The Improvement of Usability for Train Toilet Design

Design for improved usability is to understand products from the user's point of view so eventually to enhance the pleasantness users by reflecting it into the design. The philosophy of user-oriented design is an essence of human-centered product planning, and its application is more important for railway vehicle design, which is closely connected with everyday life. This study focused to define basic elements of train interior design concept, which considers convenience and comfort for passengers, by extracting and interpreting ergonomic requirements, as usability factors, of train toilet design. The study on user-oriented design of trains consists of the practice of sensibility engineering for the management of customers' emotions and its harmonious use on design, and aims on the embodiment of new ergonomic design. In the center, it has analyzed the criteria and characteristics of the user-oriented design and has concluded the design direction and components to a concrete idea and proposed prototypes, which may become a good example for train interior design later on. In addition, it proposes a direction, which may become a guideline of ergonomic design, to secure competition capacity. Moreover this study is concentrated on the physical environment and human behavior of train toilet users, on the analysis of factors necessary for adequate toilet design, and on the understanding of interface between its users. What is more, it proposes a module of development process and methods of approaching the interface. The study presents a design standard, under which the concrete data of the characteristics and practicable range and the convergent demands accelerate to the module could be confirmed and criticized. The study on the usability is going to contribute to more pleasant and comfortable train environments and consequently, it's going to create new values of increased railway competitiveness by design.