Anticipating Potential Misuse

By David Clark, New Business Development Manager, the Malco Design & Deliver Group

A safe product is a good product. Designers and manufacturers have a responsibility to anticipate the misuse of their products, ensuring the chance of failure and/or injury is minimized. Indeed, a creative and thorough process to anticipate misuse is an important part of any new product development. The Malco Design and Deliver Group focuses on three primary things:

1. Get in the mind of the user. Potential misuse of a product can vary due to intended use, its place of use, and even its price. Conducting customer surveys, brainstorming, and prototype testing helps us get in the mind of future users. Anticipating the conditions under which they'd misuse our products, and for what reason, allows us to anticipate potential failure points and consequences.

2. Use all our resources. While some misuse testing requires hands-on use of a prototype, some can also be done using Computer-Aided Design (CAD). A process called Finite Element Analysis (FEA) models the possible conditions the product will endure, and can highlight potential failures. Information can also be plugged into a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), giving us a quantitative report and classification of potential risks.

3. Fix any problem areas. In ideal cases, we can design out deficiencies or problems we've discovered, essentially eliminating opportunities for misuse-related injuries. When that's impossible, or cost prohibitive to do, and the risk of failure is relatively minor, our goal is to adjust the design to minimize the potential consequences. We also attach warnings to the products, or include warnings in product manuals, that alert the user to the risks of misuse.

In summary, anticipating possible misuse of new products is a unique blend of technology and creativity. It's something we take seriously -- as the consequences of an oversight are serious -- and something we regard as an integral part of successful and profitable new product development.