Katalin Csikasz, TechPro Plus
www.techproplus.co.nz

In last month’s edition of NZ Manufacturer we touched on two projects where companies gained the competitive edge to become industry market leaders.

The first project, which we detailed in last month’s publication, involved providing the industry with a reliable in-ground corrosion control solution which has subsequently become an industry specification; giving the company both recognition and a competitive edge. We also provided a model which could assist you to become a market leader, helping you stay ahead of the competition and/or implement your idea to benefit the industry.

In this month’s edition we will provide more detail about how to become a market leader by outlining a project which positively impacted the New Zealand Telecommunication industry. This project is a great example of how using innovative, outside the box design thinking can minimise project complexity and reduce installation cost.

Innovative design solution impacting the New Zealand Telecommunication Industry:
In early 2000, as the Principal Engineer for TechPro Plus, I was onsite as a representative of a pole manufacturing company to observe the installation of both a 3m ground stub and the supplied telecommunication column.

To complete the task the project required a hiab and traffic management for two days as well as a small concrete mixer, about 6 installers and a massive hole in the ground. This was a complex and challenging task that required the team to work hard to fight the rigid 100 outside diameter duct pipes through a tiny hole into the ground stub.

The realisation that there must be a better way to do this was the moment when my innovative, sophisticated design of the “I” beam open section ground stub was born. Despite the 250% cost increase of the ground stub itself, due to its sophisticated details; the design was a triumph which has seen significant reductions in both installation time and costs.

Installation of this new innovative design required only two installers, a hiab and traffic management for half a day, a smaller hole drilled in the ground and bags of ready mix concrete mixed in a bucket. The duct pipes were able to be better arranged and come from the most economical direction.

This setup allowed the whole pole, not just the ground stub, to be installed in one day including all services; compared to the previous three day exercise. This project is a great example of how site visits can identify installation challenges and lead to new innovative solutions.

The savings in installation costs were significantly more than the cost increase of the sophisticated ground stub, making it a desirable overall solution for the asset owner. The “I” beam design is now accepted as the standard industry design and has subsequently been used by all New Zealand telecommunication companies in their major rollouts.

This created a recognised industrial design market leader position for the manufacturer and enhanced their reputation, while also providing significant project savings and faster and easier installation for the telecommunication industry, making it a win-win for all parties involved.

If your company has invested money, time and R&D resources into becoming a market leader, wants to stay ahead of the competition or has had an idea which the industry could benefit from; consider how you could take it further by utilising the following model:

• Identify Industry needs, challenges as well as customer and installer challenges.
• Speak to your installers and visit/observe installations to notice challenges and issues
• Speak to asset owners, ask for their challenges, and visit older installations to identify possible areas of improvements.
• Approach the application as a whole, and look for streamlined solutions from a finished, installed product point of view. Put yourself in your installer’s and/or end customers or asset owner’s shoes. Look for “outside the box” innovative solutions. Often the answer is not a cheaper product. If you can provide a cheaper or easier overall installed solution, despite your product being more expensive, you could still be a winner and create a respectable marketplace reputation – a desirable place to be.
• Consider and brainstorm possible solutions, speak to industry associations and/or an industry expert.
• Test the market. Build a theoretical model which will assist you to predict how the market will behave. Is your solution a winner or not viable?
• Protect your solution. If possible, patent, trademark, copyright and most importantly reach confidentiality with all parties involved. You don’t want your competition to find out about your secret project.
• Develop your solution – do your own R&D, employ a company to do it for you or import a suitable product or product application. There are various Government Research and Development Grants available to New Zealand companies.
• Market it
• Lobby
• Reap the benefits. Celebrate, enjoy the recognition and acknowledge the people involved and do it again….

Tech Pro Plus can partner with you to identify potential areas of improvements and/or visit installations, talk to your clients/installers to approach the matter with “outside the box” thinking. We are experts at finding innovative and unique solutions to industry challenges, which can increase your chances of becoming a market leader in your industry.

TechPro Plus can provide a complete solution from start to finish or manage part of the process; including leading or liaising with your research and development team, with the aim of providing you with a market leading product, solution, or application.