Applying Product Design and Digital Construction Methodologies To
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APPLYING PRODUCT DESIGN AND DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGIES TO CONCEPTUALIZE MODULAR AND DISTRIBUTED HEALTHCARE FACILITIES Master’s Thesis Submitted to Aalto University Ehsan Ghazanfari May, 2016 Aalto University, P.O. BOX 11000, 00076 AALTO www.aalto.fi Abstract of master's thesis Author Ehsan Ghazanfari Title of thesis Applying Product Design and Digital Construction Methodologies to Conceptualize Modular and Distributed Healthcare Facilities Degree programme Structural Engineering Major/minor Structural Engineering/Construction Management Code Rak 43 Thesis supervisor Professor Vishal Singh Thesis advisor(s) Mehmet Yalcinkaya Date 21.05.2016 Number of pages 111 Language English Abstract In this thesis, conceptual explorations in the design of modular smart health care facilities have been sought for. A new approach towards the modular design of distantly connected built environments has been introduced that can serve to improve the quality of health care services. The results of this research led to developing a new concept for an engineering product that can have diverse use cases. The proposed healthcare unit concept can be used as a single patient room in hospitals or in patient’s home and can create a compactable, clean, sanitized, customized, and relaxing space for patients or for the elderly who need special care, making it possible to monitor their status and vital signals remotely and helping to reduce infection rates in hospitals. The user requirements for the product, the product design and development methods, manufacturing methods, and management and lifecycle issues were considered during the concept design. In the course of design, while many established product development and engineering design methodologies were used, new engineering design methodologies were also developed for measuring resource effectiveness of the design solutions. The newly developed measures can be utilized in a variety of design practices. The validity of the newly introduced methodologies was checked with the designed product as a case study and with the help of workshops and other case studies. This thesis can be looked into as a sample of a systematic design decision making for designing buildings and structures and the results of such a design can be a revolutionary view towards connected modular facilities. Engineering design principles such as Structure Sharing, Affordance, Prototyping, Design Engineering, QFD Analysis, Modularization, etc. and design and manufacturing technologies such as Direct Digital Manufacturing (DDM), 3D Printing, CNC Laser Cutting, CAD and 3D Modeling, MCAD and Simulations, Rendering and Visualizations, Virtual Reality (VR), etc. were reviewed and utilized in the course of this Master’s thesis. Keywords Modular health care facilities, distributed distant units, QFD, structure sharing, affordance, design engineering, direct digital manufacturing, 3D modelling, 3D printing, virtual reality. Ghazanfari, E. (2016). M.Sc. Thesis, Aalto University. Table of Contents Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Abbreviations and Symbols ............................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Scope of the Thesis ................................................................................................................................... 1 Improving the Engineering Design of Health Care Facilities ............................................................... 1 Applications of the Engineering Design Methodologies and Extension of Methodologies ................. 1 A New Approach for the Design of Health Care Facilities with a Modular System ............................ 1 Significance of the Research Problem ...................................................................................................... 2 Goals and Objectives of the Thesis ........................................................................................................... 3 Modular Unit Design Suitable for Mass Production and Distribution .................................................. 3 Product Development Techniques to Be Used in Structural Design .................................................... 3 Developing a New Concept as a Solution for the Problems Related to Healthcare Facilities .............. 4 Exploring the Use of Collapsible Mechanisms to Save Space and Energy Consumption .................... 4 Exploring the Concept of a New Ecosystem of Connected Distant Facilities ...................................... 4 Exploring the Potential Consequences of Using Direct Digital Manufacturing Technologies on Structural Design .................................................................................................................................. 4 Increasing the Resource Effectiveness through the Use of Engineering Design Methodologies ......... 4 Research Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 5 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................. 7 Product Design Approach in Structural Design: Establishing Connections ......................................... 7 Exploring Potential Applications of Parametric Design and Generative Design in Structural Engineering ........................................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: Background ............................................................................................................................ 9 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Problem Context: Single Bed vs. Multi-Bed Hospitals ........................................................................ 9 A New Trend: Remote Patient Monitoring ......................................................................................... 14 Problem Context: Aging in Place........................................................................................................ 15 A New Trend: Hospital at Home Programs ........................................................................................ 18 Physical Features of the Built Environment That Can Have Influences on Health ............................ 19 Design Engineering: How Do Engineers Conduct the Design? .......................................................... 23 i Ghazanfari, E. (2016). M.Sc. Thesis, Aalto University. Design Prototypes: What is the Significance of Design Prototypes in Conceptual Design? .............. 25 Modularity: Necessary Steps to Create a Modular System? What are the Benefits? .......................... 26 Applications of 3D Printing for Rapid Prototyping ............................................................................ 28 QFD: A Systematic Approach for Product Development ................................................................... 29 Structure Sharing in Design: Bringing Resource Effectiveness into Play .......................................... 35 Direct Digital Manufacturing: Can the Emergent Technologies Be Counted on for Mass Production? ............................................................................................................................................................ 41 Case Studies ............................................................................................................................................ 42 Case Study: Applying CNC Laser Cutting Technology in Building Wooden Single Family Houses in Finland ................................................................................................................................................ 42 Case Study: Bioquell Pods in UK ....................................................................................................... 44 Case Study: Rem Pods ........................................................................................................................ 45 Aalto Health Factory – Looking at Current Problems in the Health-Care Based Research................ 46 CHAPTER 3: Conceptual Design of the Product ....................................................................................... 47 Market Analysis Phase: Who Can Be a Potential Customer? ............................................................. 47 Story-board and Use Case Analysis .................................................................................................... 49 Technical Requirements through Literature........................................................................................ 50 Energy Consumption, Green Environment and Resource Effectiveness ............................................ 51 QFD Analysis Method .......................................................................................................................