The final solution should function to its fullest ability. The layout of the dock must allow the fueling station to be used as efficiently as possible. There should be a sufficient amount of pumps so that they are all used nearly the same amount without a significant amount of boat traffic. Boats normally have gas tanks in the back of the boats, so traffic can be eliminated if there are slips for boats to pull into and if there is a single traffic direction that boats can take. The system that is to be tested is the layout of the fueling dock. What will be specifically tested is its protection from external elements such as vessel impacts and water levels, the fluidity of the expected vessel traffic, and the maneuvering ability the gas attendants would have from pump to pump. The installation of the fueling system will undergo its own series of testing procedures, which will be administrated by the company which installs it. The design and layout of the dock will be administrated and tested by the designer (myself) throughout the design process. Also, the users of the dock which include the customers and the fuel dock staff, will be testing the design. The location of the testing will mainly focus at the end of the dock that is jutting out into the water. There is where most of the details in which need to be tested reside (i.e. the pump placement and protection). These tests will mainly occur in the preliminary and secondary stages of the design. The testing types that I will use are exploratory, assessment, validation, and comparison tests.
Exploratory testing will be used in the preliminary stages of development. This type of testing will develop the motivation for the overall design. They will basically test the users' interest and feelings towards the concept of the design. They will test how well the users' requirements are met. It will test all of this through surveys and common sense. For example, would a boater want to wait or have to maneuver through traffic? The answer derived from common sense would be "no," so that is as far as that test would go. This testing step, although very simple, is vital to the motivation for the design.
Assessment testing will aim to measure the usability of the chosen alternative solution. This testing will be done in the secondary stage of design once the solution is chosen. Specifically, it will test the effectiveness of the design involving the way that boats maneuver, how protected the fuel pumps are, and how easily the attendant may move from pump to pump. This can be assessed by measuring distances properly. Boats of all shapes and sizes should be able to have enough space to easily maneuver in and out of the fuel dock and its slips. Giving the biggest boat enough space to maneuver forward, backward, left and right among the fuel dock, (and then some), will ensure that there will be no problems for any size of boat. To test the distance the fuel pumps should be from the dock, ideally, a simulation of a boat crashing into the dock would be used. There is not a standard distance that the pump is required to be away from the edge of the dock, but that does not mean that one cannot be found with a simulation. If a simulation is not available, a well estimated distance for the pumps can be found through comparison. This distance would also have to correlate with the level of access the dock gas attendant would have to the pumps. The dock attendant must have proper access to the pumps without the risk of falling in the water and losing too much time as he walks from pump to pump. As long as there is enough space for a person to have access to the pumps without risk of falling in the water, the test would be successful.
Validation tests will be conducted in the latest development process and they will test the overall design goals. Once designed and constructed, the usability, performance, and maintainability of the placement of the fuel pumps and the boat movement will be tested by observation. If boat crashes occur often in the fuel dock environment or the wait time for boats is often very long, then the design fails the validation test. This also applies to the maneuverability of the dock attendant from pump to pump and the distance the pump is from the edge of the dock. If the pumps are often damaged by boat crashes and the attendants often fall in the water or more generally have a hard time maneuvering from pump to pump, then adjustments to the pump placement have to be made.
Comparison tests will be used in a couple different stages of the design process. They will be used to compare concepts and products between the design and other established examples. I will be using comparison tests to find a manageable distance between fuel pumps and placement of the pumps from the edge of the dock. I will do this by comparing my design to other actual marinas. Comparing different marinas to figure out the best way that boat traffic is to maneuver would also be ideal.
Numbered Procedures
1. Validate the need of minimal boat traffic for boaters
2. Compare the distances the fuel pumps are from the edge of the docks of other marinas
3. Acquire measurements of boats that would be using the fueling stations
4. Observe boat traffic
5. Observe boat crashes into dock
6. Observe abilities of fuel dock staff to manage pumps
Survey
Will be given out to the boaters to explore their needs and thoughts on maneuvering in, out, and around of fuel docks:
- Would it benefit you to have minimal boat traffic?
- What is the length and width of your boat?
- How long has your waiting time for fueling been at other marinas?
- What time of day would you mostly use the marina?
- Would you rather have a fueling slip for your boat or come right up to the edge of the dock from the front?
- Do you have enough space to maneuver in and out of the fueling stations?
Observation Sheet
List of things that will be observed by overseer once the marina is operating.
- Are there enough gas attendants hired?
- Are there complaints about not having enough space to maneuver boats?
- Can the gas attendants easily access the pumps?
- Are there many boat crashed into the docks?
- Are the hoses long enough?