Utveckling av Hjulvalsprocessen för Operadekor : En Användarcentrerad Metod för Förbättrad Funktionalitet och Dokumentation

This project was carried out during 2024 as a collaboration between KTH and the Royal Opera. The purpose was to analyze shortcomings in earlier wheel and brake systems and then develop guidelines for future solutions. A lot of the opera productions utilize decors to improve the experience for the audience. These are often large, heavy and complex constructions. They require wheels to be transported onto stage but sometimes also moved during a play. This presents several challenges. The stage floor is inclined 4% towards the audience which means the decors also need brakes. The wheels do also have a tendency to get stuck on floor edges, being difficult to maneuver and are prone to failure. The brakes have also posed challenges due to user errors or design deficiencies, resulting in near miss incidents. Another challenge is that each production features unique solutions. This leads to inconsistencies in the engineering process and an uncertainty for the end user because they need to learn new procedures within limited time. Interviews with the opera personnel: stage technicians, engineers, carpenters, mechanical technician and a stage manager revealed that the main challenges are the high level of variation in the decors design and that the wheels are often inadequate for their intended load. Therefore a tool in Excel that based on calculations will recommend wheels to new decors was developed. The calculations are based on data such as how big the decor is supposed to be, usage conditions, which will handle it and how much it will weigh. The tool then generates a recommendation of suitable types of wheels and how many are needed. It also has a database over earlier decors where only decors within ±50 % of the input weight are shown. This is made so the engineers can use experience from earlier applications. The tool is designed to continuously be refined to improve recommendations over time.