Dimensions Of Drivers Research Articles

Anthropometric Seat Design for Bus Drivers in Southwestern Nigeria

Most buses used in Nigeria are imported; thus, the anthropometric dimensions of the citizens of the country of manufacture were used for the seat design. Poorly designed seats due to a mismatch in anthropometric measurements may lead to musculoskeletal disorders. Hence, there is a need to design an appropriate seat for particular bus drivers. This study aimed to obtain anthropometric dimensions of Nigerian bus drivers and design an appropriate driver’s seat based on the collected dimensions. Relevant anthropometric variables necessary for the driver’s seat design were obtained from 150 randomly selected male bus drivers from seven towns in Ogun, Oyo and Lagos states. Seat dimensions of 50 urban buses in heavy and medium automobile categories were considered. The means, standard deviations and 5th, 50th and 95th percentiles were calculated. The existing seat dimensions were compared with the required anthropometric measurements of the drivers for the seat design. It was found that the current seat measurements differed from the suggested seat dimensions. The study highlighted that in designing and producing bus seats for Nigerian bus drivers, their anthropometric data should be considered. The study recommended that the dimensions of the driver’s seat should be 46.45-50.45 cm (seat height); 39-48.26 cm (seat depth); 46.83 cm (seat front width); 53 cm (backrest height); 49-58.26 (backrest depth); and 90° to 130° (seat backrest angle).

Drivers for Annual Cork Growth under Two Understory Management Alternatives on a Podzolic Cork Oak Stand

Understory management practices and stand density characteristics allow one to distinguish a cork oak traditional silvopastoral system (known as a montado) from a cork oak forest system. Although understanding the manner in which different management practices affect cork growth is imperative, there are still only a few outputs from experimental research that contribute to this knowledge. The effect of potential drivers on annual cork growth was analyzed using a linear mixed model approach. Two dimensions of drivers were considered: intraspecific competition, assessed by tree level distance-dependent indices; and interspecific competition, assessed by variables characterizing understory management. The present dataset was collected from an experimental trial established on a cork oak stand in Podzolic soil on the Tagus river basin, covering two different cork growth cycles over the period from 2003 to 2015. The adjusted models considered two understory management alternatives: spontaneous shrubs maintenance and forage application. In both models, annual precipitation displayed a positive effect on annual cork growth, as expected. However, no significant effect of intraspecific competition was found. Additionally, there was a positive effect on annual cork growth associated with the spontaneous shrubs growth and a negative effect associated with lupine presence; both effects linked to different cork ring ages’ thresholds. The study main contributions are the following: (i) the introduction of the interaction between cork growth cycle stage and understory management practices, only possible with cork sample collections from different cork rotation cycles; (ii) the finding that there was no significant effect of intraspecific competition on cork growth.

Sitting Strategy Analysis based on Driving Postures and Seating Pressure Distributions

Sitting strategies which statistically represent preferred and comfortable driving postures can be used as reference data to design/evaluate an automobile interior layout. Although the previous research have identified the sitting strategies for various anthropometric dimensions of drivers, the classification method of sitting strategies was not objective and the effect of driver’s gender/occupant package layout (OPL) to the sitting strategy has not been clearly analyzed yet. The present study is intended to objectively identify the sitting strategies based on various drivers’ preferred driving postures and seating pressure distributions. Forty drivers’ preferred driving postures and their seating pressures in 3 different OPL conditions (coupe, sedan, and SUV) were measured by a motion capture system and pressure mat. Next, the sitting strategies were classified by a cluster analysis, and the effects of driver’s gender and OPL condition to the sitting strategies were statistically analyzed. As a result, the sitting strategies for upper-body were identified as erect (33% of drivers were preferred), slouched (41%), and reclined postures (26%). The number of drivers who preferred erect posture, female drivers was more than twice that of male drivers; on the other hand, the number of drivers who preferred reclined posture, male drivers were more than twice that of female drivers ( p < .05). Moreover, 84% of drivers preferred knee bent strategy in SUV condition because the SUV condition has higher seat height than coupe and sedan condition ( p < .05). Both the identified sitting strategies and the factors to affect sitting strategies would be of use as considerable information in an ergonomic design/evaluation of automobile interior layout.

Innovation and Competitive Advantage: Model and Implementation for Global Logistics

This paper examines the impact of external factors on global logistics firms. A research model is presented for implementation in order to maintain competitive advantage. The model identifies key dimensions of drivers of logistics innovation. Process of innovation and the outcomes are also discussed accordingly. This paper employs e-research and a survey of literature as research methodology. Key constructs are defined by their essential characteristics. Proposition development articulates the relationships between key constructs. Managerial implications and solutions are discussed in order to respond to the concern of manager of improving their logistics capacities and performance of firms properly.

The prediction of car driver size and position to enhance safety in crashes

The positions which car drivers adopt when driving will depend on their anthropometric characteristics, the range and type of adjustment available from the vehicle package and their preferred driving posture. The design and testing of systems to protect occupants in car crashes assumes that the size and position of the driver is ‘normal’ or ‘average’, although there is some accommodation for adjustability. If, however, the occupant protection system had information on the driver's chosen seat position, on whether the driver was particularly large or small and on whether the driver was sitting close to or further from the steering wheel, in a crash the system could tailor its performance and enhance the protection offered. This study investigated whether it was possible to predict the physical characteristics of the driver and the driver's position in relation to the steering wheel, from data that could be collected by sensors in the seat and seat mounting. In order to do this, anthropometric characteristics of drivers and their usual seated position in their own vehicle were measured and analyses were undertaken to identify whether there were any relationships between the driver-related and the vehicle-related measures. The results showed that it was possible to predict drivers' head and chest positions relative to injury-producing features of the vehicle such as the steering wheel (and hence the airbag) and to predict some physical dimensions of drivers.