IMO the CD-ROM/Cup holder is abuse whereas metal fork is a foreseeable misuse (less people uses plastic fork in a hot toaster).
Scott > On 18 Oct, 2014, at 6:25 am, Ted Eckert <[email protected]> wrote: > > The CD-ROM/Cup Holder issue is something to consider. However, this comes > back to what is a "reasonable person". The frequency at which CD drives are > used as cup holders is likely very low. I have never personally seen it > happen and I've never had a verifiable instance of it reported to me. > Everything I have heard is hearsay or apocryphal. A computer manufacturer can > make a good argument that a reasonable person would know that this tray is a > CD drive and not a cup holder. It will always be a judgment call as to what > is a "reasonable person". This is one of the cases where you will need to > work with an experienced product liability attorney who can tell you whether > your design choices is defensible or not. > > An example I would give would be somebody using a metal fork or knife to > remove a piece of bread stuck in a toaster. There are a large number of > verifiable occurrences of this. There was a recent update to the UL standard > for toasters that requires the toaster to shut down if the pop-up mechanism > is jammed. If you put in a large bagel slice that doesn't pop up, the new > standard would require the toaster to shut off, thereby removing power from > the coils. The primary intent was to reduce the risk that the item being > toasted caught on fire. The secondary effect is that it reduces the risk of > contact with energized heating coils. This is a case of foreseeable misuse > where the instructional safeguard may not have been sufficient. The new > safety standard has a design safeguard required. > > This reminds me of the October 2008 IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society > annual symposium. Catering had provided bagels that were getting jammed in > the toaster that was set out for attendee use. To resolve the problem, the > hotel provided metal tongs so the safety engineers could remove their bagels > from the toasters more easily. > > Ted Eckert > Compliance Engineer > Microsoft Corporation > [email protected] > > The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my > employer. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Paasche, Dieter [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 2:39 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [PSES] Misuse mains cordset > > This reminds me to the following help desk statement: "The cup holder on my > computer stopped working." > > https://www.flickr.com/photos/helter-skelter/8385454193/ > > Reasonable foreseeable misuse? Looks that many are doing this. > > > Dieter Paasche > Advanced Product Developer, Electrical > CHRISTIE > 809 Wellington Street North > Kitchener, ON N2G 4Y7 > Phone: 519-744-8005 ext.7211 > www.christiedigital.com > > This e-mail message (including attachments, if any) is confidential. Any > unauthorized use, distribution or disclosure is prohibited. If you have > received this e-mail message in error, please notify the sender by reply > e-mail or telephone and delete it and any attachments from your computer > system and records. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ted Eckert [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 4:55 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [PSES] Misuse mains cordset > > I recognize that I am taking my own risk by posting a potentially contrary > response to the esteemed Mr. Nute. > > I'm not sure that I agree that foreseeable misuse is an oxymoron, although I > prefer the term "reasonably foreseeable misuse". We know that certain types > of products will either be used for something that is not the original > intended purpose or they will be used for their intended purpose in an > inappropriate fashion. > > For the first example, I can state that a wooden pencil is intended to be > used for writing. However, I can foresee that some users will chew on their > pencils. The pencil is not designed, intended or marketed to be used for > stress relief, but we know that people will chew on them. One design > safeguard would be to make sure none of the materials used are toxic if > ingested. > > For the second example, I will cite people standing on the top level of a > ladder. The user places themselves in an unstable position if they stand too > high on the ladder. The ladder is still being used for its intended purpose, > but it is being used in a way that that significantly increases the risk to > the user. In this case, a design safeguard becomes much more difficult to > implement. Most ladder manufacturers implement instructional safeguards. > Modern ladders are now plastered with caution and warning statements. > > Mr. Nute asks what foreseeable misuse of a computer would be. I would propose > that using a computer outside of the published environmental conditions is > foreseeable. I can foresee somebody cleaning the keyboard on their laptop > with a wet rag. I can foresee leaving a laptop in a car on a hot day. Either > case may create a potential hazard for lithium-ion batteries. Many computer > manufacturers implement both design and instructional safeguards for both of > these conditions. Neither is the intended use of a computer, but might they > be considered foreseeable? > > The problem comes with determining what "reasonably" means. Many courts will > interpret this to be what a "reasonable person" would do. This only shifts > our problem to defining what a reasonable person is. > > I will offer a slightly more humorous view of misuse in the following video. > Is this a reasonable person or reasonably foreseeable? > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SarpypNskcc > > Ted Eckert > Compliance Engineer > Microsoft Corporation > [email protected] > > The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my > employer. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Nute [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 11:33 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [PSES] Misuse mains cordset > > Misuse is unique to what you want > to do. You use (misuse) the > product to accomplish your > particular objective which differs > from the intended use of the > product. You stand on a chair > (intended for sitting) to reach > something that would otherwise be > out of reach. The US TV program > MacGyver (~1985-1991) was based on > misuse of common things to solve a > problem. > > "Foreseeable" misuse is an > oxymoron. You can't foresee misuse > of a product unless you know what > the user wants to do (his > objective). The product and its > misuse was the fun of the MacGyver > TV program. More seriously, what > is a "foreseeable misuse" of a > computer? > > The term "foreseeable misuse" has > been foisted upon us for years, but > we don't know what it means or how > to protect against it (even though > we are required by some safety > standards to provide safeguards > against "foreseeable misuse"). > How do you protect someone who > stands on a chair? How do you > protect someone who misuses a > computer? > > My neighbor took the guard off his > portable saw and was injured. This > was clearly misuse. How do you > provide protection when the user > removes the safeguard? > > For an eye-opening treatise on > misuse, see Don Norman's > "Psychology of everyday things" and > his other books. > > > Best regards, > Rich > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Doug Powell > [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 > 10:06 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [PSES] Misuse mains > cordset > > In recent years many standards have > been adding risk assessment to > their requirements. A part of this > is all about foreseeable misuse. > That said I do not feel it is > appropriate for a manufacturer to > "police" every action if the end > user. You best bet may be to > mitigate by saying something along > the lines of "not for use for any > other purpose..." > > > Thanks, - doug > > Douglas Powell > http://www.linkedin.com/in/dougp01 > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to > <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used > formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to > <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used > formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to > <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used > formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> > > - > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc > discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to > <[email protected]> > > All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: > http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html > > Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at > http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used > formats), large files, etc. > > Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ > Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to > unsubscribe) > List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html > > For help, send mail to the list administrators: > Scott Douglas <[email protected]> > Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> > > For policy questions, send mail to: > Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> > David Heald: <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://www.ieee-pses.org/list.html (including how to unsubscribe) List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <[email protected]> David Heald: <[email protected]>
