Durability
Ability of a product to continue to function
Durability is the ability of a physical product to remain functional, without requiring excessive maintenance or repair, when faced with the challenges of normal operation over its design lifetime. There are several measures of durability in use, including years of life, hours of use, and number of operational cycles. In economics, goods with a long usable life are referred to as durable goods.
Because there is no objective measure of durability for clothing, price has become an important indicator.
01Requirements for product durability
Product durability is predicated by good repairability and regenerability in conjunction with maintenance. Every durable product must be capable of adapting to technical, technological and design developments. This must be accompanied by a willingness on the part of consumers to forgo having the "very latest" version of a product.
In the United Kingdom, durability as a characteristic relating to the quality of goods that can be demanded by consumers was not clearly established until an amendment of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 relating to the quality standards for supplied goods in 1994.
Reliability testing verifies the resistance of a product or material to wear. Common tests evaluate fatigue, abrasion, corrosion and exposure to environmental conditions.
02Product life spans and sustainable consumption
The lifespan of household goods is a significant factor in sustainable consumption. Longer product life spans can contribute to eco-efficiency and sufficiency, thus slowing consumption in order to progress towards a sustainable level of consumption. Cooper (2005) proposed a model to demonstrate the crucial role of product lifespans to sustainable production and consumption.
03Types
Durability can encompass several specific physical properties of designed products, including:
04Examples
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Durability”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- MER No.6.jpg by Chris Gunns, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Durability test in Okinotorishima.jpg by 国土交通省関東地方整備局京浜河川事務所, CC BY 4.0
- Drop of water on water-resistant textile (100% polyester).jpg by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0
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