OVERVIEW
Daewoo, an international producer of forklift trucks, looked to partner with a product design firm to improve the ergonomics of the operator cab, update the external aesthetics, and improve usability on its lift trucks. The company had four lift trucks in its product family – two trucks targeted to overseas markets, one to the U.S. market, and one global” product.
Product Design
1996
OUTCOME
Use of innovative rapid prototyping techniques reduced turnaround time by three months and eliminated problems before money was committed to hard tooling; the new designs increased stakeholder value without increasing the trucks’ price; and the time to revenue was substantially reduced.
PROCESS
An extensive stakeholder audit was conducted and a highly iterative development process using full-size models was employed. Work included design and ergonomics of the operator cab, the external body of the vehicle, as well as internal layout of the engine compartment for better maintenance access.
