BO-75-04-2 — Human Factors Issues in the Design of Home Appliance Controls

The subject matter of human factors engineering embodies nothing more than taking the perspective of equipment users and maintainers. When the application is to the aircraft cockpit, it may require highly technical knowledge about aircraft behavior besides knowledge about the dynamic response of a human operator. When the application is the design of appliances to be used by consumers, it seems like it should be nothing more than common sense. Indeed, much of this paper may be classified as little more than common sense. Why is it, then, that I have observed stoves that pinched my fingers when I try to adjust their temperature and when I begin to adjust an unfamiliar air conditioner, I inevitably start to turn the temperature control to the coldest end of the scale. Somewhere between the drafting board and the final product, common sense has given way to expedience and economy. Where was common sense when one supplier delivered oven temperature gauges to the manufacturer with a scale reading counterclockwise from right to left? Where was common sense when surface burner stove controls were placed in the vertical plane just above the oven door so that leaving the oven open a crack when broiling left the burner controls dangerously hot to touch?