This paper presents a proposal and verification of a new immersive methodology that employs a collaborative VR tool to assess both qualitative and quantitative aspects of maintainability in the early stages of new product development.
The industry 4.0 era and its technological advancements are transforming product development by integrating tools such as Virtual Reality, enabling more efficient design processes, real-time collaboration, and the simulation of product concepts in digital environments prior to physical production.
An experiment involving 21 participants was conducted, in which maintainability analyses were performed using the proposed methodology to compare two design alternatives (A and B) across two different case studies (1 and 2). The most suitable solution among the evaluated alternatives was identified using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision-making method. Furthermore, quantitative ergonomic assessments were conducted through the immersive Virtual Reality environment in combination with the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS), a posture classification method.
The results demonstrate strong potential for the proposed methodology, as evidenced by participants’ expressed interest in incorporating the VR tool into their regular workflows.
