SASTech - Technical Journal of RUAS

Healthcare industry is a wide and intensive form of service which is related to the well being of individuals. The Indian healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing sectors. The patient's perspective towards hospitals is also changing. They expect better facilities from the hospital management. One of the most common issues patients encounter is the quality of food which they get during their stay in the hospital. Equipment is required to keep the food fresh from the kitchen to the ward. A food trolley is a cart which will keep the food hot and fresh during transit. Food trolley maintains the acceptable texture and temperature of the food. This project is an attempt to bring a better solution for hospital food service by understanding issues in the existing design.

Design process started with a primary research and an identified problem in hospital food service system. The need was identified for a better food trolley, which could simplify the hospital food service and also reduce maintenance. Data collection was carried out by adopting methodologies such as literature review, Product Study, Market Study and product environment study. Trend Study was done to understand the trends in similar products over a period of time. Stake holders were interviewed during ethnography research and personal interviews to understand their needs and aspirations. Ergonomic study was conducted for deciding product parameters. Quality Function Deployment and Product Design Specification were generated based upon data analysis. Concepts were generated with respect to the derived Product Design Specification. Various issues and needs identified through data collection have been addressed in developed concepts. Final concept was selected by weighted ranking method.

The product name has been chosen as ‘Steamfresh’ which highlights the function of the product in an efficient manner. A half scale mock-up model has been made to validate the final concept and feedback was collected from users. Major user needs such as handles for usability, modular design shelves, ergonomics and aesthetics were satisfied by the final design. User response on final design was positive and satisfying.