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
The design life of a component or product is the period of time during which the item is expected by its designers to work within its specified parameters; in other words, the life expectancy of the item. It is not always the actual length of tim ...
. There are several measures of durability in use, including years of life, hours of use, and number of operational cycles. In
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics anal ...
, goods with a long
usable life are referred to as
durable goods.
Requirements 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.
]
Product 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
Sustainable products are those products that provide environmental, social and economic benefits while protecting public health and environment over their whole life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials until the final disposal.
Scope o ...
and consumption.
Types of durability
Durability can encompass several specific physical properties of designed products, including:
* Ageing (of polymers)
* Dust resistance
*Resistance to fatigue
* Fire resistance
* Radiation hardening
* Thermal resistance
*Rot-proof
Rot-proof or rot resistant is a condition of preservation or protection, by a process or treatment of materials used in industrial manufacturing or production to prevent biodegradation and chemical decomposition. Decomposition is a factor i ...
ing
*Rustproof
Rustproofing is the prevention or delay of rusting of iron and steel objects, or the permanent protection against corrosion. Typically, the protection is achieved by a process of surface finishing or treatment. Depending on mechanical wear or e ...
ing
*Toughness
In materials science and metallurgy, toughness is the ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically deform without fracturing.[Waterproofing
Waterproofing is the process of making an object or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resisting the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet environme ...]
See also
* Availability
* Consumables
** Disposable product
* Durable good
* Interchangeable parts
* Maintainability
*Product life
Product lifetime or product lifespan is the time interval from when a product is sold to when it is discarded.
Product lifetime is slightly different from service life because the latter consider only the effective time the product is used. It is ...
* Product stewardship
* Throwaway society
* Waste minimization
References
{{reflist
Broad-concept articles
Materials science
Waste minimisation