Measuring the Haptic Perception of Leather Surfaces

Products on today’s markets are technically mature. A differentiation by conventional criteria is increasingly difficult or even impossible for the customers. Subjectively influenced factors replace clearly defined technical attributes as criteria for differentiation. Therefore it is necessary for manufacturers to identify those product characteristics which are perceived by the customers and influence their quality rating. This paper presents a sensory method to detect the customers’ haptic evaluation and rating of leather and artificial leather surfaces. These customer requirements and ratings can systematically be linked to measurable technical parameters and communicated and controlled during the product development process

Addressing information asymmetry during design: Customer-centric approach to harmonization of car body split-lines

Implementation of methods for perceived quality evaluation is an integral part of the automotive manufacturers\u27 strategic development plans. The development of models for objective assessment of perceived quality is a very important task, addressing information asymmetry between designers and customers. This study seeks to understand how customers perceive and prioritize attributes associated with the car body split lines. We applied best-worst scaling methodology (BWS) to understand the importance of different shape design forms from a customer perspective. This approach was tested on 125 respondents. Our results indicate the improvement of engineering practices regarding complex product development solutions and their evaluation

Impact of Globalization on the Australian Automobile Industry case of Ford Falcon

Globalisation demand on productivity tells of an extreme competition and low profitability in the World Automobile Industry which blatantly opposes competitive equilibrium as it is highly regulated. Regulatory measures primarily in reference with trade and followed by ecological protection. Trade protectionism curtails the threat of substitution by way of import quotas and tariffs, administrative barriers and subsidies. Government subsidies have reached millions of dollars, Australia AUD1966M, Germany 1303M and 2908M in America. In the category of environment protection, the Energy and Conservation Act of 1975 costs roughly USD 2000 on compliance per manufactured unit. These aside the high cost on advertising, development research and labour unrest; dampen production locations burdened by overcapacity: Germany and Italy, France and Australia, USA and Japan. In a fragmented value chain stretching across multiple industries, manufacturers thinly spread as production entails specialty knowledge and expensive tools. No single company controlling enough market shares to influence world industry decisions that might induce radical industry transitions. Many outfits close shop over prolonged business slowdown. Death of 80 year old National Treasure Ford Falcon Territory 2016 is a decision to end all losses over the past five years for the amount of 600 million dollars with 23 percent coming off 2012 fiscal year. This involves the retrenchment of 1200 Victorian jobs reasoned against low model volumes. Job loss accounts 650 workers from the assembly plant at Broadmeadows and 510 workers of the Geelong engine plant; after exhausting manufacturing alternatives to increase scale and competitiveness. Developing its presence since 1925, the plant is characterised as a vertically-integrated organisation with formidable technical capability and significant asset infrastructure. As a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, it carries the corporate brand portfolio of Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover

Impact of Globalization on the Australian Automobile Industry case of Ford Falcon

Globalisation demand on productivity tells of an extreme competition and low profitability in the World Automobile Industry which blatantly opposes competitive equilibrium as it is highly regulated. Regulatory measures primarily in reference with trade and followed by ecological protection. Trade protectionism curtails the threat of substitution by way of import quotas and tariffs, administrative barriers and subsidies. Government subsidies have reached millions of dollars, Australia AUD1966M, Germany 1303M and 2908M in America. In the category of environment protection, the Energy and Conservation Act of 1975 costs roughly USD 2000 on compliance per manufactured unit. These aside the high cost on advertising, development research and labour unrest; dampen production locations burdened by overcapacity: Germany and Italy, France and Australia, USA and Japan. In a fragmented value chain stretching across multiple industries, manufacturers thinly spread as production entails specialty knowledge and expensive tools. No single company controlling enough market shares to influence world industry decisions that might induce radical industry transitions. Many outfits close shop over prolonged business slowdown. Death of 80 year old National Treasure Ford Falcon Territory 2016 is a decision to end all losses over the past five years for the amount of 600 million dollars with 23 percent coming off 2012 fiscal year. This involves the retrenchment of 1200 Victorian jobs reasoned against low model volumes. Job loss accounts 650 workers from the assembly plant at Broadmeadows and 510 workers of the Geelong engine plant; after exhausting manufacturing alternatives to increase scale and competitiveness. Developing its presence since 1925, the plant is characterised as a vertically-integrated organisation with formidable technical capability and significant asset infrastructure. As a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, it carries the corporate brand portfolio of Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Lincoln, Mercury, Mazda, Volvo and Land Rover

Objectifying user attention and emotion evoked by relevant perceived product components

[EN] A company’s aim is to develop products that engage user attention and evoke positive emotions. Customers base their emotional evaluation on product components that are relevant for their perception. This paper presents findings of both identifying relevant product components and measuring emotions evoked by relevant perceived product components. To validate results, the comparison with self-reporting methods identifies similarities and differences between explicit expressed and implicit recorded customer requirements. On the one hand, eye tracking is applied to deduce the attention provoked by perceived product components. In order to link the product strategy with product components, the paper presents results considering the fact that the gaze track is affected by current thoughts. (Köhler et al., 2013, 2014a, b; Köhler and Schmitt, 2012) On the other hand, since self-reporting tools are only useful for obtaining information about the conscious part of customers’ emotions, there is a need for measurement methods that measure the changes in physiological signals (bio-signals). Arousal is similar to emotional intensity and is related to the galvanic skin response. Positive or negative emotions are defined by the valence that is measured by facial electromyography. Findings are presented that relate changes in bio-signals on the aesthetical design to the global product impression as well as to emotions and, subsequently, linking changes in physiological signals to the evaluation of semantic concepts and design parameters. The presented approach provides conclusions and valid information about products as well as product components that provoke certain emotions and about product components linked to a certain product concept, which could be part of a product strategy. Consequently, hard facts and special design rules for emotional product design can be deduced.The paper presents results from the cooperative research project CONEMO (Consumer Evaluation Measurement for Objectified Industrial Use – funded by the CORNET program) of the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL), RWTH Aachen University, Germany, together with the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV), Spain. The funding agencies are IMPIVA (operational program FEDER of the Comunidad Valenciana, Spain) and AiF (Germany). The CORNET promotion plan 47EN of the Research Community for Quality (FQS), August-Schanz-Str. 21A, 60433 Frankfurt/Main, was funded by the AiF within the program for sponsorship by Industrial Joint Research and Development (IGF) of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technologies based on an enactment of the German parliament. The authors would like to express their gratitude to all parties involved.Schmitt, R.; Köhler, M.; Durá-Gil, JV.; Diaz Pineda, JA. (2014). Objectifying user attention and emotion evoked by relevant perceived product components. 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