This thesis describes a study of the potential contribution of industrial design to the adaptation of agricultural machinery for use in Malaysia. The study identifies the nature of agricultural machinery and equipment design which uses mainly adaptation concepts as a means of getting a 'quick' design. The nature of industrial design with regard to agricultural machinery and equipment design in Malaysia and the UK was also studied. This research has established the potential of industrial designers to contribute in this area of design activity. This researchu tilised a combinedm ethodologyo f'triangulation' where quantitative surveysa nd qualitative studies were used. Literature surveys, a groundwork study, questionnaire surveys, case studies, interviews, and observations were carried out. Case studies and interviews were the main methods of data collection while questionnaire surveys helped to provide information, support, and validate findings from the former methods. Case studies and interviews involved five establishmentsin Malaysia and four companiesi n the UK. Adaptation designw as confirmed as'a successfulc oncept, however, the processesin volved in the designo f machinesa nd equipmentn eedt o be developeda nd improved. There were generally no specific design processes or procedures adhered to while carrying adaptation design work. They were determinedb y the samef actors i. e. the types of projects, aims/objectiveso f project, duration and date-line, funding and level of adaptation design. From the quantitative survey and qualitatives tudyr esults,i t was establishedth at industrial design should be incorporated into the adaptation design concept. The role of industrial designers in adaptation design can be that of assisting and advising the engineers and working collectively as a team. The potential contributionso f industriald esignersw ould be to improve 'appearance('a esthetics),q uality, and overall design. Industrial design knowledge in human-factors- ergonomics/anthropometricswere also sort for in order to satisfy factors such as safety and ease of use. Industrial designers were also needed to achieve designs which could reduce costs and to increase sales of machinery/equipmenpt roducts. The thesis concludes that the diverse nature of agricultural machinery and equipment design, especiallyfo cusingo n the adaptationd esignc oncept,r equiresa synthesisa pproachr equiring the participation and consideration of such factors as: inter-disciplinary relationships, agricultural policy, designp olicy, designe ducation,a nd public awarenessA. ll thesef actors coupled with the contributions made by industrial designers would bring improvements to the success rates of adaptation design. V
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:240741 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Awang, Dzulkifli |
| Publisher | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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