Design for paraplegia: Preparing product design specifications for a wheelchair

Abstract

Less emphasis on the formation of product design specifications (PDS) during the design process leads to a higher rate of product abandonment, especially of products for disabled people. Understanding disabled people as the users becomes more critical. Therefore, this paper focuses on the framework to prepare the PDS. Regarding the PDS for products used by people with paraplegia (impaired lower-limb functions), the wheelchair is chosen as the case study. This framework shows the relationship between the information from the users and the information from the products to produce the key elements in the PDS. Information on users was collected through the questionnaire/interview (n = 37) and observation (n = 50) methods, then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 20. The information from the product was collected by using functional analysis. The framework's result is that the PDS will be based on users and products. The framework is also applicable to other products for people with disabilities.