Ergonomic evaluation of cab design employing digital and physical mock-ups

This paper introduces the advantages and disadvantages of the use of digital and physical mock-ups (DMUs, PMUs) in the evaluation of human factors/ergonomics (HFE) in machine cab design. In order to gather information, participatory design, contextual inquiry, observation and interviews were applied in the studies. The main result of the studies was that there is a need for both types of mock-ups when evaluating HFE and validating user requirements. The context of the use is better delivered in DMUs due to the visualisation of the environment and ability to perform the real task. However, depending of the technical set up of the DMU, some deficiency of sensor feedback (etc. haptic) can negatively affect the user's behaviour. Advantages in PMUs are that they are typically more realistic and provide a better immediate understanding of the cab space. One disadvantage is that often the physical environment around the PMU is not natural enough. It is important to know when, why and how to use different type of mock-ups so as to gain faster time-to-market and better HFE.