An ergonomic study on the design of motorcycles used on tricycles for the Filipinos

Executive Summary. Ergonomics is concerned about fitting the task to the person . It focuses on improvement on human well-being, quality and productivity of work. It takes into consideration the limits of human performance and provides opportunities on improving designed workstations. So far there have been a study made concerning jeepney drivers, but there has been no study yet on the conditions of the tricycle drivers. Tricycles are everywhere. Tricycle driving is a one way of earning a living considering the scarcity of jobs available in the country. Venturing in the tricycle industry, tricycle drivers would have to invest Php 50,000 to Php 70,000 in order to have a tricycle. Tricycle drivers spend an average time of 11 hours in a day. Based on the proponents observation, tricycle drivers have a tendency to sit on the tank so that it can accommodate more passengers. Ideally the design of the motorcycle allows only 1 passenger at the back of the tricycle driver, however, the usual practice is to accommodate 1 or 2 more passengers at the back for additional income. A survey on the working conditions of the tricycle drivers was conducted, this is supported by the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) and the Anthropometric measurements of the tricycle drivers. The survey shows that tricycle drivers experience pain in the wrists or hands, feet and lower back. The assessment of the working posture of the tricycle drivers has shown that present working posture is not appropriate and should be changed. Based from the results of the comparison of measurements, some parts of the motorcycle do not fit at least 95% of the population. The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was used to determine the right measurements for the proposed design. The voice of the customers and the technical aspect of designing an ergonomic motorcycle for the tricycle drivers is considered. Several factors were evaluated in designing the ergonomic motorcycle such as the motorcycle movement and control, occupant safety and access. In making the prototype, the feasibility of the design where also considered. Several adjustments were made in the manufacture of the prototype. Some of the adjustments made were the length of the tank, the length of the passenger seat and etc. After the prototype was made, the prototype was subjected to several ergonomic testing. Another survey was conducted and the RULA analysis was made. The result of the survey and the RULA analysis was compared to the previous results