Circular kitchen appliances: Designing an induction hob fit for repair and remanufacturing

Context <br/>The amount of electronic waste keeps growing, half of which is white goods. In the meantime a transition from gas hobs to induction hobs is taking place. Induction hob have a shorter lifetime and contain more valuable materials. As a consequence, the induction hob e-waste will increase significantly. <br/><br/>To prevent a further...

Faults in consumer products are difficult to diagnose, and design is to blame: A user observation study

The process of fault diagnosis is an essential first step when repairing a product: it determines the condition of the parts and identifies the origin of failure. We report on how product users go through the process of fault diagnosis in consumer products and the influence of design features on this process. Two groups of 12 participants were...

Practices of fault diagnosis in household appliances: Insights for design

Fault diagnosis is the process of identifying and characterising a fault when a failure occurs. It is, therefore, an essential step to take before product-repair. In this study, we ask how conventional users diagnose faults in household appliances and how the design of these appliances facilitates or hampers the process of fault diagnosis.To...