The alarm clock rings. Time to get up, prepare the coffee and make breakfast: warm the bread rolls in the oven, and fetch the chilled orange juice, butter and jam from the refrigerator. Quickly mix a smoothie, prepare scrambled eggs on the hob and in between swiftly iron a blouse or shirt. Scenes such as this unfold every day in households – no matter where in the world.
Home appliances should help make everyday life easier for us all. The demands on these helpers have grown – these days it's no longer enough for the refrigerator to chill, the oven to heat and the iron to smooth out creases. There's more to it than that. It's about the changing requirements of our everyday lives, about forward-looking technologies, and about aspects that impact buying decisions such as design and material, and especially about energy efficiency and sustainability.
This is exactly where BSH comes in: Our goal is to be so familiar with the needs of consumers that we create innovations that offer tangible benefits for customers and lead the way with our developments. We have therefore introduced a user-centric approach in our product development. In our user experience labs around the globe, consumers test prototypes, think through ideas and provide vital insights into their own wishes and expectations. In collaboration with designers, engineers and sales experts, this gives rise to innovations that invigorate and ensure better quality of life in harmony with the environment.
A modern coffee machine with illuminated display and different selection options. Before it a consumer wanting to prepare their favorite, latte macchiato: lots of milk and a double shot of espresso. A little scrutiny, a simple touch on the display here and there and the machine starts to prepare the drink.
What looks like an everyday scene is a small insight into our user experience laboratory in Munich. Not only coffee machines are set up here, but also washing machines, dishwashers and many other home appliances. Although the tester is aware of being observed during the unrehearsed operation of the machine, this does not affect their impartiality. Every individual function is put to the test, the tester's gaze is recorded using eye tracking, the user friendliness of the appliance is scrutinized in precise detail, and much more. Important conclusions can thus be drawn regarding products and prototypes, and possibly new user needs identified. The valuable test results are evaluated by product developers, psychologists and marketing experts, and incorporated into development. This produces in home appliances that are easy to operate and meet consumers' wishes and needs.
The dishwasher is filled and ready to start washing. Now simply switch it on and wait until the newly clean, dry and gleaming dishes are ready to be removed. And all that preferably without any annoying noise – after all, many kitchens nowadays are no longer separate rooms, but often part of the living area.
BSH brand dishwashers not only promise top-class cleaning results, stylish design and extremely resource-efficient properties. They are also so quiet today that consumers are only alerted to the fact that they are working by means of visual signals, for example. The acoustics lab is responsible for dealing with this challenge. It works constantly on further developing new insulation materials. After all, the sound of the appliances is an important purchase criterion for the consumer. Appliances should be quiet, yet at the same time sound pleasant. A challenging and complex task, because the choice of insulating materials also influences energy consumption and the drying level of the dishwasher. Different departments therefore work together from a very early stage of development to construct the optimum appliance. Consumers are also very closely involved in this process in order to develop a product that not only washes but also offers real added value and ultimately guarantees satisfaction.
