[Themaintainers] Talk: Claudia Eckert & Felician Campean "The Lifetime or Durability of Products" (Maintenance Philosophy Technology SIG Thursday 8th February UTC+1)

[mark young]

Dear all,

Hope this email finds everyone well. We’d like to announce the next session
of the Maintenance and Philosophy of Technology SIG on Thursday 8th of
February (1800-1915 UTC+1). In this session, we’re very excited to welcome
Claudia Eckert and Felician Campean who will be guiding us through an
examination of the complexities surrounding the value of durability in
design studies by examining the challenges facing attempts by engineering
companies in both measuring and conceptualising durability. You’ll find an
abstract below for the talk - if you'd like to receive the zoom link for
this talk, email me at mark at markthomasyoung.net

*The Lifetime or Durability of Products*

Claudia Eckert (The Open University) & Felician Campean (University of
Bradford)

Thursday 8th February (1800-1915 UTC+1)

*Abstract:* The lifetime or durability of products, commonly defined as the
duration over which a product remains functional without excessive
maintenance or repair, plays a major role in the overall lifecycle cost and
sustainability. It is an increasingly focus important focus of sustainable
design and circular economy. Engineering companies design products with
target lives in mind both in terms of time deployed and time owned.
Products are tested and certified to these stated and measured values.
However, from the viewpoint of the consumer, durability is difficult to
assess, and individual notions and perceptions of durability vary. Not all
customers are servicing their products regularly or are willing to carry
out maintenance on their products. For some customers any requited
maintenance is excessive while others are happy to get things repaired over
long periods of time. Many products are designed with planned obsolescence
in mind, which is not communicated to customers. There is very little
understanding what factors affect attitude to durability, even though
initial studies point to differences in age and culture. It is also evident
that emotional attachment to items plays a role in the willingness to
maintain objects. Therefore, the attitude to durability can not only be
explained through values. An important factor is the understanding that
consumers have on how a products needs to be maintained and where they can
get minor repairs carried as well as their personal repair skills.
Durability is conceptualised in terms of maintaining functions, which is
appropriate for business to business transaction, however for the customers
of many products there are both desirability and technical aspects. Many
people are reluctant to invest in maintaining a product that they perceive
to be out of fashion or outdated, even if its core functionality is still
there. This subjectivity and variability of attitude and understanding of
durability needs to be understood much better before companies can rely on
simulations and digital twins to predict durability.

(In order to avoid confusion regarding the timing of the talks - the
following table clarifies when the talks begin in different locations)
New York:   12:00
San Francisco: 09:00
London:   17:00
Amsterdam:   18:00

Mark Thomas Young
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Vienna
https://univie.academia.edu/MarkThomasYoung
<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://univie.academia.edu/MarkThomasYoung__;!!PAKc-5URQlI!4kFkTnOpK5yN4RBZ6Yd33_UOd_GNkJG9yK1fiJI5zbYUQ7306kQubBMRxhQzfbd7C-muWlNeJODlaLSAeN2yfRxA$>
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