Cabin design has advanced a long way since cabins were only to protect users during the bad weather and to provide just a functional working station. Today, an emphasis is also on the other criteria, like safety and working ergonomics, which means a pleasant working environment. Also, the needs of users have changed and become more specific and individual.
“Users are supposed to be healthier and their endurance level in their own working environment is higher than earlier. This is what the working ergonomics is aiming at. On the other hand, the operational comfort and less stress factors are also very important drivers in the cabin design process”, lists Mr. Juha Juvonen, Technical Manager of Fortaco.
Mr. Juvonen sees that the following approaches are providing a good foundation to design a well-functioning cabin:
– Visibility is good and feel of a roomy cabin.
– Instrumentation installed is easy to use and reach.
– Vibration and noise levels are low and indoor air good.
When designing a cabin, instrumentation can be pre-planned in a way that the individual adjustments are very easy to do. Furthermore, even a small cabin can provide a sufficient space and compartments to store lunchbox, drinks and working clothes etc.
“Fortaco is carefully listening the feedback from end-users. All comments and requests are greatly valued when the cabin environment is being designed”, says Mr. Juvonen.
The Fortaco engineers along with the customers are discussing about the different design approaches directly with the end-users in order to manufacture even better cabins in the future. The cabin must be well-designed by using advanced computer simulations, which are based on the recent results of user studies. The modular design can be modified accordingly. This kind of project flow assists an engineer to analyze, compare and improve design to better address requirements of today.
“We have performed several user experience studies, focusing on the cabin we have manufactured for the machine”, says Mr. Juvonen.
According to Mr. Juvonen, R&D is steadily advancing, and that is why the future cabins are already being designed by Fortaco. The new milestones in R&D are remote and virtual management, for example the benefits of camera technology, big data and tracking systems.
