Ergonomic study of commuters’’ bus cabin

Ojolo, Sunday; Ogundare, Adebayo

الوقاية والأرغنوميا
Volume 9, Numéro 3, Pages 102-109
2015-12-20

Ergonomic Study Of Commuters’’ Bus Cabin

Authors : Ojolo Sunday . Ogundare Adebayo .

Abstract

Abstract: Various types of bus cabin are being used as commercial means of transportation in Nigeria. The bus cabin features are clearly seen in the Mazda and Hiace buses, which are imported into Nigeria as fairly used buses and accommodate 14 commuters. This work aim is to ergonomically design the bus cabin that accommodates commuters with a view to ensuring comfortability throughout the period of travel. Four parks were surveyed and forty (40) Hiace buses each were used as sample areas for data collection. The ergonomic design in a bus cabin was approached using the anthropometry of the commuters. The anthropometric data of commuters important to examine the ergonomic comfortability of the seats in the bus cabin were obtained and thereafter compared with important design attributes including: the backrest frame height, backrest depth, backrest length, seat depth, seat height etc. This was done with a view to examining the existing design. In a bid to achieve this task, anthropometric data of 200 persons were taken. This comprises 80 females and 120 males. Questionnaires were also administered to the commuters to obtain information on the cabin used and postural discomfort experienced in the course of their journeys. In addition, the design attributes of Hiace buses cabins were measured. The outcome of the measurements revealed various grey areas that require redesign and most importantly, since the primary concern is with commuters in the bus cabin, the seat becomes the priority. In the redesign of the seat the back-rest length is sectionalized with appropriate cushion. This will permit every segment of the backbone to rest fully on the seat without causing musculoskeletal related disorder. The seats are redesigned to accommodate three passengers in a row. When this ergonomic design is fully incorporated into the buses’ cabins used in Nigeria; issues relating to discomfort and musculoskeletal disorder resulting from wrong posture while travelling would be a thing of the past. In addition, this could serve as enhancement to emerging automobile industry in Nigeria on the design of bus cabin.