The start up as a phase of architectural design process

Area of Science:

• Ergonomics and Human Factors
• Architectural Design and Built Environments
• Occupational Health and Safety

Background:

• Architectural design alterations are ongoing from conception through occupancy.
• The critical "moving phase" involves initial environment occupation and service start-up.
• This phase is often excluded from traditional design process considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the value of continuous ergonomics interventions during the "moving phase".
• To highlight how this phase reveals built environment inadequacies and unmet user needs.
• To enable immediate decision-making for resolving unforeseen problems during start-up.

Main Methods:

• Focus on the "moving phase" as a period for ergonomic assessment.
• Observation and intervention during the initial occupation and service start-up.
• Analysis of user experiences during this critical, often overlooked, design stage.

Main Results:

• Continuous ergonomics interventions effectively identify design inadequacies.
• The "moving phase" exposes unmet user needs not apparent in the design stage.
• Prompt identification of problems allows for rapid, on-site solutions.

Conclusions:

• Integrating ergonomics into the "moving phase" is crucial for successful built environment occupation.
• This approach ensures that environments meet user needs from the outset.
• Lessons learned during this phase provide valuable feedback for future design iterations.