A Study of the Hand Operating Thresholds during the Usage of an Electric Steam Iron by College Students

Among various types of home appliances, an electric steam iron has a higher risk since it needs to operate under a condition with a higher range of temperature. In this study, a group of college students were invited to operate an electric iron during the experiment in order to investigate the correlation between an operator’s hand and the possible contact with the iron soleplate during usage. The purpose of this study was to determine the hand portions which could easily get burned and the portions of the iron soleplate which tend to cause injuries. The results of this study indicated that the hand portions which could easily touch the soleplate are the right-hand side of the thumb and the forefinger. On the other hand, the portions on the soleplate which tend to cause burns are on the left-hand side of the iron, especially the sharper and upper half. The results serve as a good reference for follow-up designers on an iron design based on the safety consideration.