A kaleidoscopic view of psychology in design for maintainability of mechanical systems: A review

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on design for maintainability with emphasis on psychology and cognitive sciences and suggest possible gaps from the point of view of researchers and practitioners.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper systematically reviews the published literature and then analyzes it methodically.

Findings

The paper discusses a new shift in engineering design, in general, and design for maintainability (DFM) of mechanical systems, in particular.

Practical implications

Literature on DFM of mechanical systems with psychological factors has so far been very limited. This paper reviews a number of papers from the field of mechanical engineering and other related branches of engineering, along with important papers from the field of psychology and cognitive sciences. Subsequently, various merging trends in the field of DFM are identified to help researchers specifying gaps in the literature and direct the research efforts suitably.

Originality/value

The paper contains a comprehensive listing of publications in the field of maintainability from the psychology point of view. The paper will be useful to researchers, designers, maintenance professionals and others concerned with maintainability of a system. This paper is equally useful for the researchers and design professionals from the domain of engineering design irrespective of their field of application.

Citation

Kumar, S., Khan, I.A. and Gandhi, O.P. (2011), "A kaleidoscopic view of psychology in design for maintainability of mechanical systems: A review", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 347-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/17260531111179951