INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
the design process. In addition, engineers must now be prepared to have their designs evaluated by nondesigners or nontechnical people. This evaluation will not be in the inner confines of a design department by peers or supervisors, as in the past, but may be in a courtroom by a jury of nontechnical people and attorneys who have an ulterior motive for their approach or in the public arena.
Since such a design evaluation is generally a result of an incident which caused damage or injury, to mitigate the nontechnical evaluation, current design procedures should emphasize the following factors in addition to traditional design criteria:
1. Safety This is associated with all modes of product usage. In providing for
safety, the priorities in design are first, if at all possible, to design the hazards out of the
product. If this cannot be done, then shielding and guarding should be provided so
that operators and bystanders cannot be exposed to the hazard. Otherwise, if a risk-
benefit analysis shows that production and sale of the machine are still justified (and
only as a last resort), effective warning should be given against the hazard present.
Even though warnings are the least expensive and easiest way to handle hazards in
the design process, there has never been a warning that physically prevented an acci¬
dent in progress. Warnings require human action or intervention. If warnings are
required, excellent reference sources are publications of the National Safety Council
in Chicago and a notebook entitled Machinery Product Safety Signs and Labels [1.78].
2. Failure analysis If failure cannot be prevented, it is necessary that it be fore¬
seen and its consequences controlled.
3. Documentation Associated with the evolution of the design, documentation
is developed so that it can satisfy the involved nontechnical public as to the rationale
behind the design and the decisions and tradeoffs that were made.
The designer is in a new mode which places safety on the same level of importance in design considerations as the function or the ability of the design to perform as intended.
Arguments may be made that cost considerations are the most important. This is true only if the cost of the design includes the costs of anticipated litigation. These costs include product liability insurance premiums; direct out-of-pocket costs of investigating and defending claims; and indirect costs in the loss of otherwise pro¬ductive time used in reviewing the design involved, in finding information for inter¬rogatories, in being deposed, and in developing defense testimony and exhibits. If a lawsuit is lost, the amount of the verdict and the probable increase in product liabil¬ity insurance premiums must also be included.
No longer can product liability be considered after the design is on the market and the first lawsuit is filed. Product liability considerations must be an integral part of the entire design process throughout the function, safety, cost, manufacturing, and marketing phases.
Additional criteria, considerations, and procedures should be included in pro-grams to address specifically the product safety, failure, or malfunction problems which have contributed significantly to the existing product liability situation. Some of the important considerations and procedures are
1. Development and utilization of a design review system specifically emphasizing
failure analysis, safety considerations, and compliance with standards and gov¬
ernmental regulations
2. Development of a list of modes of operation and examination of the product uti¬
lization in each mode