We collect data on every repair that we attempt at our events using our Fixometer app. We then use that data to provide insights into the devices and problems we see to those who design, manufacture and regulate products in the first place. We want to identify the barriers to repair that people come up against, whether it’s lack of spare parts, poor documentation, or simply bad design.
We’re also a founding member of the Open Repair Alliance, which shares information and insights with repair organisations around the world. And we’re exploring the availability of reliable commercial repairers, with our Repair Directory.
Here's what we are learning and from our work on repair data
The patterns and trends in our repair data can give us powerful insights into the repair movement, and we now have over 6,000 device repairs captured in the Fixometer. We’ve learned how to query, clean, and we’ve made progress on standardising our data. To help reduce our barriers to repair, today we are launching the beta version of our Repair Directory, a tool allowing users to quickly search for businesses based on location and type of device. We’ve repaired for over five years in our communities. Now we are witnessing worrying developments, including the emergence of products that are simply — and unnecessarily — disposable. Some are even single-use. We don’t measure success simply by the number of objects fixed – success also comes in the form of changed attitudes, greater confidence, more enthusiasm for repair, or understanding of our wider patterns of resource use. We’ve researched the changing landscape of the commercial repair sector in East London: some smaller businesses are finding it tough to compete with superstores and large manufacturers, and the next generation of younger repairers face an uncertain career path. Find out more about the improvements in our latest release of the Fixometer – version 3.0 AKA “Commutator”. We appear on The One Show tonight, talking about mobiles and why we – and professionals – struggle to repair so many of them in a cost-effective way. Using mobiles for longer is crucial to reducing their environmental impacts. Building on work in East London, the aim is to discover as many relevant businesses as possible in three North London boroughs, collect data on them, and then develop and apply criteria for reliable businesses.
A journey into our repair data
Launching our Beta Repair Directory
The crime of disposability
Changing attitudes and actions: research with Nottingham Trent University
Portraits of repair businesses in East London
Responding to community needs with the latest Fixometer release
Why repairing mobiles is not easy enough
Mapping commercial repair in three more London boroughs