Concepts for the Reduction of Discomfort Generated by Prolonged Static Posture during Driving Task, Part I: Basic Concepts and Theories

Several researches have been reported in the last decade to improve comfort (reduce discomfort) of cars interior, especially car seats. Designing a comfortable car seat was and still is the problem of designers and ergonomists. Despite the huge number of researches conducted to reduce discomfort and to improve comfort feeling during driving task, hardly any solution was given to reduce discomfort of the Prolonged Static Posture (PSP) while driving. In this study, a questionnaire was completed by drivers working intensively on vehicles and spending several hours per day driving, to investigate discomfort caused by the driving activities and to get their opinion about aspects that need to be improved in order to design more comfortable car seat. The results show that almost every driver complains of the PSP symptoms after a long driving. In order to find the best possible solution for this problem, participatory and axiomatic design methodologies were employed in this study. Relevance to Industry: This paper may assist the improvement of design aspect of the car seat that consequently leads to reduction of the musculoskeletal injuries caused by the Prolonged Static Posture during driving task.