AVIATION CABIN CREW TASK RE-DESIGN
ViVA provided the human-centred design parameters on aviation flight crew staff's interaction with beverage and soup vessels to suit the constraints of air travel and the capabilities of diverse workers.
PROJECT LEAD
PROJECT TEAM
PARTNERED WITH
Software Solutions, ErgoAnalyst
Context
Air transportation is a growing industry. Flight crews must operate in their prime condition to care for the safety and security of their passengers. However, flight crew work is characterised by occupational hazards, including working in restricted areas, irregular shift work, air turbulence, time zone changes, physical hazards, and psychosocial exposures.
Challenge
A national airline needed to select new beverage and soup dispensing vessels because the new flight craft design changed the galley, causing a misfit with their existing vessels.
Approach
The ViVA human factors research team syntheised scientific literature on flight crew work experiences. Equipped with this knowledge, ViVA ran focus group simulated trials in a grounded aircraft with a representative sample of domestic and international flight crew, a health and safety manager, and a product representative. ViVA integrated physical and psychosocial risk assessments and considered the design parameters of vessels with the constraints of air travel and the capabilities of diverse workers. Additionally, ViVA facilitated a design sprint workshop with the staff in the grounded aircraft.
Outcomes
ViVA developed both the airline’s functional specifications of beverage and soup vessels and the design trade-offs, enabling the airline to improve their decision making on purchase or custom design of new vessels. ViVA also recommended strategies to use digital technologies for more efficient decision making and shared problem solving in their ongoing operations.
Image credit: AirlineRatings.com