Safety &

Consumer Issues.

Safe products
Ensuring that products are safe is
a number one priority for
designers and manufacturers.

Why would you avoid

sharp edges & toxic
paint?

Lots of things such as making sure

products do not have sharp
edges or are made from nontoxic materials are simply
common sense.
However, manufacturers are
guided by numerous laws and
regulations.

British Toy & Hobbies Association

Represent the interests of British toy
manufacturers. 90% of the British market for toys
and games are represented by the Lion Mark.
For a toy to display the Lion Mark, the
supplier has signed a strict Code of
Practice, (the BATR Code is based on this
same document), which, as well as
covering toy safety matters, demands the
highest standards of ethics in advertising.

Why do you think toys

need to be STRICTLY
regulated?

Toy safety
Make sure toys are suitable for the
age of the child. Some children,
particularly those under three, are
more vulnerable, particularly to
choking, and less able to cope with
particular toys than older children.
It should also be remembered that
there will be significant differences in
the abilities of those in the same age
group and those children with special
needs.

Safety Symbols Quiz.

Possible Answers:
Ensure toys are suitable for the
age range.
Safe.
Non-toxic paint is used.
No sharp edges.
No loose parts.
No potential choking hazards.
Suitable theme for their age
range.

British Standards Institute

BSI devises tests that
products or
components have to
meet.

It awards the Kitemark

to those products that
meet the standards.

This image often

features in the exam.
Make sure you are
confident in being
able to draw it onto
packaging and
explain its meaning.

CE European Standards.
Simply means that the
product has been
approved for sale in the
European Union.

This image often

features in the exam.
Make sure you are
confident in being
able to draw it onto
packaging and
explain its meaning.

The letters 'CE' on a product

are the manufacturer's
claim that the product
meets the requirements of
all relevant European
Directives.

Workshop safety
As a minimum you should:
Wear eye protection when using tools and machinery
which create dust or sparks
Ensure loose hair is tied back and there is no loose
clothing when using power tools and machinery.

Why are goggles worn?

Why is tying hair back
important?

Excessive noise
Loud noise is not just a nuisance it can cause
serious and permanent harm.
Check whether you need to wear ear
defenders.

Why is this important?

How could this effect
the users health?

Clean air
Both dust and solvents can cause serious health
problems.
Always ensure that dust is extracted from the source.
Ventilation is essential when using paints and solvents.

Why is this important?

How could this effect
the users health?

Solvents
Many of the chemicals we use in D&T are both highly
flammable as well as being dangerous to breathe in.
Think in DT where are our solvents stored?
Why is it stored this way?
What does it prevent?

Remember these
symbols they may be
in the exam.
(Q) Why are danger
symbols red?

Corrosive chemicals
The most common corrosive chemicals in D&T are
usually those found in electronics rooms.
The acids used for etching PCBs can burn the skin
Wear rubber gloves when handling these chemicals
and always wash and splashes off the skin immediately
with lots of water
Of course, eye protection is essential.

Corrosive = burning and irritation.

Can you think why eye protection

would need to be worn also?

Safety &
Consumer Issues.

Analysing and testing

Analysing and testing products is a key part of consumer
protection:

Fitness for purpose

Ease of use
Safety
Reliability
Value for money

Testing During Production

Testing is done at all stages of production:

Testing Prototypes
Consumer trials
Testing properties of materials
Testing during production
Quality Control
Quality Assurance
Sensory testing

Comparative testing
Comparative testing is effective in determining which of
several similar products are best for their intended use.

The testing could vary from technical and objective,

practical and subjective, or it could be a head-to-head
comparison to determine ease of use, durability, or
safety.

Comparative Testing:
Consumer groups

Comparative reports on products

Detailed specifications analysed
Independently tested
Value for money advice
Campaigns

Storage and handling

There are lots of symbols found on products and their
packaging to advise on storage and handling

INFLAMMABLE
LIQUID

Can you guess any of these symbols for storage and handling?
Hand ups, dont shout out!

Storage and handling

There are lots of symbols found on products and their
packaging to advise on storage and handling
Handle with
care.

Keep away
from
magnets.

Can be/should be
frozen.
Highly flammable.
Keep the
packaging
out of the
rain.

INFLAMMABLE
LIQUID

Store this way up!

Contents are fragile

& could break.

Product maintenance
Many products have a life
expectancy based on some degree
of maintenance. One example of this
would be the personal stereo.
The batteries will need to be
changed regularly and it is important
that access is easy but secure.

Servicing
More complex products such as cars have very detailed
maintenance schedules.
Records are kept so that the manufacturers warranty is
valid. Only authorised garages can carry out the
maintenance during the warranty period.
Some products display signs to
indicate when servicing is due.
What does this symbol
mean?
(Q) Why are BOLD
symbols used instead
of words?

What does this symbol

mean?

Food products
Food products often have a lifespan written on
their packaging and have specific storage
requirements.
Use by ... or best before end ... dates are
found on most food products. As well as a time
based on when it was manufactured.

Care labels
Clothing manufacturers have agreed an international
code to assist with product maintenance.
Care labels are an essential part of many textile
products.

(Q) Why do you think symbols are

used on clothing labels and on
irons?

Maintenance Issues

Virus Scan

Disk clean

Wipe monitor and casing

Defragmentation

Back-up data

Delete unwanted files

Product disposal
Recycling symbol
Disposal of Waste Equipment
Green dot

Specific Material Information

6 Rs

Six words beginning with the letter R.

Each describes an action that can be taken to
reduce the environmental impact of products.

Recycle
Reduce
Reuse

Rethink
Refuse
Repair

Its important that designers do their part in taking these things in to

account when designing new products.

Recycle

Products are converted back to their basic

materials and remade into new products.
Examples include:
Glass crushed, melted and made into new
bottles.
Plastic bottles recycled into drainage pipes
and clothing. (It takes 25 two litre plastic
bottles to make one fleece.)

Designers and manufacturers of products need

to design products for recycling. Many local
councils now collect materials that can be
recycled separately from normal domestic
waste.

Reduce

Consumers need to look to reduce the

number of products they buy, or consider
buying products that use less energy.
Manufacturers are looking to design
products that:
have less materials in the product
take less energy to manufacture
need less packaging during transport.
Retailers can reduce carbon emissions by
transporting products straight to the
consumer from the place of manufacture,
instead of via warehouses and shops.

Reuse

Lots of items can be reused in the same

form.
Glass milk bottles are a classic product
that is reused. A more recent product
that can be reused is a printer cartridge,
which can be refilled.
Some products have filters that can be
washed rather than using disposable,
single-use filters.
Consumers could sell or donate
products they no longer use themselves,
so that someone else can use them.

Rethink

Consumers can ask the

question, Do I really need this
product? (Do you really need
to replace your mobile phone
every year?)
Designers and manufacturers
can make products that do the
same job more efficiently.
They can design the packaging
so that it is easier to recycle (for
example, by making the
packaging from a single
material).

Refuse

The designer and manufacturer have an

increasing need to think about how the
consumer will react to their products; will they
refuse them?

Refillable

They can ask the following questions:

Should they refuse the product because it is
too inefficient (in use, or in its use of
materials)?
Should they refuse the product because its
packaging creates too much waste?
(Disposable cups from the coffee shop,
plastic carrier bags from the supermarket,
plastic water bottles.)

Disposable

The consumer has the choice as to whether

they buy /use a product or not.

Repair

Instead of throwing things away

consumers need to think more
about having things repaired.

Designers have a responsibility to

design products that can be
repaired more easily.

It takes fewer resources to replace a

part of a product, than to replace
the whole item.
Could an item be upgraded instead
of replace with a new one?

Carrier Bags

Around 65 million carrier bags are thrown away in the county every
year, with many ending up in landfill sites where they take many
years to degrade.
What are supermarkets doing to help reduce the number of
carrier bays their customers use?
Tescos are asking their customers to REFUSE the standard carrier
bag and instead RETHINK about how they carry their shopping.
Instead they offer bags for life. The customer can buy a thick
carrier bag which can be REUSED. If the bag breaks they can
exchange for a new one, the old one will then be recycled.
They also offer a strong fabric bag - The Natural Green bag. This
bag can also be REUSED but it can also be REPAIRED should it
need to be.
Customers are also encouraged to recycle any unwanted carrier
bags.

Tesco - Bags for Life

They
encourage
customers to
refuse standard
bags & rethink
about how they
carry their
shopping in
order to reduce
the number of
bags used.

The Natural
Green Bag
A strong
fabric bag
which can be
reused and
repaired if
needed.

Bag For Life

- can be
reused, if it
breaks it can
be
exchanged
for a new one
and the old
one will be
recycled.

Tescos
offer
recycling of
their
standard
carrier bags
in all their
stores.

Planned Obsolescence

Don't you hate it when something breaks

just after the warranty runs out?
What about that new electronic gadget
that fails to work with your old
accessories from the same
manufacturer?
Some of these infuriating problems were
caused on purpose, by product
designers practicing "planned
obsolescence.
Planned obsolescence occurs when
something is intended to wear out or
stop being useful after a predetermined
period of time - and that time is often as
short as a few years.

Planned Obsolescence

There can be many reasons why something becomes no longer

useful, including technological irrelevance or changing social tastes.
And some degree of planned obsolescence is probably necessary in
many fields, through so-called "value engineering" (e.g. a car would
not be affordable if every part had to be made strong enough to last
100 years).
There are also ways manufacturers exploit planned obsolescence to
make consumers buy more product, such as by purposefully making it
difficult, or too costly, to make repairs, or by preventing backwards
compatibility.