Durability is the ability of a physical product to remain functional, without requiring excessive

maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

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 Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

, goods with a long usable life are referred to as

durable good In economics, a durable good or a hard good or consumer durable is a good that does not quickly wear out or, more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. Items like bricks could be conside ...

s. Because there is no objective measure of durability for clothing,

price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

has become an important indicator.

Requirements for product durability

Product durability is predicated by good repairability and regenerability in conjunction with

. 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 The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (c. 54) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which regulated English contract law and UK commercial law in respect of goods that are sold and bought. The Act consolidated the original Sale of Goods Act ...

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.

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 lifespan 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 considers only the effective time the product is used. It i ...

s to

sustainable production Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

and consumption.

Types of durability

Durability can encompass several specific physical properties of designed products, including: * Ageing (of polymers) * Dust resistance *Resistance to

fatigue Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself. Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...

* Fire resistance *

Radiation hardening Radiation hardening is the process of making electronic components and circuits resistant to damage or malfunction caused by high levels of ionizing radiation (particle radiation and high-energy electromagnetic radiation), especially for environm ...

* Thermal resistance *

Rot-proof Rot-proof or rot resistant is a condition of wikt:preservation, preservation or wikt:protection, protection, by a process or Surface finishing, treatment of materials used in industrial manufacturing or Production (economics), production to prev ...

ing * Rustproofing *

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, person or structure waterproof or water-resistant so that it remains relatively unaffected by water or resists the ingress of water under specified conditions. Such items may be used in wet env ...

Examples

* Chemically strengthened glass e.g. Superfest * Durable medical equipment * Durable water repellent

References

{{reflist Broad-concept articles Materials science Waste minimisation

Requirements for product durability

Product life spans and sustainable consumption

Types of durability

Examples

See also

References