THE APPLICATION OF HUMAN FACTORS TO THE DESIGN OF A TOY: LITTLE PEOPLE THEN AND NOW

摘要

In the 1960's Fisher-Price introduced the first Little People toys. These figures had a cylindrical body with aspherical head, and were approximately two inches in height and one inch in diameter. It was this original hard plasticdesign that has been associated with 13 reported fatalities. A recall was never issued as this product met all compliancestandards.Since then, Fisher-Price has changed the design of the Little People at least two times. The designs of the1990's are approximately the same height with an increased maximum diameter. Subsequient to this change, no seriousinjuries have been reported.This paper describes design hazard analyses of the original and the new Little People design. By understandingthe human factors of developing children : cognitive skills, motor skills, behavior and oral cavity anatomy, hazardouscharacteristics of the original design were changed to create a safer toy.