The science of seating: Ford combat back pain

Ford has noticed that drivers are increasingly suffering from back pain. With longer commutes being a particular reason for their discomfort. They reckon the average driver spends 101 minutes on the road every day, with over 50% of these drivers reporting back pain as a problem.

Ford engineers have now crafted some seats that should minimise back pain. They are not only smaller and lighter than the current pews, but also more comfortable and supportive claim Ford. They will be standard in the all-new Ford Escape, available in 2013.

Seat engineer Mike Kolich said “we are designing our seats so when drivers and passengers arrive at their destinations, they are relaxed and ready to go.”

This is an important area for manufacturers as back pain on the increase and journey times only looking like lengthening.

Ford conducted some research to work out what buyers actually preferred to sit on. Kolich said: “We used to think Europeans liked aggressively shaped seats with firm cushions while Americans preferred flat, cushy seats, the reality is that regardless of the size and shape of a driver’s backside, they tend to value roughly the same characteristics when it comes to comfort. European drivers actually wanted somewhat more cushioning than previously thought while Americans wanted better support.” Ford then conducted thousands of tests in order to quantify their research.

One of the features which will make drivers more comfortable in the future is the adjustment available. The new Ford Escape will have 10 way adjustment available, with even rear seat passengers getting some adjustment.

Even with all of the quantitative data being collected, eventually the engineers have to put butts in seats. Blind comfort evaluations are conducted using a turntable with five different seats mounted on it. Testers sit down on the seat, give a subjective rating, and then the turntable rotates to bring the next seat around. All of these efforts are paying off, as the number of consumers surveyed by the Global Quality Research System giving a “high satisfaction” rating to Ford seats steadily rose from 78 percent to 83 percent between 2005 and 2010.