How User Manuals Support the Diagnosis of Common Faults in Household Appliances - an Analysis of 150 Manuals

Oct 22, 2026

Product repairs are central to sustainable consumption, and user manuals are a key information source for end users during troubleshooting. Yet limited research explains how manuals actually support fault diagnosis and subsequent repair. This study analyses diagnostic guidance in manuals for four household appliance types, applying a framework covering fault detection, fault location, and fault isolation across 150 manuals from 48 European brands.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Fault diagnosis as a prerequisite for repairs

Guidance in manuals and regulatory requirements

Research question and analytical framework

Steps in fault diagnosis

Manual sample and appliance coverage

Circular Economy and Sustainability [https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00195-5](https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-022-00195-5) ORIGINAL PAPER How User Manuals Support the Diagnosis of Common Faultsin Household Appliances: an Analysis of 150 Manuals Beatriz Pozo Arcos1 · Conny Bakker1 · Ruud Balkenende1 Received: 21 June 2021 / Accepted: 2 July 2022 © The Author(s) 2022 Abstract Product repairs are at the core of sustainable consumption and user manuals can play a relevant role in facilitating them. They are the accredited source of product information for end users and are therefore sought as an important means for the diagnosis and subsequent repair of household appliances. However, despite increasing societal demand for repairable products, few studies have been conducted on the extent to which manuals contribute to the fault diagnosis and subsequent repair process. In this study, we analysed current guidance provided by manuals for the diagnosis process, answering the research question: ‘To what extent do user manuals provide sufficient information to diagnose the most frequent faults in household appliances?’We examined the diagnosis instructions provided in the user manuals of four different household appliances using data on the appliances’ most frequently failing components, and a framework that considers three steps towards a successful diagnosis: fault detection, fault location, and fault isolation. In total, we analysed 150 user manuals of 48 brands available on the European market. We show that manuals do not instruct the diagnosis of frequently failing components. They mainly refer to causes of failure and directly recommend corrective actions after fault detection. Thus, they rarely include a three-step fault diagnosis process to identify and isolate a faulty component. Based on these results, we have extended the framework for the process of fault diagnosis to include a step from cause identification to corrective action. Both routes, the componentoriented and the cause-oriented route in fault diagnosis, should be considered during the design of products for easy fault diagnosis, and should be included in future regulations that address product reparability. Keywords Troubleshooting · Fault diagnosis · Design for repair · Circular economy · Product design · Sustainable consumption * Beatriz Pozo Arcos [b.pozoarcos@tudelft.nl](b.pozoarcos@tudelft.nl); [bpozoarcos@hotmail.com](bpozoarcos@hotmail.com) 1 TU Delft, Building 32, Landbergstraat 15, 2628CE Delft, The Netherlands 1 3 Introduction Repairing products instead of replacing them when they fail is at the core of sustainable consumption and is considered a core recovery pathway in a circular economy [9] . Product repairs extend a product’s lifespan and consequently, delay its disposal. They slow the flow of products that enter the economic system, which is one the strategies towards a circular economy [2]) . Repairs have a low environmental impact, and in the case of small household appliances, tend to be a better option than replacement. Extending the life of products requires little energy and few resources [7] and contributes to a reduction of energy associated with new productions [31] . Moreover, product repairs run on “manpower” and can be done locally. So they can have an added positive socioeconomic impact by creating jobs at home and boosting economic development [31] . Hence, the societal, economic, and environmental impact of repairs makes them not only a circular economy strategy, but also a sustainable choice [21] . The process of fault diagnosis is important to facilitate repairs in a circular economy. It is “the action to identify and characterise the fault”(IEC, 192–06-20,[12]) . In other words, it reveals what needs to be repaired in a product. It is therefore a fundamental step before effectively starting the repair action. Facilitating the fault diagnosis process can ease therepair process by reducing the amount of

FAQs

What is the main research question of the study?

To what extent do user manuals provide sufficient information to diagnose the most frequent faults in household appliances?

What framework is used to evaluate fault diagnosis support in manuals?

The framework considers three steps toward successful diagnosis: fault detection, fault location, and fault isolation.

What do the authors find about how manuals help diagnose frequent faults?

Manuals largely point to causes of failure and recommend corrective actions after fault detection, but they rarely include a full three-step diagnosis process to identify and isolate faulty components.

Oct 22, 2026

Uploaded by Emma Wilson