IEC TR 61592:2003

Household electrical appliances - Guidelines for consumer panel testing

Applies to panel testing household electrical appliances within the scope of IEC technical committee 59: Performance of household electrical appliances.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 15-May-2003
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 97.020 - Home economics in general
• ICS: 97.030 - Domestic electrical appliances in general
• Technical Committee: TC 59 - Performance of household and similar electrical appliances
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 16-May-2003
• Completion Date: 16-May-2003

Standards Content (Sample)

TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT
TR 61592
Second edition
2003-05
Household electrical appliances –
Guidelines for consumer panel testing
Appareils électrodomestiques –
Guide pour les essais avec utilisateurs
Reference number
IEC/TR 61592:2003(E)
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Publication numbering
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TECHNICAL IEC
REPORT
TR 61592
Second edition
2003-05
Household electrical appliances –
Guidelines for consumer panel testing
Appareils électrodomestiques –
Guide pour les essais avec utilisateurs
 IEC 2003  Copyright - all rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher.

International Electrotechnical Commission, 3, rue de Varembé, PO Box 131, CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland

Telephone: [phone] Telefax: [phone] E-mail: [e-mail] Web: www.iec.ch

PRICE CODE
Commission Electrotechnique Internationale
International Electrotechnical Commission
Международная Электротехническая Комиссия
For price, see current catalogue
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– 2 – TR 61592  IEC:2003(E)
CONTENTS

FOREWORD .......................................................................................................................... 3

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................5

1 Scope .............................................................................................................................. 6

2 Normative references....................................................................................................... 6

3 Definitions ....................................................................................................................... 6

4 Criteria ............................................................................................................................ 6

4.1 Purpose of panel testing ......................................................................................... 6

4.2 Panel testing leadership ......................................................................................... 7

4.3 Characteristics of the panel .................................................................................... 7

5 Testing principles.............................................................................................................8

6 Questionnaire and scoring system ................................................................................... 8

7 Evaluation and presentation of the test results................................................................. 9

8 Connection with existing related guidelines or SMMP (Standard Methods of

Measuring Performance).................................................................................................. 9

9 Panel testing ethics ........................................................................................................10

10 Panel testing limitations..................................................................................................10

Annex A (informative) Example of aspects that can be evaluated by panel testing ..............11

Bibliography..........................................................................................................................12

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TR 61592  IEC:2003(E) – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
___________
HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES –
GUIDELINES FOR CONSUMER PANEL TESTING
FOREWORD

1) The IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising

all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of the IEC is to promote

international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To

this end and in addition to other activities, the IEC publishes International Standards. Their preparation is

entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with may

participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising

with the IEC also participate in this preparation. The IEC collaborates closely with the International

Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the

two organizations.

2) The formal decisions or agreements of the IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an

international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation

from all interested National Committees.

3) The documents produced have the form of recommendations for international use and are published in the form

of standards, technical specifications, technical reports or guides and they are accepted by the National

Committees in that sense.

4) In order to promote international unification, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC International

Standards transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional standards. Any

divergence between the IEC Standard and the corresponding national or regional standard shall be clearly

indicated in the latter.

5) The IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any

equipment declared to be in conformity with one of its standards.

6) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this technical report may be the subject of

patent rights. The IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. However,

a technical committee may propose the publication of a technical report when it has collected

data of a different kind from that which is normally published as an International Standard,

for example “state of the art”.

IEC 61592, which is a technical report, has been prepared by IEC technical committee 59:

Performance of household electrical appliances.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1996. It constitutes

a revision mainly concerning ease of handling and needs of older persons and people

with disabilities (ISO/IEC Guide 71).
The text of this technical report is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
59/294/DTR 59/321/RVC

Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical report can be found in the

report on voting indicated in the above table.

This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

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– 4 – TR 61592  IEC:2003(E)

The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until 2006.

At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed;
• withdrawn;
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
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TR 61592  IEC:2003(E) – 5 –
INTRODUCTION

Panel testing can be an important tool both for overall as well as partial evaluation of

products, since the results directly reflect practical aspects which are of interest to the user.

Panel testing should be used to complement technical tests and physical measurements,

if any, which are often more abstract for the consumer.
In general, panel testing can be used when
– technical tests are not considered sufficiently;
– an assessment of overall performance is needed;

– characteristics requiring a degree of human involvement have to be evaluated (e.g.

handling, cleaning, ergonomic, instructions for use).

These guidelines are to be used as a checklist in determining when and how to apply panel

testing and how to avoid the most obvious pitfalls.

Panel testing generally gives information at the time of the test. Comparison is possible with

previous or parallel tests only when at least a reference sample and a particular methodology

are used.
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– 6 – TR 61592  IEC:2003(E)
HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES –
GUIDELINES FOR CONSUMER PANEL TESTING
1 Scope

This Technical Report applies to panel testing of household electrical appliances within the

scope of IEC technical committee 59: Performance of household electrical appliances.

NOTE The provisions in this Standard can also be used to evaluate other kind of products.

2 Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.

For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition

of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC Guide 14, Product information for consumers
ISO/IEC Guide 37, Instructions for use of products of consumer interest

ISO/IEC Guide 46, Comparative testing of consumer products and related services – General

principles

ISO/IEC Guide 71, Guidelines for standards developers to address the needs of older persons

and persons with disabilities

ISO 8317, Child-resistant packaging – Requirements and testing procedures for reclosable

packages
3 Definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following definition applies:
3.1
panel testing

method of assessing aspects of a product, by means of a selected group of people who are

asked to evaluate selected or overall aspects of the product

NOTE 1 Examples of such aspects are: function(s), handling, noise, cleaning and instructions for use.

NOTE 2 A list of aspects that can be evaluated by panel testing is given for information in Annex A

...