Industrial Vehicle Technology - June 2020
INTERVIEW: MIND OF A DESIGNER
2020-07-11 05:34:21
TOP INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER JON POPE DISCUSSES THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON VEHICLE DESIGN, WHAT MAKES A GREAT MACHINE - AND LIFE IN LOCKDOWN
For most of us, adjusting to the new normal means coming through lockdown, social distancing and presenting your living space to strangers on Zoom. The last of these design consultant Jon Pope generously agreed to earlier this month from his home in Massachusetts.
“Since the weather has been growing warmer, I’ve been getting out into the woods on my mountain bike and trying not to kill myself in a fall,” he says. “That and a fair degree of procrastination.”
Pope began his working life in industrial design back in the ’90s and has worked with the likes of John Deere, Volvo CE and Mahindra. Throughout his career he has seen considerable changes, though of course nothing like this. How does he predict Covid-19 will affect the industry?
“As a result of the pandemic I think there’s going be a lot of change, from manufacturing to operator interface,” he says. “With heavy equipment a cab operator is pretty much isolated, but there might be more than one person using the vehicle that day so sanitary issues could come into play. What if the air can stay infected for a long time? We might well have to worry more about air quality that we do now, and how quickly you can air a cab.”
Full autonomy?
The question of what kind of vehicles might be hastened by Covid-19 inevitably turns to autonomy. Pope knows that the arrival of autonomous equipment is inevitable. “It’s coming, it’s going to be here,” he says. But he feels there’s a discrepancy between what’s in the media and OEM marketing presentations, and the reality.
“The truth is we’re not even close,” he says. “There are still a lot of hurdles that need to be overcome. And that’s not just for industrial vehicles. You need to start with automobiles, which I think will come first. Reliability, being exposed to different environments, servicing, all of this has to be considered. In the heavy equipment world these things are multiplied tenfold. In a controlled environment, for instance a mining situation where it’s closed off to the public, that’s very achievable. The problem arises with roadside work or a construction site. For me that’s still a long way off because one central issue remains – if something happens, who is responsible?”
Making adjustments
Pope recognises that, come what may, the wheels of industry must do their level best to keep turning. As it stands an upgrade may take a year to 18 months, while a new product can take two or more years. What happens if you throw coronavirus into the mix?
“Is this situation going to change forecasts? Of course. It will affect what companies are going to do for upgrades and introducing new equipment across the industry worldwide. Some bad things will happen if machines don’t start to get upgraded. We don’t know whether this is a bumpy road that we’re going to have to deal with for the next few years, constantly worrying about shutdowns. Heavy equipment is so deeply interrelated to other industries. Not to get too political, but here in the USA there are things that could be done to help the heavy equipment industry that would also help the country, and that’s a badly needed grand infrastructure programme. It would be a win-win, but for probably two decades now we’ve been getting close to a failing grade in infrastructure.”
“AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC I THINK THERE’S GOING BE A LOT OF CHANGE, FROM MANUFACTURING TO OPERATOR INTERFACE. WHAT IF THE AIR CAN STAY INFECTED FOR A LONG TIME? WE MIGHT WELL HAVE TO WORRY MORE ABOUT AIR QUALITY THAT WE DO NOW, AND HOW QUICKLY YOU CAN AIR A CAB”
Dozer concept
In between bike rides Pope has been working on a vehicle that he began in December but was sidelined by a ConExpo project. It’s a futuristic battery-powered 210 metric ton bulldozer concept, an electrified update of a previous machine, and projected to exist eight years in the future.
“One possible direction for future battery power is solid state technology and that is the power storage system I chose for this concept,” he says. “One of its advantages is that it requires no cooling system, meaning the entire lower three chassis and track frames are filled with solid state battery banks. This machine also uses super capacitors to aid under heavy load, store regenerative power from the traction motors and aid in quick charging the batteries. They do require cooling so the super capacitors and their cooling systems are mounted on the upper superstructure. Hydraulic pumps and motors are modular. They can be quickly taken out as one unit and are located at ground level for easy servicing and or replacement. Access to a pump is also at ground level to allow for safe hydraulic reservoir filling.”
Pope’s concept machine brings the conversation neatly round to the iVT Design Challenge (see below left ), our very own concept competition and one that Pope has contributed to previously. “It typically comes at a period when you don’t have time, but this time round may be different,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase your skills and get something published in a magazine that’s renowned throughout the industry. I can’t deny it has directly and indirectly led to new work for me.”
I joke that he may be barred from entry on account of his experience and previous exposure. He laughs, readjusts his baseball cap and ends the call with a smile.
On the Web
To listen to a podcast of this interview with Jon Pope visit www.ivtinternational.com/podcast
WHAT MAKES GOOD INDUSTRIAL DESIGN?
“It’s all about the buzz phrase, perceived quality,” says Pope. “Let’s say you have two tractors. They essentially do the same job but one is not so easy to operate or maintain. The other meanwhile is more comfortable, so you can operate it for longer and get better productivity. Daily maintenance is less hassle and it looks like some thought went into it. We know which piece of equipment the customer will gravitate towards, but you have to back up that perceived quality up with actual quality. This means involving industrial design from the very beginning, so that you’re bringing perceived quality without adding manufacturing costs. If you try to force the human factors in at the end to fit around your machine it always shows.”
CALLING ALL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE DESIGNERS!
The iVT Annual Design Challenge is back! Its purpose is to inspire new thinking in off-highway vehicle design in order to meet the constantly evolving demands of the industry via the use of innovative materials, concepts and components. The Challenge helps to promote the work of industrial designers – new or established – pushing the industry forward and bringing it face-to-face with fresh challenges, enabling us to address them as an industry.
What makes for an innovative machine? What ideas help us see into the future? Can you create something that will completely change our understanding of what an off-highway vehicle can be?
The Challenge
“Design an industrial vehicle that includes new styling and functionality that takes full advantage of existing and possible future trends in electrification.”
Deadline for entries – Friday 10 July 2020
Qualifying entries will be featured in the iVT Off-Highway Annual 2021 (published September 2020) and on www.ivtinternational.com. Send high-resolution images and a brief written explanation of your vehicle to saul.wordsworth@markallengroup.com
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