The growing volume of electronic waste highlights the need for sustainable product life extension strategies, such as repair. While repair is a high-value circular economy strategy, safety concerns prevent consumers with minimal repair experience (non-professional repairers) from engaging in at-home repairs. Prior research has identified these risks in consumer electronics but has not yet developed or tested design interventions aimed at mitigating them. This thesis addresses that gap by exploring how design can make consumer products safer to repair for non-professional repairers, using a coffee machine as a case study. The coffee machine was chosen as it is a commonly repaired product having a range of safety hazards.

First, two coffee machines were disassembled and reassembled in a controlled setting. Risks observed were divided repair and post-repair risks. They were further segregated according to their type and assessed using RAPEX guidelines to determine their severity. These were documented using the modified disassembly map, allowing for a visual representation of risk zones and steps across the repair process. Based on this analysis, eight high-priority risks were identified. These were used to formulate a program of requirements for design interventions and to guide ideation. A series of creative sessions produced a broad set of ideas, which were clustered into solution spaces. Ideas were then qualitatively assessed, leading to the selection of one idea per risk for further development.

The selected ideas were incorporated into a prototype of a redesigned coffee machine and evaluated through functionality tests and user validation. The tests aimed to assess whether the ideas performed as intended and if they improved safety during repair. Results showed that certain interventions such as a power interlock switch, a program to empty residual water, and the use of colour-coded wires and hoses effectively reduced the likelihood of the identified risks. On the other hand, features like the thermal locking mechanism using a bimetal strip and the use of warning indicators on the product, showed potential but required further refinement to be more effective.

The applicability of these ideas to other coffee machines and consumer electronics was also discussed, highlighting how similar risks and product architectures make them suitable for adaptation. The final chapter reflects on the overall process, noting that beyond individual interventions, the structured design approach adopted in this thesis provides a transferable methodology for incorporating repair safety into future product development. In doing so, this thesis offers a starting point for designers aiming to support safer, user-led repair practices in a repair conscious product landscape.