NISSAN NISSAN DESIGN DESIGN NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER Volume Volume 12 12
T h e P Q S t o r y A Look at How Careful Attention to the Littlest Details Can Have a Big Impact on Vehicle Quality Perceptions The first impression is our key point, says Taro Ueda, General Manager, Perceived Quality Department, Nissan Design Center. Ueda is in charge of Nissan s company-wide Perceived Quality program. He leads a special team within Nissan s Design Center, working in close cooperation with other divisions such as Total Customer Satisfaction Function, Planning, Engineering and Manufacturing, as well as overseas PQ departments. PQ is function that has become increasingly important in recent years especially now that Product Quality, the actual measured durability and reliability of vehicles, has reached parity among most manufacturers worldwide. What is Perceived Quality? Perceived Quality is the impression made by items that appeal to customers senses the things the customer sees, hears and touches, and then uses, on a car. By enhancing PQ, Nissan s goal is to make cars that are more appealing and satisfying to customers from the first encounter throughout the entire period of ownership. While hard to pin down, PQ is easy to understand when expressed by the human experience, especially when executed to the highest degree. For instance, here is an example of how Nissan s PQ efforts made the desired impression on a reviewer of the new Infiniti M. Writing in Winding Road Magazine (Issue 56), the journalist stated: This cabin feels premium, soft to the touch, and well screwed down everywhere we rested our hands, feet and (bottoms). Taro Ueda In the following pages we ll take a closer look at how research, engineering and design work together to create vehicles with a high PQ. Bridge-building Between Engineering and Design A car with good driving performance does not necessarily look like it has great performance. In the same way, a roomy space does not always provide an air of comfort. PQ strikes an optimal balance between design, which equals beauty, and engineering, which equals performance. To realize excellent Perceived Quality, designing and engineering must be in harmony with each other. This is what PQ does, explains Ueda, emphasizing the necessity of design working in collaboration with engineering in Nissan s vehicle development process. Takashi Takeuchi So, how are PQ activities linked to the actual car development? We conduct extensive research on what customers want and how they use the car and then carefully quantify each element, says Takashi Takeuchi, Manager, Interior and Exterior Engineering Development Department. We optimally balance design and engineering to meet customers expectations. Our job is to make vehicles that satisfy customers by first thinking about how to measure sensory impressions when we see, hear and touch then how we use and feel things. We then set engineering targets by using the measured values. In addition, we choose the best manufacturing method or materials and develop new technologies.
Scientific Analysis of Good and Bad, Not of Likes and Dislikes One of the challenges of the PQ team is distinguishing between what people feel and their personal tastes. We scientifically analyze the senses and incorporate these findings into product development. Although likes and dislikes vary among individuals, we found that, after studying the opinions of hundreds of people from six different countries, what feels good or bad is almost universal, irrespective of age, gender or location, says Takeuchi. By studying why one feels good when he or she touches things, rather than what they like, we can make things that feel good to everyone. These quantified values can then be used in setting targets in engineering. Nissan has conducted various sensory research studies over many years. We found that what people feel when they touch things can be divided into four categories. Everybody feels soft or hard and hot or cold feelings when we briefly touch things, and wet or dry and smooth or rough feelings when we stroke things, Takeuchi explains. We discovered that people as a result judge good or bad by interpreting their feelings on these four scales. Takeuchi emphasizes that combinations of materials and their feel is also important. When you touch a leather handle, you ll feel leather-specific warmth. If it s cold, you ll think it is fake. Or when you touch aluminum or metal products, you ll feel it s hard or cold. If metal is soft, we get an odd feeling. Developing the Nissan Soft Touch We used to think of a car as luxurious as long as any real leather was used. But actually, we have a variety of leather grades available, don t we? What we found in our studies is that what we feel the most comfortable with is closest to finger-pad softness, said Takeuchi. Takeuchi sees vehicles not just as a means of transportation, but as an integral part of customers lives. As such, he benchmarks comfort and texture not only of industrial products, but also apparel, furniture and Japanese traditional handicrafts. Apparel products often feel good to the touch because their softness is similar to that of finger-pad. Based on this idea, we adopt materials which are most suitable for each individual component such as the instrumental panel, armrests and seats in the fourth-generation Infiniti M. A benchmarked Shogi (Japanese chess) piece box, crafted by Edo joiner, Mr. Toshio Toda
Here are some examples with the interior of the Infiniti M. PQ technologies adopted in the interior of the fourth-generation Infiniti M SOFILEZ (new synthetic leather) This is a new material for armrests, which are in constant contact with people s hands. With the softness of a finger-pad and a surface texture similar to a fingerprint, it creates the soft, comfortable feeling of a baby s skin. Premium semi-aniline leather (real leather) The seats, which receive both pushes and strokes, are upholstered in genuine semi-aniline leather with a newly developed protective coating that is stretchy and strong giving this leather a softer feeling, like a luxury leather-covered sofa. Premium soft instrumental panel Instrumental panels often receive stroke-like touches, demanding the craftsmanship of quality upholstery and an adequate secure feeling. Infiniti M s premium soft instrument panel utilizes a synthetic material that is structurally similar to real leather. This provides a soft feeling and high durability never before achieved with genuine leather for automotive interiors. Making Hard Plastic Moist and Soft Hard materials like plastic tend to feel worse to the touch. However, Takeuchi says, Human fingers are sometimes rather inaccurate, as we found in joint research with the Nagoya Institute of Technology. We have a moisture sensor inside our fingerprints and something can feel wet, even if it s not, when we touch surfaces with uneveness smaller than fingerprints. Also, when we touch more than two small unevenesses at the same time, we feel softness or that it has a dent in the center. Applying this mechanism, Nissan developed an innovative technology that can make people experience hard plastic as moist and soft. In the fourth-generation Infiniti M, the inside of the door trim pull handle is an area where a good feel to the touch is required. The hard material used there adopts soft-feel grain, surfaced with elaborately designed unevennesses on the hard plastic, which creates a soft, moist feeling.
Soft-feel grain Development of Unique Measuring Tools Accuracy of parts and fit is another key influence on Perceived Quality. Even a piece of paper cannot be slipped into the openings between interior parts used in Teana and Infiniti M even under extreme conditions, such as in Arizona where it s so sizzling hot we can fry an egg on the dashboard during daytime or in Alaska where the temperature is 40 degrees below zero Celsius and Fahrenheit. To maintain this level of accuracy, precise measurement is essential, says Takeuchi. However, it s very difficult to precisely measure a complicated surface or tiny openings where a ruler cannot be used. Therefore, Nissan developed its own three-dimensional measuring and laser surface gap measuring equipment. Where it used to take 10 to 20 minutes to measure one spot of a part with a ruler, it now takes only 0.2 seconds to measure a corner radius or an uneven surface. This enables the PQ team to measure more spots than ever. With three-dimensional measuring equipment, we can instantly see the difference between design configuration and an actual item and achieve luxury interior quality as we aimed for, Takeuchi explains. Uniquely-developed laser surface gap measuring equipment
Uniquely-developed laser surface gap measuring equipment He continues, It is our job to identify what customers instinctively sense. Human eyes can tell a difference of 0.2 to 0.3 mm (around a hundredth of an inch). I think human senses are the best measuring equipment. It is Nissan s strength to be able to quantify customers expectations. PQ enhances our efforts to produce the highest levels of product quality. Tools to investigate fit and finish with various corner radius
Leading the Way For More Than a Decade Nissan was among the first companies to formalize PQ efforts in not only the auto industry, but also Japanese manufacturers in other fields. First adopting the PQ concept and its methods from Alliance partner Renault in 1999, Nissan established the dedicated Perceived Quality Department in its Design Center in 2000. Compared to vehicles made in Europe, which benefited from distinctive design policies, Japanese cars lacked the attractiveness factors that appealed to the senses, said Ueda. Even if a product had excellent performance, it could not be communicated to customers unless we expressed that quality feeling in a more concrete way. When customers see a vehicle for the first time in a showroom, they tend to evaluate it from the front view, especially the shape of the grille and headlights, to form their impressions. Beyond creating just a three-dimensional solid front end design, what is important is not only the overall impression of the design, but also the detailed design cues that stimulate feelings of higher quality, emphasizes Ueda. The PQ group began with efforts to improve fit and finish and material texture, which helped improve marketability in aspects other than a vehicle s basic performance and price. In 2004, Nissan developed a proprietary evaluation methodology, utilizing market research to determine key customer decision-making factors. In 2009, taking advantage of the PQ team s position in the Design Center rather than the engineering division like most manufacturers, design quality was added in their scope to strengthen their PQ efforts. We began our PQ efforts through trial and error in order to incorporate the customer s view into design and engineering and to increase customer satisfaction with Japanese vehicles. At first, we had no idea how much effect we could produce, but now our efforts are definitely bearing fruit, Ueda says. The results of studies from tens of thousands of customers collected since 2004, which document the honest opinions of customers who both accepted and rejected our vehicles are our treasure. We share them with all levels of the company, even with the management, and make the best use of them in creating future vehicles. Perception Becomes Reality More than 10 years after the initial PQ efforts, perception is becoming reality. Across the board, the once wide gap between Perceived Quality and Product Quality has closed. Nissan has become an industry leader in designing quality and the critical human touch into vehicles from inception forward. Which takes us back to the beginning. Is how a car feels that critical first impression really that important? Here s what Winding Road Magazine said about it: Door handles, control knobs, and most importantly, the steering wheel, are touch points that feel good in the hand. We would put the M s cabin against the competition from both Germany and Japan (and you, Jaguar) without hesitation. Perception has indeed become reality.
Taro Ueda General Manager, Perceived Quality Department. Joined Nissan in 1989. Following Exploratory Design Department and Product Planning Department, assigned Associate Chief Designer (ACD) in Exploratory Design Department in 1999 with his work including Chappo Show Car in 2001 etc. and exploratory design. Also assigned ACD in charge of Human Machine Interface (HMI) in Interaction Design Department in 2002. Currently responsible for PQ since 2005. His hobbies are traveling, music, movies and skiing. Takashi Takeuchi Manager, Interior and Exterior Engineering Development Department, Vehicle Component Technology Development Division. Joined Nissan in 1989. After postings in interior engineering and analysis, Nissan s first cockpit module development, advanced interior development and strategic interior planning, he was assigned to the new life on board (cabin comfort) activities in 2003. Based on his engineering proposal of Interior built in high quality, he started new activities scientifically-engineered for humans to enhance texture. His hobbies are photographs, driving, racing and watch collection.