Inredningskoncept för vägambulans : Ett examensarbete vid Industridesignprogrammet 2011

Sammanfattning: The subject of this bachelors degree project is an interior layout for road ambulances. Landstinget Västernorrland (LVN) wanted a layout concept that would be used to com- municate their design intentions to the ambulance producers during their purchase process. Designing ambulance interiors is an extremely complex process since there so many fac- tors to take into consideration. It ́s not just about taking the equipment and place it where there is space left in the cabin. You have to start with the user in focus and the tasks that are to be performed in the ambulance environment. It ishard to find design solutions that will fit 100% of the ambulance personnel’s working routines for 100% of the tasks. It all comes down to compromise. The first step is to start out with the medical working processes and decide how they are supposed to be perfor- med. This will allow for standardization the other processes as well. This is still work in progress. Right now there is no internal standard within the ambulance service in LVN for the equipment positions. Another big challenge in this project has been the vehicles. LVN are under the influence of LOU, which means they have to purchase the vehicle that best fulfills their de- mand specification. The problem for this thesis is that it is not possible to decide beforhand what kind of vehicle it ́s going to be, and hence not possible to have any demand on working area limitations. In the beginning of this project it was said that it would be “vehicle independent”, but since there are so many factors that are dependent on the vehicle, it was finally decided that the concept will be modeled on the current vehicle. This thesis work is applying design methology to capture the design intent. The tools used for problem analysis are: User studies. Frequency analysis. Activity analysis. Interviews. This resulted in list of problems or design challenges, that were narrowed down to: - Increase the use of safety belts - Investigate the position of the second paramedics chair. - Find a better working position for the most frequently used equipment, the LP12 and the emergency bag. A number of different layout designs were tested and evaluated both in a 3D computer environment as well as in full scale mock-up. The resulting layout is a side- and rear entry concept with the majority of the equipment stored on the left hand side of the vehicle. The LP12 is used from a swing arm at the right hand side of the vehicle. The emergency bag is also placed on the right hand side of the paramedic, which makes it easier to use it in the vehicle. The new placement of the LP12 and emergency bag will increase the use of seatbelts since they now are within reach for a seated paramedic. In addition, there is increased storage possibilities in the right hand wall compartments, eliminating the need for the left side roof storage.