This summer KID’s TEST (Teaching Early Safety Testing) program is getting a makeover. This KID program is designed to promote the development of safe products by integrating design safety, standards, and testing practices into the undergraduate engineering curriculum. We have two interns, Brittany Stosiek from Eastern Illinois University and Ellen Puglisi of Creighton University, working on the project, along with input from our Chicago Booth School of Business Net Impact Board Fellows Aaron Brown and Caroline Silverman.
Based on various new safety standards and the changing dynamic of children’s products, KID felt it necessary to update the program to better accommodate the needs of undergraduates. The new updates are partially based on feedback from previous TEST participants about their experiences and modifications to make the program as effective as possible.
Revisions will include newer examples including recent recalls, integration of requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, and other changes. TEST gives student engineers and designers the tools they need to integrate safety into any product they design and apply appropriate testing practices and standards to the products. KID is also working with ASTM International to expose more students to using standards.
KID looks forward to expanding this program to more schools with the revised program and reaching more students in the quest to improve the safety of child and infant products. KID’s TEST provides important background materials and educational opportunities on safety for tomorrow’s designers and engineers of children’s products. Please contact KID if you are interested in bringing TEST to your school or want to volunteer to help build the program.
