Proposal of an Analysis Method to Discover Hidden Hazards (AMDHH) in consumer products

The problem of having accidents when using consumer products is the scope of this study. During our analysis of many reported accidents, we have found cases that resulted not from hazards contained in the products, but from not following the appropriate usage of the product. We named hazards that lead to such accidents "hidden hazards," and have developed a method to discover them: Analysis Method to Discover Hidden Hazards (AMDHH), which is based on looking for deviations from the appropriate usage of the targeted product. A case study has been conducted using participants with little experience in risk assessment to see whether or not they could discover hidden hazards with AMDHH. A company survey was also conducted to evaluate AMDHH by people in charge of product safety. Participants in the case study managed to discover a variety of hidden hazards. In the company survey, the majority of participants agreed on the concept of AMDHH. It was also suggested that AMDHH could be used as an educational tool for risk assessment, designing product manuals, and for other purposes.