The case study about an equipment design concept gentle to Asian Operators

A Comparative Study on Equipment Design between Japanese Concept and Western Concept

Abstract

In this paper, the similarities and differences on equipment design between Japanese and Western concepts are compared in regards to the following five points: 1) gather information, 2) product design, 3) equipment design, 4) hand tool design, 5) material handling design.
The comparison made it clear that while some similarities exist in the two equipmentdesign concepts and [1] advantages and disadvantages of implementation, Japanese andwestern concepts are completely different in terms of the implementation changes andergonomics behind the advantages and disadvantages. Western concept shows atendency to design big, durable and heavyweight, whereas Japanese concept shows atendency to design middle, economical and lightweight on equipment design. Based onthese findings, it is possible to conclude the Japanese concept is a new type of equipmentdesign that should be considered separately from material resources and ergonomics.However, existing studies that offer complex discussions of the similarities and differencesof the two design systems tend to focus on material resources and ergonomics of equipmentdesign. The fact that some similarities can be found in these two concepts could be thereason why Japanese concept now is often considered to have more advantages thanwestern concept for new equipment in Asia area.