User reengineering
Encyclopedia
User reengineering is the redesign of a product, not for resale, but by a consumer or user. Historically, concept and craft were often more significant components of products as they were intended to last indefinitely (with proper maintenance and repair). Modern products have "life expectancies
" due to rapid innovation rate, disposability, automation, and shorter-term finance paradigms which can decrease product service life-terms. Even many premium products have succumbed to these pressures, and often cannot be relied on to function or last as might be expected. Products with high generational technology improvement rates combined with complex build structure may not be good reengineering candidates, as they become obsolete rapidly (eg. compact cassette player).
User reengineering is not repair (restoring to original or similar condition), retrofitting (changing or adapting the purpose), or rigging (temporary fix) but improves the functionality, and/or durability, of the product over its original design. A concern of User reengineering is that the product could become unstable or have a dangerous result if done without sufficient reflection and knowledge. User reengineering requires thorough study of the functionality, purpose and entire structural make-up. One should have sufficient understanding of the science behind a particular solution, and thoroughly test (at least at the level of the original manufacturer), as well as, accept liability for the altered design, which would most likely void any manufacturer's responsibility. User reengineering can be environmental
and cost effective, and should reduce ongoing maintenance.
User reengineering is based on correcting two common causes of product failure:
1. Contamination—The product is not self-cleaning therefore cannot prevent parts from eventually becoming jammed, overheating, or otherwise stressed. After a period of time contamination will damage parts by wear. A well designed product will clean itself or be permanently shielded from contamination. The cost and difficulty in devising contamination free design from the start is why the vast majority of products are deficient in this aspect. In many cases, improving seals, membranes, filters, etc is a preventative solution. Extensive product flaws, are usually not reengineerable. (Cleaning parts may repair the product temporarily.)
2. Most Stressed Component(s) -- The main working part(s) are not relatively as durable as the rest of the parts (have an unequal component failure rate
). In this case, replacing certain parts with something that is stronger or functions better is the solution. Often, replacing one or two parts with the most stress will greatly increase the lifetime of the product or even eliminate its planned obsolescence
; although this is unlikely in the case of disposable products due to their high ratio of low quality materials. It is best to concentrate efforts on products which were intended to last a year or more.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...
" due to rapid innovation rate, disposability, automation, and shorter-term finance paradigms which can decrease product service life-terms. Even many premium products have succumbed to these pressures, and often cannot be relied on to function or last as might be expected. Products with high generational technology improvement rates combined with complex build structure may not be good reengineering candidates, as they become obsolete rapidly (eg. compact cassette player).
User reengineering is not repair (restoring to original or similar condition), retrofitting (changing or adapting the purpose), or rigging (temporary fix) but improves the functionality, and/or durability, of the product over its original design. A concern of User reengineering is that the product could become unstable or have a dangerous result if done without sufficient reflection and knowledge. User reengineering requires thorough study of the functionality, purpose and entire structural make-up. One should have sufficient understanding of the science behind a particular solution, and thoroughly test (at least at the level of the original manufacturer), as well as, accept liability for the altered design, which would most likely void any manufacturer's responsibility. User reengineering can be environmental
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and cost effective, and should reduce ongoing maintenance.
User reengineering is based on correcting two common causes of product failure:
1. Contamination—The product is not self-cleaning therefore cannot prevent parts from eventually becoming jammed, overheating, or otherwise stressed. After a period of time contamination will damage parts by wear. A well designed product will clean itself or be permanently shielded from contamination. The cost and difficulty in devising contamination free design from the start is why the vast majority of products are deficient in this aspect. In many cases, improving seals, membranes, filters, etc is a preventative solution. Extensive product flaws, are usually not reengineerable. (Cleaning parts may repair the product temporarily.)
2. Most Stressed Component(s) -- The main working part(s) are not relatively as durable as the rest of the parts (have an unequal component failure rate
Failure rate
Failure rate is the frequency with which an engineered system or component fails, expressed for example in failures per hour. It is often denoted by the Greek letter λ and is important in reliability engineering....
). In this case, replacing certain parts with something that is stronger or functions better is the solution. Often, replacing one or two parts with the most stress will greatly increase the lifetime of the product or even eliminate its planned obsolescence
Obsolescence
Obsolescence is the state of being which occurs when an object, service or practice is no longer wanted even though it may still be in good working order. Obsolescence frequently occurs because a replacement has become available that is superior in one or more aspects. Obsolete refers to something...
; although this is unlikely in the case of disposable products due to their high ratio of low quality materials. It is best to concentrate efforts on products which were intended to last a year or more.
See also
- Planned obsolescencePlanned obsolescencePlanned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain period of time...
- Reliability engineeringReliability engineeringReliability engineering is an engineering field, that deals with the study, evaluation, and life-cycle management of reliability: the ability of a system or component to perform its required functions under stated conditions for a specified period of time. It is often measured as a probability of...
- Failure rateFailure rateFailure rate is the frequency with which an engineered system or component fails, expressed for example in failures per hour. It is often denoted by the Greek letter λ and is important in reliability engineering....
- User innovationUser innovationUser innovation refers to innovation by intermediate users or consumer users , rather than by suppliers ....
- Fixes that failFixes that failFixes that fail is a system archetype that in system dynamics is used to describe and analyze a situation, where a fix effective in the short-term creates side effects for the long-term behaviour of the system and may result in the need of even more fixes. This archetype may be also known as fixes...