Design of Noise-Canceling Earmuffs with Quality Function Deployment

Abstract

One of the most important responsibilities that employers have to fulfill against the employee is ensuring the safety of employees in the working environment. The personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last resort in case the danger cannot be eliminated despite the required measures taken in the working environment. The user-oriented design of protective equipment is important for effective use in the working environment. Therefore, this study is aimed to define the parameters that come to the forefront in a noise-canceling earmuff design considering user expectations. In the scope of this study, the quality function deployment method, which is widely used in the literature, is used to transfer user expectations to the technical specifications of the product. According to the results of the chapter, “Active Adaptation System” and “Passive System with Protective Foam” are the two most important design parameters.