Design for usage: Economic operation

In this final ‘usage’ step, you will look at two important features that determine the product’s usability: running cost and ease of repair.

Running costs and ease of repair

It probably goes without saying that most users prefer products that have low running and maintenance costs. They also prefer products that are easy and cheap to repair, if and when they need a repair job. Products that are costly to run are doomed to extinction. For example, high petrol consumption of American cars resulted in the demise of the US car industry in the late 70s, as consumers switched to more economical imported cars, despite the high quality of American cars at the time.

Running cost is a very important factor that designers should carefully consider when developing their designs. Except for a small minority of elite or inconsiderate users. The vast majority of people prefer engineering products with lower running costs. Running cost is mainly determined by the product’s consumption of energy, as well as various kinds of materials that are needed for its operation. For example, a washing machine consumes electric power, water, and detergents. Clearly, a good washing machine is one that needs as little of these as possible without compromising its performance. A printer consumes paper, ink and electricity, and a car consumes (among other things) petrol, engine oil, antifreeze liquids, tyres, and it will require regular replacement of some mechanical parts.

Furthermore, many machines require regular servicing to facilitate normal operation and reduce the possibility of a sudden failure. In this case as well, designers should make sure that servicing the product is simple and does not cost much.

In recent years, reducing the energy consumption of products that need energy for their operation has become a main priority of engineering designers. This is being driven by two factors: rising energy costs and increased public awareness of the negative impact on the environment, such as global warming from machines or plants that consume large amounts of energy or materials.

Next step: disposal

The next and last phase in the product life cycle is the disposal, decommissioning or recycling phase. In this phase, the product is sent to the scrap yard. In the past, designers didn’t think too much about this phase. With the increasing awareness about the environment, designers must now choose materials that can be easily recycled or dissolve into earth without harming the Earth’s ecosystem.

You will research this stage and, in the next step, discuss your findings with each other.