Combining human factors and design to deliver successful rail interiors

The creation of exciting, ground-breaking design solutions is essential to the delivery of successful public transport services or supporting infrastructure projects. Manufacturers, suppliers, owners and operators all understand the added value that world-class design can bring to their brands. What can often be overlooked is the human element of such projects and the broad range of disciplines, particularly Human Factors (HF), that need to be actively involved from the outset in delivering truly inclusive design solutions.

From DCA’s perspective, we integrate design and HF activities into the development cycle so that they are working proactively together, rather than HF requirements acting as constraints on design creativity. As a result, when concepts are generated, a balanced combination of visual, practical and HF elements is achieved in order that they can all work together for mutual benefit. We see this as an iterative process that informs each stage of the project, ticking off HF compliance issues as early as we can in a carefully managed and documented process to provide an inclusive perspective throughout. This ensures that the final product represents a truly holistic design that meets the needs of its users and retains the early aspirational ideas and excitement that originated the project.

Paul Rutter, DCA’s Transport Sector Manager, recently wrote an article for Rail Professional (see pages 89-90) exploring the importance and benefit of integrating design and Human Factors to solve problems and bring projects to a successful outcome.

• Link to Human Factors and Usability