Laura Torca-Adell , Fabrizio Ceschin , María D. Bovea
{"title":"The need for incorporating user perception into the repairability indices: Insights from an observational study on small electrical devices","authors":"Laura Torca-Adell , Fabrizio Ceschin , María D. Bovea","doi":"10.1016/j.spc.2025.05.024","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Repair is a key strategy in advancing a circular economy, as it extends product lifespan and reduces electronic waste. Existing Repairability Indeces assess the potential for repair, although they often focus on professional repairs, often overlooking end-user repair activities. This creates a research gap in understanding how non-professional users experience and perceive repairability. Small household electrical appliances, due to their relatively simple architecture, are sometimes repaired by users themselves rather than taken to a professional repair service. This study contributes to closing this gap by exploring users' perceptions of repairability in small electrical and electronic equipment and examining their alignment with calculated repairability indices. A user observation study (n = 26) was conducted to evaluate three critical stages of the repair process: (1) initial interaction with the fully assembled appliance, (2) the opening process, and (3) interaction with internal components once accessed. The observational study design included a protocol designed to standardise procedures across participants, and structured rubrics to ensure consistency in response interpretation. This rigorous methodological approach ensured reproducibility and enabled a detailed exploration of user behaviour. The results reveal a misalignment between users' perceptions and repairability indices, with perceived repairability scores decreasing by around 35.9 % and 58.8 % compared to the calculated ones, for two specific appliances. In addition, during the observational study, the following key barriers were identified: limited accessibility to internal components, particularly the difficulty of opening the product, and the complexity of fault identification. These findings highlight how user-centered barriers, such as design-related challenges (i.e. opening the appliance) and perceived complexity, differ significantly from the criteria considered in current repairability indices. Furthermore, findings emphasise the need to address user-centred repair challenges through design improvements that enhance accessibility and simplify disassembly, ultimately fostering greater consumer engagement in repair activities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48619,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Production and Consumption","volume":"57 ","pages":"Pages 413-427"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sustainable Production and Consumption","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352550925001228","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Repair is a key strategy in advancing a circular economy, as it extends product lifespan and reduces electronic waste. Existing Repairability Indeces assess the potential for repair, although they often focus on professional repairs, often overlooking end-user repair activities. This creates a research gap in understanding how non-professional users experience and perceive repairability. Small household electrical appliances, due to their relatively simple architecture, are sometimes repaired by users themselves rather than taken to a professional repair service. This study contributes to closing this gap by exploring users' perceptions of repairability in small electrical and electronic equipment and examining their alignment with calculated repairability indices. A user observation study (n = 26) was conducted to evaluate three critical stages of the repair process: (1) initial interaction with the fully assembled appliance, (2) the opening process, and (3) interaction with internal components once accessed. The observational study design included a protocol designed to standardise procedures across participants, and structured rubrics to ensure consistency in response interpretation. This rigorous methodological approach ensured reproducibility and enabled a detailed exploration of user behaviour. The results reveal a misalignment between users' perceptions and repairability indices, with perceived repairability scores decreasing by around 35.9 % and 58.8 % compared to the calculated ones, for two specific appliances. In addition, during the observational study, the following key barriers were identified: limited accessibility to internal components, particularly the difficulty of opening the product, and the complexity of fault identification. These findings highlight how user-centered barriers, such as design-related challenges (i.e. opening the appliance) and perceived complexity, differ significantly from the criteria considered in current repairability indices. Furthermore, findings emphasise the need to address user-centred repair challenges through design improvements that enhance accessibility and simplify disassembly, ultimately fostering greater consumer engagement in repair activities.
期刊介绍:
Sustainable production and consumption refers to the production and utilization of goods and services in a way that benefits society, is economically viable, and has minimal environmental impact throughout its entire lifespan. Our journal is dedicated to publishing top-notch interdisciplinary research and practical studies in this emerging field. We take a distinctive approach by examining the interplay between technology, consumption patterns, and policy to identify sustainable solutions for both production and consumption systems.