289424.pdf (51.04 MB)
The role and potential contribution of industrial design in developing agricultural machinery for Malaysia
thesis
posted on 2010-11-04, 14:43 authored by Mohd Nasir HussainThe aim of this research is to determine whether Industrial Design has an important role to
play in the design and development of agricultural equipment, particularly in Malaysia. It is
perhaps natural to think of agricultural machinery and equipment as being functional devices
with issues such as task performance, robustness and reliability in all weathers being
paramount. So is there really a role for the industrial designer? It is argued here that effective
design of agricultural products cannot be achieved by considering only the functional
requirements and technological aspects, since there are also many human issues to be taken
into account. Effectiveness of new product development depends on interdisciplinary team
working.
This research has been conducted utilising qualitative and quantitative survey methods
consisting of interviews and postal questionnaires. The findings show the need for a broad
approach to design and confirm that industrial design has an important contribution to make
in Malaysian agricultural equipment industries. Introducing two design projects in this
research has strengthened the research methodology. The purpose of these design projects
is to implement the knowledge and skills of the researcher into agricultural machinery design
activities as a means of gaining insight into the problems and processes fundamental to
agricultural design. Design guidelines formulated from the research findings will provide
Malaysian industrial designers with an approach for effective participation within agricultural
design activities. These will help design teams to identify and consider the broad range of
issues inherent in agricultural design projects, and hence to work more effectively.
Designing agricultural machinery requires an understanding not only of the tasks, crops and
the working environment but also of the people who will buy and use the products. Malaysian
agricultural machinery design activities have been left, behind compared to some other
countries. A push in this area could create major benefits because agricultural machinery
design can provide significant advantages to the farmers and hence to the country.
History
School
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Publisher
© Mohd Nasir HussainPublication date
2003Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.289424Language
- en