore needs and problem areas were
identified through interviews with personnel at MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane
Division) and analysis through different methods and softwares such as I-
deas, Jack and RULA. The project group has also been given the opportunity
to drive a crane and observe the relations between regulators, indicators
and driver. To investigate new solutions and designs, competitors and
related technologies were thoroughly analyzed.
Four concepts were created after the design specification was established.
To see how well the concepts fulfilled the identified needs they were
evaluated in a merit calculation table. Concept 1 “Rotate all” and concept
4 “Office chair” were then compared in a weak-point analysis. After
consultation with the instructors at MacGREGOR (SWE) AB (Crane Division) it
was decided that “Rotate all” was to be further developed.
The final solution is a combination of new ideas and ideas from the four
concepts in the concept design phase. Aspects considering function and form
have been carefully thought out using theoretical guidelines in ergonomics,
semiotics and gestalts. The new crane cabin emphasizes quality and a
feeling for the company through colors, shape and placement. The new crane
cabin is based on an adjustable interior suited for drivers between the 5th
and 95th percentile. A major improvement is the rotating chair with
integrated control levers on the armrests. The indicators and regulators
are separated and now placed on the walls. The visual field is improved
with a larger front window and a tilted floor window.