Service and system design — Reflection
Disabled?
Disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. This definition doesn’t actually describe the condition fully. As a designer, we need to look for every single opportunity, every single possibility which makes the impact. While working on the service design project, I came across the better definition of the disability.
Disability is nothing but the combination of an inability and the solution for that inability which lies within self. When we talk about the disabilities or Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), we try to generalize their condition using some shallow categories. But the fact is that, not all of them suffer from the same level of disability. Depending upon their condition they have certain different acquired abilities or skill-sets which help them in performing daily tasks and activities differently. Also as a designer one should not just role-play and assume the conditions which PwDs go through. Because over the period of time the PwDs learn to live with their inabilities and they have their own solutions to overcome some of them. While role-playing, we tend to ignore them or we fail to learn those things. Hence it is necessary to embrace their efforts, understand their way of life and then consider the design.
Society and PwDs.
Social existence is a very important feature of our lives. When it comes to the PwDs, who have their total population close to 3cr., having a healthy social life is another difficult task. The mind-set of people towards the PwDs is different and it affects their social life. They are always looked upon as weak, helpless and dependent on someone, but, this is not always the case. This social stigma takes away their independence in some or the other way.
While designing the bus system for the PwDs, I reached at a point where I was supposed to take a call about making a bus exclusively for the PwDs, or making it an inclusive bus. This was the situation where it was either about the special bus, and about having something dedicated for PwDs, or about the special bus which also makes them feel that social stigma.
When we talk about the social stigma, it is not something which starts from the PwDs, it rather starts because of the way the abled bodies think about them. Hence to bring the change, it was necessary to look at this root cause. Hence later it was decided that inclusive buses for PwDs, is the best way to go about this. These buses are designed in such a way that they have those ramps and lifts for the safe boarding and de-boarding of the PwDs.
This system will affect the thinking of the abled bodies. We will stop stigmatizing them, and will accept their biological condition. This will also open up the possibilities for them to socially attach with the people around them, to take part in various activities and make their social life healthy. This will provide them intellectual independence up to certain extent. The added benefit of this inclusive system is that it will also provide the economic sustainability.
Transportation
One of the strong pillars required for any sort of transportation is money. In the service design project, the buses designed for the PwDs had some different product design features. Such buses come with extra costing, high maintenance and are very efficient. Naturally there is a cost structure attached to it.
While going through the different cost structures, I came to know that there are two basic models in which these cost structures can be defined. These models are capitalist model and the cooperative model.
Both these models have own benefits and work in different boundaries. Every system should have its own model well defined. This model helps the owners or the decision makers understand the money involved, the flow of money and the costs included and accordingly they can plan the activities. When it comes to the transportation system for the PwDs, the bus system for example, it can also work in both the models.
Looking at the capitalist model, the major focus here is on making as much of profit as possible. This generally has two cases, first is when the number of customers are high or when the customers can afford the high prices which then can make the system economically sustainable. The profit sharing is also not equal within all the stakeholders as they don’t have equal stakes in it. The profit often hence goes into the pockets of the person with maximum stake and that stakeholder uses that profit for himself.
But while making the bus system for the PwDs, both the basic conditions for the capitalist model fail. The population of the PwDs is less and most of them come in lower middle class. Hence they cannot afford the expensive transportation on daily basis.
Hence the cooperative model works fine in this case. In cooperative model the stakeholders have equal stakes, they share the responsibilities, they take decisions and everyone has equal stake. The other benefit is that the gains are reinvested for the betterment of the people taking part in the system which then helps system sustain in all the aspects. The agenda is not just about making profit but it is also about empowering the stakeholders.
When this bus system is implemented using cooperative model, it can help build more sustainable system as it also creates a better social impact, as it provides the ownership to the people who are being affected by the system and the profit is then used for their betterment.
Conclusion
The PwDs are the people who have inabilities which are troublesome for their daily activities. Though this is the case, it doesn’t make them completely helpless towards their life. We as designers need to understand their conditions, embrace their personal space, provide them independence wherever we can to make their lives meaningful. While focusing on the systems, as the owners of it, we need to take a call on what we want to achieve by implementing it, then we can choose through different models and make decisions about the social and the economic sustainability of the system.
