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
We’ve been hard at work here at Restart on a new project to explore our repair data and our environmental impact together. We’re happy to announce the support of ACTION (Participatory science toolkit against pollution) project, who are helping us incorporate “citizen science” approaches to our data work. “Repair is Essential” – this is the theme we chose for this year’s International Repair Day. In London, an online team of volunteers mapped 45+ repair businesses in London to be considered for inclusion. Small groups met repair businesses in Crystal Palace, Shepherd’s Bush and Tooting. After more than a year of surveys, interviews with group organsiers and repairers, design and development work, we’re delighted to announce that we’ve now added support for non-electrical/electronic items in our repairs database, the “Fixometer” The Repair Directory lists reliable repair businesses in London. We are asking the public to submit their favourite London repair shops! Many groups in our network are using our software to log community repair data after events. We asked some of them to tell us more about their experience with data. What motivated them to start recording data at repair events? What have they used repair data for? We’ve added south London borough Lambeth to our Repair Directory, and we’re getting ready to add more in the coming year, together with our London community. We’ve also made a change to reliability criteria for businesses. We’re celebrating having reached 1,000 events logged in our repairs database, affectionately known as the Fixometer. We started alone in London in 2014 on this project, and we have 110 groups in 12 countries who have logged events and contributed repair data to our network. Our Repair Directory lists 100 businesses from 11 boroughs in North and East London. We share insights from our work so far, and ask your input to help develop it further
Exploring our repair data and our environmental impact together
Repair is essential! Here is how we celebrated International Repair Day
You can now record non-electronic items on the Fixometer
Help us expand the Repair Directory across London
Repair data: why community groups collect and share
Repair Directory expanded – and more in the pipeline
1,000 events logged in our network
Help us improve our Repair Directory