Fundamental Understanding and Future Guidance for Handheld Computers in the Rail Industry
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Fundamental Understanding and Future Guidance for Handheld Computers in the Rail Industry Yasamin Dadashi, BSc, BSc, MSc Thesis Submitted to the University of Nottingham for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2009 Abstract Advances in mobile computing technology and software applications have led to an expansion in potential uses for handheld computers for various tasks. One strong application area is in maintenance and inspection. Network Rail has been progressively developing and applying handheld computers to field-based maintenance and inspection operations, with the aims of improving work productivity and quality, and personal and system safety. However, it is clear that these aims so far have been achieved with varying degrees of success. Handheld computer devices have the potential to enhance the procedure of performing the tasks in many different ways. However, the current handheld computers introduced to maintenance and inspection tasks in Network Rail have principally been designed as data entry tools and in most cases the primary objective is to reduce the amount of paper work and the associated costs and errors. This highlights the need for fundamental research into the ways in which handheld computer technologies should be specified, designed and implemented for effective use in a complex distributed environment such as the rail industry. The main purpose of this research was to study the applications of handheld computers in the rail industry and to generate a set of design principles for development of future systems within Network Rail. The findings of this research have contributed to the identification of human factors principles that need to be considered for design and implementation of successful handheld computer applications. A framework was also developed to summarise and organise information and functional requirements of maintenance workers. Investigating maintenance workers’ requirements through interviews and observations emphasised the importance of rail specific spatial information and the benefits of providing this knowledge to maintenance workers through a mobile computing device which is portable and easy to use. However, displaying rail specific spatial information on the small screen of a handheld computer introduces various HCI issues and i challenges. These were addressed in part through a programme of experiments, and therefore the final section of this research focused on examining fundamental aspects of presenting rail specific spatial information on handheld computer screens. The main findings from different stages of this research have been collated into a set of recommendations for design and development of usable and useful applications for handheld computer devices in the rail industry. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank the many people who have helped and supported me during my research. I am in particular indebted to my supervisors, Dr. Sarah Sharples and Professor John Wilson. This work would not have been possible without their invaluable feedback, comments, continuous support, encouragement and patience. I would like to thank my colleagues in the Ergonomics National Specialist Team who have provided me not only with the necessary information, but also with support and encouragement. I’d like to thank Theresa Clarke, Head of Ergonomics, for encouraging this research. I would also like to thank Bob Muffett and John Robinson for the wealth of knowledge they brought to this work. Most importantly perhaps, I must thank the maintenance workers who participated in this study and made this work possible. Thanks are to my family, my father, my sister, and Aunt Sholeh who cared for me and for my work. Most importantly though, I would like to thank my mother who made all this possible with her love and endless support. I am eternally grateful. I need to thank my friends who supported me throughout my research and kept me motivated. Thanks to Nora Balfe, Alex Schock, and Justin McNamara for providing good humour and support. There is one person I need to thank most of all and to whom I am truly and forever thankful; my husband, Saam. iii Table of Contents 1. CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1 1.1. BACKGROUND .....................................................................................1 1.2. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH .........................................................................2 1.3. METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ..........................................................4 1.3.1. Literature Review .......................................................................5 1.3.2. Qualitative Research Approach .....................................................6 1.4. RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK..........................................................8 1.5. THESIS STRUCTURE ..............................................................................9 2. CHAPTER 2 – MOBILE COMPUTING: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES............................................................................................. 12 2.1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 12 2.1.1. Characteristics of Mobile Computing Devices................................. 12 2.1.2. Ubiquitous, Mobile or Wearable Computing? ................................. 15 2.2. APPLICATIONS OF MOBILE COMPUTING DEVICES ........................................... 16 2.2.1. Introduction............................................................................. 16 2.2.2. Rail Industry Applications .......................................................... 17 2.2.3. Maintenance and Inspection Field Tasks....................................... 18 2.2.4. Medical Applications.................................................................. 22 2.2.5. Educational Applications ............................................................ 24 2.2.6. Location Aware Navigational Applications ..................................... 25 2.2.7. Entertainment and Personal Applications...................................... 26 2.2.8. Summary ................................................................................ 26 2.3. MOBILE HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION ................................................... 28 2.3.1. Introduction............................................................................. 28 2.3.2. Mobile Human Computer Interaction Challenges and Opportunities .. 31 2.3.3. Interacting with Mobile Computing Systems ................................. 41 2.3.4. Summary ................................................................................ 48 2.4. MOBILE HCI RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................... 49 2.4.1. Introduction............................................................................. 49 2.4.2. Mobile HCI Theories .................................................................. 49 2.4.3. Evaluation of Mobile Computing Systems ..................................... 53 2.4.4. Summary ................................................................................ 60 3. CHAPTER 3 – MAINTENANCE OPERATION IN THE RAIL INDUSTRY.. 62 3.1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 62 iv 3.2. THE ROLE OF THE MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT IN OPERATING THE RAILWAY NETWORK63 3.2.1. History of Maintenance Operations in Network Rail ........................ 64 3.2.2. Infrastructure Maintenance Department....................................... 65 3.2.3. Track Staff Role........................................................................ 68 3.2.4. Handheld Computers for Maintenance Operations.......................... 72 3.3. ELECTRONIC DEVICE APPLICATIONS IN RAIL ENGINEERING (EDARE)................... 72 3.3.1. Background ............................................................................. 72 3.4. METHOD ......................................................................................... 75 3.4.1. Information from Site Visits ....................................................... 76 3.4.2. Brainstorming sessions with Human Factors Researchers and Subject Matter Experts ..................................................................................... 77 3.4.3. Interviews with Maintenance workers .......................................... 82 3.5. THE EDARE FRAMEWORK ..................................................................... 85 3.6. RESEARCH CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK........................................................ 95 3.7. DISCUSSION..................................................................................... 97 4. CHAPTER 4 – USER EXPERIENCE CASE STUDIES.............................. 98 4.1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 98 4.1.1. Handheld Computer Hardware and Software............................... 100 4.2. METHOD ....................................................................................... 101 4.2.1. User Experience (UX) Case Studies vs. Usability Evaluation .......... 101 4.2.2. Expert Review........................................................................ 103 4.2.3. Field Visits – Observational Methods.......................................... 103 4.2.4. Interviews and Subjective Measurements................................... 104 4.2.5. Analysis – Interviews and Questionnaire Results ......................... 116 4.3. RESULTS ......................................................................................