At Issue

Yeah, use my phone.

By David Mantey, Editor, PD&D

Thank goodness this world still has companies concerned about a habitual smoker’s needs. That’s right, Marlboro men and women, throw away your lighters and pick up your phones, because China-based Seabright International has released the world’s first lighter phone.

Now, before we fret over the pros and cons of regular nicotine and carcinogen inhalation, let’s think of every time we needed a light and – as a result of an incredibly successful PR campaign, and a history of illness and disease – nobody was carrying a lighter or matches because if anyone merely suggests a mild flirtation with cancer sticks, they’re banished from the land.

Think of the loose thread, the confidential memo or the fire pit you stumbled upon after drifting into a campground. (Why is it that everyone insists on erecting the perfect fire-producing teepee before consulting with the group to see whether something with a spark is in attendance?)

As hackers worldwide have come to appreciate a decent challenge, the idea has already been floated into the cybersphere suggesting that the new phone is an arsonist’s dream come true.

“What fire?”

“Sir, you didn’t notice the 30-foot blaze behind you?”

“What? No. I was on the phone with my mother. I tell you, if she mentions a grandchild’s love before she kicks one more time, I’m going to …”

“Thank you, sir. You’ve been quite helpful.”

A few minutes under the enclosure with a modification or two, and the phone becomes a flame-producing alibi. Out of the box, the phone seemingly acts similar to car lighters of old, with a faint orange glow strong enough to light a few brown leaves aglow – be them finely rolled in a paper or lying underneath a survivalist’s dry timber.

Don’t worry about taking it on a plane. The TSA allows people to carry one lighter – one less thing to place in the dish as you're removing your shoes and being eyed like a teenager in a high-end fashion store.

A phone with a breathalyzer. A phone with a lighter. Beta-testing in small towns around the world. 

The marketing image limits the possibilities – you feature a cigarette and you turn off a majority.

Feature a hunter/fisherman/camper and your product is in greater demand than Sprint Nextel’s direct-connect chirp. Plus, with a lighter and a camera, the user would be able to fill a gallery full of flames.

Personally, I’d take chin or forehead photos as I assisted the lightless masses (as the camera is on the opposite end) and try to sell it to a publisher as an offbeat coffee-table book.

Other than the gold cigarette lighter, the phone features a QVGA LCD, MP3 and MP4 capabilities, Bluetooth transmission, FM radio, a 1.3-megapixel camera and more. Would I be charged minutes for lighter usage? Some hidden flint-sparking fee? 

What’s next? Until my phone produces hologram transmissions, and/or performs basic dental and medical procedures, I'm not satisfied.

So, a fire cell mash-up. What do you think? Commercial success? Or impending disaster for those still caught up in firm Aqua Net '80s weave? Comment below.  

by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, PD&D

Like many of you, I read David Mantey’s column last week in which he discussed the younger generation’s perceived malaise about landing on the moon.  

While most celebrated the anniversary of our “one small step,” he lamented that to many in this age of heightened technological expectations it just wasn’t a big deal. I then battened down the hatches in preparation for the storm of responses it might, and did, generate. (With all due respect to the opinions of Jack T, David’s desk is neither clean nor uninhabited.)

While no one will argue with the accomplishment of said feat, I thought David’s point was interesting and I do agree that many of NASA’s endeavors generate only a ho-hum acknowledgement, especially from those who didn’t live through the early stages of this agency’s development. However, in many ways these lassie-faire attitudes are really the ultimate compliment for those who pioneered space travel.

I say this because it seems their work has fallen into the same category as a number of other technologies that we are regularly exposed to, but rarely think about.

I couldn’t tell you the names of the individuals responsible for the modern day refrigerator and I definitely take it for granted, but we certainly don’t celebrate the first time one was used. The same could be said for countless other every day items that have become ingrained into our daily existence.

In my opinion, walking on the moon impacts today’s generation the most by mitigating any limitations that might be in place, and helps set a new bar that still permeates throughout the service, design, production and engineering communities.

Although there are any number of areas that I could point to for such an example, I have to reference a recently received a press release that details a new fountain pen design.

Before you laugh, the product in question is from the German manufacturer Lamy and it retails for $300. That’s right – a $300 fountain pen.

Now, I’m not going to claim expertise on the subject of writing instruments – I thought the $20 Cross pen I received as a graduation present was exorbitant – but I’m guessing there were probably earlier models with fewer features and less distinguishable designs before the dialog3 was unveiled.

Constant motivation to further innovate has produced a product that is so over-engineered; few will ever have the need. But it’s still sets an impressive benchmark for what I’d consider a commodity item.

Similarly, before landing on the moon we were happy with land lines and typewriters. Now, cell phones and wireless internet connections drive communication.

So was landing on the moon a big deal? Of course, and David would agree. But the fact that more people would pay $10 to see the latest Transformers movie than watch a free shuttle launch from the comfort of their own home is a testament not to generational indifference, but to the competence, foresight and accomplishment of those associated with Apollo 11.

If it wasn’t for their work, we might all have to suffer through the use of disposable ballpoint pens, but at least for $300 you wouldn’t run out of them any time soon.

What's your take? Comment below.

“The last thing we need right now is a nation of workers on the proverbial hamster wheel, trying to stave off stress- and fatigue-related medical issues while still putting in a solid 14 hours per day.”

by Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO

When it comes to email, I’m a sucker for a good subject line. One of the more recent to hit my inbox attracted my attention with this: Why Good Old-Fashioned Hard Work is Back in Vogue!

The email is pitching editorial coverage for Jon Gordon and his recently released book “Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else.” If this doesn’t sound enough like an action film title, here’s how the trailer might begin: “If you think you’re already working hard at your job,” says Gordon, “think again.”

It’s this blanket, unwarranted criticism that makes me continue reading. If I were one of those desk jockeys glued to ESPN.com, I’d just laugh it off—but I’ve had too many 7 a.m. conference calls and Sundays in airports to find validity in this statement. So just how hard should I be working, Mr. Gordon? Here are some of the book’s suggestions:

• Burn the midnight oil: “Come into the office an hour early a few days a week to get ahead… if you like to make it home for dinner with your family each evening, spend an hour or two catching up on work at night once the kids are in bed.”
• Be willing to bear the load: “Continually compare yourself with those around you. Are they working harder than you? If the answer is yes, then you have some reevaluating to do.”
• Be a penny-pincher and a pitcher-inner: “Roll up your sleeves and start helping out with the little things around the office, like taking out the trash or cleaning up on Friday afternoons,” suggests Gordon. “Volunteer to stay late to stuff envelopes or get the filing caught up so that there isn’t a need to add a part-time intern to the payroll.”

The press release’s closing line makes me swallow my gum: “Make sure that when others are sleeping, you are working.”

I think I understand Mr. Gordon’s recession strategy here, so let’s get down to business: Tell your son or daughter that you’ll be missing the remaining soccer games in this season because you’ll be busy with a shop vac, getting to those coffee grounds in the corners of your office break room kitchen floor.

Mr. Gordon’s suggestions come from a good place. I get it—the economy sucks, and hanging onto your job right now can be like struggling to gain a foothold on very tenuous ground. Still, I find his analysis of today’s business conditions theatrical and down right dangerous.

To suggest that back-biting competition over who can sleep the least and work the most is the new norm is yet another over-dramatization. Aren’t there other ways to remain a valuable team member without giving up your life? I guarantee it. In fact, the last thing we need right now is a nation of workers on the proverbial hamster wheel, trying to stave off stress- and fatigue-related medical issues while still putting in a solid 14 hours per day.

Please, please continue to sleep and take vacation days, and spend time with your families. If you have some more constructive ideas for how to better contribute to your companies without giving up your health and happiness share your ideas below.

“Allow me to please give a quick plug to the Rockford, IL region, located at the top in northern Illinois.”

by Ron Jr. (Reg) Gustafson, Project Manager, Clinkenbeard

Clinkenbeard attended the Paris Air Show principally in a supporting role to existing customers at the show so that we can better understand the showroom in Paris and the mockups which were used to communicate product design and solutions to attendees. 

For the first time ever, the State of Illinois sponsored the Rockford booth in an effort to market the Rockford region to the aerospace industry. Clinkenbeard has been working with this industry for more than 20 years; but the region has more than 130 companies in the area that supply products to the global aerospace industry. Nearly 25 percent of the area’s workforce is employed in manufacturing, twice the national average. Rockford boasts 1.5 times engineering talent when compared to the Illinois average, and 1.3 times when compared to the US average. 

As we looked around the show, we found that the size of our business cluster here in greater Rockford region, in total companies, was comparable to several other very well-known US locations, already recognized as key business and manufacturing clusters by the aerospace industry. This is very encouraging information for a rapid manufacturing company like Clinkenbeard.

Our Rockford Area Economic Development Council is taking the lead in marketing this region to aerospace manufacturing companies that exhibited at Paris–and even to those who didn’t. We are confident that by the middle of the next decade, when you hear “aerospace product design and rapid manufacturing,” your mind will instantly think, “Oh yeah. That must be Rockford, IL, which I read about in a blog on PD&D’s website about five years ago.”

Know anything else great about Rockford? Post your comments below.

The work environment is changing in this economy

By Mathieu Turpault, Managing Partner, Director of Design at Bresslergroup

The current economic cycle is forcing all of us to step back and question “The way we’ve always done it.” 

As researchers, designers and engineers, we’re turning our design thinking skills on ourselves – determining where we can streamline, but make some wise investments, gain even greater efficiencies and solve problems creatively.

Generally, I think that management structures are becoming a more entrepreneurial, less rigid, certainly here at Bresslergroup and beyond.

We see this as a time for experimentation, where even traditional rivals look at ways of working together to find new synergies, where virtual partnerships form to scale to fluctuating workloads, where a new outlook on management is required to get ahead of the game. A lot of this activity follows the growing open innovation model.

From clients and prospects, we’re feeling increased fixed fee pressure, more competitive bidding and pressure on getting to market faster to gain competitive advantage and control development costs. But there is a constant drive to develop products with as low as possible cost of goods.

The primary rub is that engineering out product cost requires a fair amount of development effort and it’s difficult to anticipate how much design and engineering effort will be required to optimize for low cost production. Since we are already meticulous about engineering out costs, this represents an even greater challenge while quoting new projects.

We haven’t noticed an increase in scope creep. As long as we manage properly from the start and maintain clarity, there are few surprises.

Clients also seem more circumspect about deviating from the original product specs, to save time and money. However, we always advocate for research to validate concepts and test performance.

Many clients have tightened up on research budgets, which tends to keep down scope creep but in many cases increases the risk inherent in new product development.

For us, the recent changes don’t come as a big surprise. The consulting world has always had to adapt quickly to changing situations and we tend to be more nimble than most. But it’s a challenging time for sure, a time where creative energy must be applied to explore new options and opportunities.

So we’re looking forward to market recovery and emerging in a stronger position based on the changes we’ve made during the down turn.

Mathieu Turpault is a partner and Director of Design at Bresslergroup.  He is especially focused on design and user research and the merging of physical and digital design. Mathieu graduated from the Superior School of Industrial Design of Paris (ESDI). Mathieu has won numerous awards including IDEAs, MDEA and ID magazine, among others. Bresslergroup is a full service product development firm focused on helping leading brands innovate and grow share. www.bresslergroup.com.

“We are called upon regularly not to just make something pretty, but to help a company arrive at a solution.”

By Ron Jr. (Reg) Gustafson, Project Manager, Clinkenbeard

Walking through the Paris Air Show and seeing all of the breathtaking booths full of product models and mock-ups, I wondered how a company could possibly communicate a product design to visitors from 48 countries, using only words, without a physical prototype or mock-up available.

What struck me was how physical prototypes can effectively bridge the gap between languages and communicate in a way which would be difficult and in some cases impossible, using only words, due principally to the complexity of most products.

Sure we have CAD drawings and language interpreters, but nothing says “reality” like an outstanding design, properly machined and exquisitely painted final mock-up. Those who were at the show know what I mean. . .especially those who were able to take a walk through the long nose and fuselage of the Airbus A350 fuselage mock-up, which was exhibited at the show.

Now I know this is an exaggeration. Ninety-five percent of the mock-ups at the show were not as massive as the Airbus 350 fuselage mock-up. My point is this: We sometimes overlook the fact that even people who speak the same language and work in the same office have a much different vision of a final product or prototype, notwithstanding the fact that each of them may have just spoken with the same customer contact.

Enter our key language as rapid manufacturers: the mock-up. I am so pleased to be working in rapid manufacturing for Clinkenbeard and addressing the day-to-day challenge of producing first-class show quality mockups that can accurately convey a product or prototype’s message and, if properly produced, say things about the product or prototype that words could never express. We are called upon regularly not to just make something pretty, but to help a company arrive at a solution...and do it in the Fasterestest (our slogan) way possible.

Finally, and ideally, our mock-ups are multi-linguistic, speaking several languages simultaneously – one that designers can understand, one that customers can understand, and one that the primary audience for which the mockup was created hears plainly, clearly and unmistakably.

What are your thoughts? Post your comments below.

All of a sudden people care about NASA again, it’ll pass.

by David Mantey, Editor, PD&D

I don’t remember where I was when we landed on the moon. This can be attributed to the fact that my mother was only 10 at the time and still years away from her public school lesson on baby-making.

I do, however, remember where I was when Fox aired one of the first conspiratorial specials on whether the moon landing was faked: Instead of sitting together as a family to watch this great accomplishment, which would motivate thousands of engineers around the nation and invigorate overwhelming nationalism, I watched "Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?" the 2001 Fox TV documentary that featured inconsistencies in NASA's Apollo images and TV footage.  

I became more excited about the possibility of a hoax. Landing on the moon was one feat, but faking it and pulling it off? What a testament to the power of the PR machine.   

I didn’t grow up with NASA heroics. We didn’t have space shuttle toys or Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong action figures. I heard we landed on the moon, thought it was pretty interesting and then put down the issue of 3-2-1 Contact before I finished the article. I have become more interested in Buzz ever since he smoked Michael Moore wannabe, Bart Sibrel with a better jab than I’ll ever muster.

It’s not that landing on the moon or space exploration isn’t interesting, I just think most people don’t care – unless they have $200K to hitch a ride into space on Virgin Galactic, one of Branson’s latest ventures.

The 40th anniversary makes for good nostalgia-stoking, water-cooler fodder and time-filling segments on news outlets, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The 40th will not jump-start a newfound passion to reach the final frontier – J.J. Abrams did a better job with his Star Trek revamp.   

Our society is too Hollywood, too commercial, too individualistic. We want to buy a ticket to space or turn a blind eye to the opportunity if it’s out of our price range. Instead, we’ll watch a young space cowboy befriend a pointy-eared alien for $10 and imagine our role as a button-pushing extra — maybe a sickbay male nurse.  

Who’s to blame when the movie Armageddon fires people up more than NASA had in 30+ years? Who knows? Maybe we just need a more charismatic crew. Put an astronaut up on the podium at a press conference and get him to sign off with “Yippee-kai-yay.”  

The media is equally to blame. NASA’s failures simply drive more traffic. The shuttle launch is a success, whoo. But did you hear about the foam?

• Endeavour Suffers Damage After Foam Breaks Off During Launch! – Courtesy MSNBC
• Foam hits Endeavour after it finally lifts off – Houston Chronicle
• Debris breaks off Endeavour during launch – Stuff.co.nz

I wish I could hire the narrator who worked on the trailers for the old monster flicks. We’ll give it a spooky soundtrack and it’ll go viral on YouTube. Now that’s sensationalism.  

Will they make it? Did it damage the fuel tanks again? To drum up any interest in NASA, we need life-or-death implications – or a jazzy Aerosmith number and a pre-Bennifer Ben Affleck with a box of Animal Crackers. Yes, I know entirely too much about the movie, it’s inexcusable.  

From all of the coverage that I have read, I have learned one thing: In this economy, the majority would like cash to stay on this planet. That chunk of foam probably accounted for enough resources to build a new school in my hometown. We didn’t have media outlets scrutinizing the bottom line 40 years ago. Landing on the moon didn’t have a price tag; and we didn’t have analysts re-appropriating the funds to “worthier” causes.      

So we landed on the moon 40 years ago, big deal.

For the verbal lashing, post comments below, but I understand that many of you still prefer an abnormal, Jersey-like amount of cussing in your responses. To you, my email is always available, david.mantey@advantagemedia.com.

"The familiar routine of our daily obligations lends a rhythm to our lives that a big dose of free time can throw out of sync." 

by David Elliott, Proteus Design

“Leisure one, this is leisure two,” says my brother Vincent in greeting, priority deriving from date of layoff. The calls provide a little family therapy, and occasionally news.  “Did you hear we have a leisure five? Susan’s had her program cut.” 

More family visited this forth of July weekend, with kids running around and half a dozen overnight guests. After the first night I wised up and wore earplugs, but a tougher challenge was the sudden quiet on Monday. After everybody left I hardly knew what to do with myself.

Beware What You Wish For

So much free time takes a particular set of coping skills. “Yeah right, we should all face such a challenge,” you’re thinking. But seriously, it’s a recognized problem. The familiar routine of our daily obligations lends a rhythm to our lives that a big dose of free time can throw out of sync. 

It could come from losing a job or working too much. I recall a period I was so focused on my work I neglected to make any plans for my real life. I’d wake up Saturday emotionally drained, out of touch with friends, and in a daze. I pictured myself calling people up, “Hi, remember me?” 

The good news is that lifting this malaise is generally as simple as getting back to work and life, by engaging in purposeful, rewarding activity. The vida amoeba will resist at first, but once you overcome the inertia, you’ll feel like a member of the human race again. 

So don’t let it get the best of you. Keeping your time structured and productive can entirely avoid it. As a coworker once put it, “The weekend is my time. I don’t spend it sleeping late.” Or recognize the onset, have plans ready, and execute. Whether it’s unemployment, self employment, or the odd Saturday, the curse, cure and benefits are the same. Keep sane and make good use of the opportunity. 

Personally I find the old standby do lists provide both structure and flexibility, with separate versions for today and longer term, for personal tasks (including some exercise and fun) and professional goals. While crossing items off brings satisfaction, the primary purpose is to stay mindful of goals and avoid overlooking anything, so my lists tend to run long. An example agenda for today reads in part: organize shop, SolidWorks, cut firewood, new product ideas, and the biggie: refine marketing message. 

Name Your Enthusiasm

Which brings us to the topic of actually getting a job. There are few questions in life so fundamental as, “How do you want to make a living?” And, “What value do you contribute?” These are life changing questions. They require deep reflection on life and work history – as well as an understanding of the marketplace. 

“What are you passionate about?” the experts ask. “What kind of activity makes you forget meals, or work late into the night?” Lucky me, many interests can keep me at a task past meals and bedtime. I enjoy the arts and sciences and working with my hands. 

But the experts also say to narrow it down. “What single attribute differentiates you from the crowd?” In a sea of grey suits, the specialist in blue will be spotted first. A designer?  Focus on your experience in endoscope optics and target the medical industry. 

Of course a prospective employer’s needs are paramount in your branding. Experts say an interviewer remembers one, maybe two things about you. So keep your message simple and consistent –however disagreeable that may feel to a creative individual. Don’t mention to the medical company your expertise in bilge pumps, or you risk being filed under yacht maintenance. 

Networking: Unintended Benefits

After a year of industry groups and networking events with few hard leads my wife gave me a stern look and asked if it was doing any good. My answer surprised me. The major benefit was an increasing comfort with the process of selling myself. Despite a general indifference to business, I found myself earning a micro MBA. Besides meeting some amazing people, I mean.

You know you’re internalizing these job seeking skills when your whole life begins to feel like a networking event, with every conversation a job interview. Being somewhat of an introvert, I was startled to find networking a painless way to broaden my horizons.  You walk into a room, mechanically introduce yourself to the nearest stranger, and the inevitable “so what do you do” becomes a branding practice session. And you really must engage publicly. It just isn’t practical, or any fun, to try to develop a product exclusively within the confines of your own skull. That’s solitary confinement, and a ticket to the booby hatch. 

For more information visit:  

www.linkedin.com/in/dkelliott

1stprinciplesdesign.wordpress.com

“I’m not suggesting you start a softball league with your competitors, but I do think there is knowledge to be gained from an environment that allows for some transparency amongst those you don’t compete with.”

by Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO

As a baseball fan, All-Star week is typically a mediocre point in the season for me: My team—the Milwaukee Brewers—doesn’t play for three days, our best talent risks injury in an ancillary ball game, and the American League always wins, this year being no exception.

But once the days leading up to the event reveal all of the associated marketing theatrics, I always get sucked in and wind up watching the game, the home run derby, the speeches and the montages… what can I say? I’m a sucker for America’s pastime.

I think it can be difficult as a baseball fan to let down your existing alliances and rivalries and watch the All-Star game for what it is—a display of the most talented fan favorites in the game. How am I supposed to root against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs (almost as important to me as rooting for the Brewers), when we are all playing on the same National League ball club for the night? I’m so used to hurling verbal insults at Albert Pujols (sorry, St. Louis fans…) that it’s nearly impossible for me to get any pleasure out of him making good plays for the NL All Star-Team.

I watched the game with my brothers, we insulted the competition, ate pizza, and I woke up on the couch in time to see The National League lose its 12th straight. For the most part, it passed without event, but it did get me thinking a bit about success and competition, and what we do with it after we’ve reached our particular milestones—athletic, or otherwise.

I recently toured a facility in northern Minnesota for an IMPO article, and their unique approach to success really resonated with me. Mate Precision Tooling is a manufacturer of CNC punch press replacement tooling, and the interview was planned around the company’s more recent accolade of being named Manufacturer of the Year by the Minnesota Manufacturer’s Alliance. Mate’s award was based on a number of criteria, but one of the most interesting was the fact that the company is very willing to share knowledge and best practices with other manufacturers.

When visiting Mate, we discussed some of their strategies, and the company management described plant tours where they learned as much as, if not more than, visiting companies simply through engaging in an open dialogue. The MN Manufacturer’s Alliance often helped facilitate these plant tours, but kept all competitors out—meaning, once these folks were in an environment free of competition, they could really open up and share ideas without fear of compromising their businesses.

I’m not suggesting you start a softball league with your competitors, but I do think there is knowledge to be gained from an environment that allows for some transparency amongst those you don’t compete with. As a baseball bat manufacturer, you might be able to gain something by asking questions about the 5S or Kaizen process of another manufacturer, even if they make plastic forks.

Yeah, it still burns me that the first time all season Albert Pujols is protected at the plate is because the Brewers All-Star Ryan Braun is batting behind him, but only because we’ve been battling out first place in the NLC all season. But as far as some of these other ball players go, I can respect guys like Derek Jeter and Josh Hamilton—especially because we almost never play them. All I’m saying is, we’re not so different. And maybe we’re not even so competitive. Is it so bad to go out there and swing a few bats together?

Think there are other lessons to be learned from the major leagues, or vice versa? Post your comments below.

“Aside from television, wireless remote controls are prevalent everywhere from toys to garage door openers and beyond, but for me the ability to lounge around and enjoy three different college football games sets Polley and Adler in a league of their own.”

by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, PD&D

A new term that’s made its way into the PD&D home office vernacular is brain hurricane. Why hurricane? Because storm is just not a strong enough qualifier for meeting discussions that cover everything from DC motor specs to what Mantey really has in his coffee mug on a given morning. The most recent product of such a gathering is one that we’re all pretty excited about - the PD&D Design Hall of Fame.

To me, the best examples of innovation are those which become so quickly embedded into our daily functionality that we fail to recognize just how innovative and impactful these products have been and continue to be. Basically, the only time we even think about them is when they’re not working – which brings me to my thoughts on a couple of candidates for enshrinement.

I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed watching baseball’s Home Run Derby on Monday night, my EADD (entertainment attention deficit disorder) kicked in whenever someone not named Prince Fielder was up to bat.

Then … tragedy. I was pushing buttons, but unable to revert back to my previous channel! Initially there was panic. Would I need to camp out in front of the television in order to alternate between watching yard balls and a re-run of Family Guy? Fortunately, the need to re-stock on power supplies for my daughter’s flashlights meant a healthy number of AAs were accessible. Tragedy averted, but what if I actually had to put down the Taco Bell and walk over to the TV in order to change the channel – ridiculous.

In addition to not missing Fielder’s collection of 480’ bombs all around Busch Stadium, this encounter offered a much greater appreciation for Eugene Polley and Robert Adler. Both engineers at Zenith Radio Corporation in the early 1950s, (now part of LG) Polley invented the Flashmatic remote control.

While options with long, cumbersome cables had been offered earlier for flipping channels, the Flashmatic was the first wireless option. It used directional flashlight in the remote and photo cells in the television, but when exposure to direct sunlight started producing poltergeist-like random channel changes, a new approach was deemed necessary.

Enter Robert Adler, an Austrian-born American who would introduce a format closer to what we know today. After playing with the concept of using radio waves, Adler’s Space Commander 600 remote control used sound waves to transmit signals to the TV. Aluminum rods inside the device were stuck by small hammers when the buttons were pushed. These high-frequency tones synched with control functions on the television. This initial remote control needed no batteries, as the company was afraid that the consumer might think the TV was broken when the batteries died. What kind of simple mind would panic just because the remote didn’t function?

Later on Adler modified the remote control to use ultrasonic signals, a core technology that remained in application up until the mid 80s, when it was replaced by the infrared systems we use today. Although this format handles more complex communication demands, it relies upon the use of batteries.

Before passing in 2007 at the age of 94 Adler was awarded the IEEE Edison Medal and in 1997, he and Polley were jointly awarded an Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. His wife, Ingrid, recalled that he didn't even watch much television. “He was a man who would dream in the night and wake up and say, ‘I just solved a problem.’ He was always thinking science,” she stated in an AP article after his death.

Aside from television, wireless remote controls are prevalent everywhere from toys to garage door openers and beyond, but for me the ability to lounge around and enjoy three different college football games sets Polley and Adler in a league of their own. Thankfully, remote control technology has not been universally expanded to allow for delivering cold beverages and preservative-laden snack foods directly to my couch, or complete muscle atrophy wouldn’t be too far away.

While my initial interest was brought about by a mixture of embedded behavior and admitted laziness, these two gentlemen filed numerous patents involving other technologies that played a key role in improving our day-to-day lives. They just never received as much pomp or recognition as the TV remote control. Adler, for example, helped develop a number of communications devices for military use.

Aside from the obvious accomplishments of those who have and will continue to be nominated, the reason I’m so excited about the prospects of the PD&D Design Hall of Fame is that it offers an opportunity to bring more than just an end product or result into the spotlight. Additionally, this process will demand equal attention be paid to the individuals who introduced many of these simple, yet often lifestyle-altering concepts that have enhanced our society and impacted the way we function every day.

So my challenge to you is to simply think about what you do every day and the products you appreciate the most. I’m sure each of you can reference a Polley or Adler-like invention. We, as well as your peers in the design community, would love to hear your thoughts about these products, and the people behind them.

What are your thoughts? Post your comments below and send in nominations to jeff.reinke@advantagemedia.com.

It would be close to impossible for me to function every morning without the help of the wonderful invention, the coffee maker.

By Meaghan Ziemba, Associate Editor, PD&D

I am a coffee drinker. Can’t live without it. Some may call it an unnecessary addiction; I call it a necessity for survival. Without it, I would be a discombobulated zombie unable to complete full sentences or comprehend simple conversation.

My clothes would be on backwards, my shoes would not match, my hair would be disheveled and I would not be able to promise that my teeth were brushed. Yup, coffee gets me going in the morning.

It all started when I was 5-years-old. My mother let me have my first taste of coffee and I was hooked. Something about the smooth bitter taste gave me comfort, and I continued to drink it through elementary, middle and high school. I drank it with friends during late night gatherings at poetry jams and study sessions.

In college it helped me survive calculus, physics and all-nighters, scrambling to finish a 20-page report on the histories of English authors and poets – real exciting stuff. Without it, it would be close to impossible for me to function every morning or complete everyday tasks.

My addiction is worse with the flavored brews from Starbucks. The white chocolate mocha tastes like warm chocolate milk and it comes with thick, creamy whipped topping. Frozen vanilla lattes are also a favorite of mine, helping me begin my Saturday mornings when I run errands with my daughter. 

Java is great for gatherings, an after dinner beverage, a morning “pick-me-up” and a helpful study buddy. Without coffee, millions of people would miss deadlines, be late for work and improperly function – and well some, would just be cranky.

So, in honor of PD&D’s tribute to great engineers across the industries, I would like to nominate Edward Able and Erwin Schulze, for their contributions in the invention of the drip coffee maker, for PD&D’s Engineer Hall of Fame.

Before the drip coffee maker, coffee was processed through a percolator: a coffee pot where boiling water is forced up through a stem like structure, and filters through a sieve-like container to the ground coffee beans, and returns to the pot below. It became known as the “cowboy pot” to do the large amount of cowboys that used it.

In 1972 “Mr. Coffee” was introduced by the American baseball great, Joe DiMaggio, helping to boost its popularity in the market. The design was created by Vincent G. Marotta, and the technological aspects of the design were handled by my two nominees, Edward Able and Erwin Schulze.

Mr. Coffee paved the road for modern day coffee pots and espresso machines. With faster brew times and affordable java in the comforts of consumers’ homes, this simple invention has made getting up in the morning more enjoyable and long work hours possible. Getting up before the birds is easier to do with a cup of brew made from Able and Schulze’s innovative design.

Without coffee, my articles would be filled with perplexing nonsense, my morning driving skills would be clumsy and erratic, and my conversations would be incomprehensible.

Call it an addiction; I call it a vital component of morning survival and everyday functioning. My hat goes off to Able and Schulze for their classic design, and I applaud them for helping me stay awake – and making me a more content morning person. 

What are your thoughts? Post your comments below.

Do you knowsome engineer who deserves to be in the PD&D Engineer Hall of Fame? Let us know. Send your nominees to meaghan.ziemba@advantagemedia.com.

by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, PD&D

“True success entails connecting with all elements of the solution and getting your hands dirty in order to ensure a solution.”

One of my previous columns talked about the potential issues that can arise when a distance, via infrequent communication or a lack of customer understanding, is created between those who design and produce new products, with those who use them. Thanks to the latest handy work of our elected officials, a perfect illustration has been offered up on a silver surgical tray.

Regardless of your opinions on President Obama, at the very least the guy is holding true to his promises of trying to institute change, with medical care receiving the majority of the headlines this past week. The problem is that, as recent coverage showcased, while the effort is there, the methodology and approach of our government as a whole is still seemingly way out of tune with those who require, invest in and depend upon the current healthcare system.

A recent Wall Street Journal article cited two eye-opening facts about recent efforts to overhaul healthcare. Each offers perspective on the chasm that exists between our government and those who have put them in power.

1. Democrats are hoping to limit the cost of the overhaul at about $1 trillion over 10 years.

Yes, the words limit and trillion are actually associated with each other. In a time when everyone is being encouraged to spend responsively, tighten the belts a little bit and look to limit debt, our government’s response is to make sure they don’t cross the threshold of $1,000,000,000,000. They’re really setting the bar here, and certainly establishing a connection with constituents who recently funded the survival of automakers and banks in order to keep their house in order, while these taxpayers may have very well lost theirs during the same timespan.

2. White House budget director, Peter R. Orszag, had said that $110 billion in savings could be achieved by pressing hospitals to treat patients more effectively, using health information technology and better coordination of care that would reduce the need for expensive specialists.

Okay, so first the automakers are taking direction on corporate responsibility from a body associated with an escalating national debt and demonstrated inability to put forth a balanced budget. And now, we’re going to trust them with defining proper medical care procedures? So I guess I’m qualified to run the National Football League because I’ve been to Lambeau Field a couple times.

The takeaway here is that while the administration’s efforts are certainly focused on fixing a problem, they seem so far detached from the situation that their rhetoric and potential approach comes across as nothing more than another excuse for political parties to posture and wax poetic about their “efforts”.

Similarly, it can be easy for anyone, whether you’re a politically pessimistic trade publication editor or a highly gifted design engineer, to dance around a solution and appear to do the right things. True success, however, entails connecting with all elements of the solution and getting your hands dirty in order to ensure a solution.

Fortes Fortuna Juvat – that was the motto of my Army Reserve unit. The rough translation is fortune favors the brave. Here’s to those who dare to go beyond appearances and seek out true, impactful solutions.

What are your thoughts? Post your comments below.

By Anna Wells, Editor, IMPO

I have a good friend who works for a large, reputable technology consulting company and we were speaking recently on some of the things his employer was testing in the technology realm.

A couple of these upcoming advancements gave me visions of The Jetsons, while others—like a software program that automatically transcribes your voicemails into emails—seem a bit over the top.

I mentioned to my friend that I thought perhaps some technologies were reaching the point on the bell curve where they became less useful.

“Less useful?” he responded, stunned. “But why would I want to listen to my entire voice mail when I can just skip to the important part?”

I find these types of “improvements” funny, especially in an economic environment where some of us have been forced to somewhat spurn modern technology. Take for example, my new favorite website for the DIYer: www.thereifixedit.com.

This site shows ‘home cures’ for fixing your broken stuff—most of which seems to involve duct tape. One image shows a piecemeal automobile engine with a Pringles can comprising the middle of a rather important-looking tube. Another shows plates and aluminum pans clipped to a balcony overhang, entitled “Dish Dryer.” Before I get a rash of angry letters, I’d like to reinforce the fact that I’m referencing this website simply as an illustration. Most of these ‘fixes’ are accidents waiting to happen, and should not be attempted.

Still, the thing I like most about this is that amongst the ineptitude, there sometimes surfaces a gem of DIY brilliance. When there’s not an “app” for it, there is still probably a solution involving duct tape and chicken wire. I grew up watching MacGyver. Just sayin’.

It seems funny to me that today’s technology realm has some of the most technical minds in America working on fart noise apps to sell at the Apple store. Has this “you can do anything with your brain” attitude meant we try harder to find creative solutions? Or does it mean something far less interesting, and more modernly American: we waste our time and resources on diversions like shaking digital dice or breaking bubbles, and zoning out to reality TV and celebrity gossip blogs.

While I am in no way advocating an airplane wing affixed with duct (or any) tape, do-it-yourselfers can be the most innovative of the bunch—especially since their goals are day-to-day reality, like trying to (safely!) get a few extra miles out of an ailing piece of property.

Either way, a recession sometimes can mean the most interesting advancements. Due to my non-technical brain, DIY solutions are more of the hand car washing, home manicure, Moonshine (kidding…) variety, but I’m sure PD&D readers are full of sound advice on how to stretch a dollar by doing it yourself. Any tips? Email me at anna.wells@advantagemedia.com or post comments below.

Mailbag:

Your comment about software that changes voicemail to email got my attention. My mother, who is 78 years old, has had a cochlear ear implant for slightly more than 10 years and before that was deaf for more than 20 years after loosing her hearing around age 40. I recently got her a cellphone because of the service that changed voice mail to a text message. This allows me and other family members to communicate much more easily with her from a distance rather than only waiting till we see her in person. I find your statement to be very insensitive to people like her or myself who does need hearing assistance also. This type of technology allows disabled people to enjoy things like the rest of us. Although you could argue why not just text. I say to that, my father does not and will not learn to text but he can leave a message and my mother can see it very easily, even though the translation can sometimes be hard to decipher. Although you may not see the need for all of the technologies and most likely the business side will  also limit or leave some behind I think there is somebody always in need of something different to help them. I am sure I may not be the only one to comment on this. I just wanted to get your attention and remind you not everybody is the same and when people like yourself try to write columns and sound like you know something, be careful. Just who do you want to leave out when studying the bell curve. Remember that the upper 50% most likely will always have to take care of the lower 50%!

As for tips on how to stretch the dollar, like you say do it yourself! As a young person I was told if you did not know how to do something or knew nothing about a subject go to the library and find a book or magazine on the subject. You can learn! With the internet you do not have to go to the library, so the info is out there just find it and use it!

Not trying to be mean,  just wanting to make you think!

-Anonymous

Hi Anna,

I read with interest your article on do-it-yourself ideas.  All my life I have been a do-it-yourselfer and as an engineer (a good one I hope), I have saved thousands of dollars.   We have lived in our present home (not the one below) seventeen years so far and during that time we have had only two visits from repair companies. (One to RotoRoot the sewer when I didn't have the equipment, and the other to replace a spring on our garage door I had already replaced myself previously, but the local government had recently passed a regulation that only a "licensed garage door replacer" could purchase the necessary spring.)

I thought you may find my previous do-it-yourself award winning solar home of interest.  It took me three years to build and I did about 60% of the construction and much of the design on this 7000 square foot structure on top of a mountain myself.  We lived there for about ten years till we had to move to the city for the sake of our children who were just learning to drive and winter driving to that house was not for beginners. The house was featured in May,1981 Popular Science.  Here is the house photo link: http://youngideas.info/house.html

You might find the entire <youngideas.info> website of interest for the unusual projects I do.

Good luck in your work and career,

Gordon W. Young PE

Young Ideas

gordon_young@comcast.net

By David Mantey, Editor, PD&D

Well, those of you who know me – or at least had a chance to share a cold, post-show, wind-down beverage on the expense account with me — know that I’ve had greater, or more interesting, mistakes in my life.

My latest is eating me alive, that is, if a typo somehow transformed into some wily flesh-eating little devil.

That’s right; I’m the man who wrote the story about the car that tops out at 8.5 miles per hour and then I printed it. I remember the day. It was a couple weeks ago, so I don’t have to venture that far back into the gray matter. I wrote the e-mail to my associates, “The issue is done, final, absolutely complete, perfect, beautiful — and I couldn’t have done it without you.” 

I received the confirmation e-mail, “The plates are ready to roll …” And just like that, PD&D was on its way to mailboxes around the nation. Now was the time for the post-issue celebratory desk cleansing, a few minutes out of my day that I dedicate solely to organizing the piles and relocating my original desk surface.

The piles consist of papers, magazines, press releases, etc. Nothing food-related, I’m not “that guy” in the office. I may not be tidy, but I strive to stay above gross. I tossed out the old press releases. Threw away the PowerPoint slides. Re-hung the calendar. Stacked up the CDs. Wiped the USBs.

Finally, after I’d reordered the many personal jokes I have clinging to my cube walls (some are hanging from cabinets), it was time to toss the proofs, the printouts that I meticulously combed through before I sent the issue to the printer.    

I paged through this part of the process, making mental notes of things I’d like to tweak in the next issue. I passed the new products and before me lay the cover story. The one section readers jump to first. The two pages called out immediately after I pulled it from the mailbox. I smiled. It was a fun article to put together, and it hit me.

After writing it, I reread and edited it on four different passes and had it read by proofreaders. Yet there sat the glowing little deviant eyeballing me from a foot away, becoming progressively closer as my back hunched over until my forehead was pummeling the desk and knocking the Manure Manager magazine calendar (don’t ask) off of my walls.

How did we miss it? In the chart, of all places, a cut-and-paste error goes overlooked, and one of the most innovative ideas I’ve ever heard of tops out at 8.5 miles per hour instead of 85 mph. Instead of covering an up-and-coming innovation, I just shone the spotlight on a vehicle that would be outrun by a golf cart at a retirement resort.

Before the first issue was stapled and labeled, I think I received my first call from the guy boxing the issues at the printer. “Hey, why you writin' 'bout a car that only goes 8.5 miles per hour?”

I’m in the publishing business, so I’ve had some time honing my fake, uncomfortable laugh. It’s a mix between my father’s Clausian chuckle and a child with a mouth full of chocolate chip cookies. During my first call I let it roar and the subsequent feedback from readers has caused the abs to ache as they did back in 1998 – the last time I executed an ab crunch.

I was able to mend the chart on the Net, but not fast enough. I wanted the next issue to print immediately, so I could place the retraction as fast as possible. I nearly set my Outlook to automatically respond, “Yep, I saw it. The inflatable car’s top speed is 85 mph. Thank you for your time.” Print real estate smaller than a stamp had become the biggest mistake of my professional life. The internal cussing continues. 

As you come up in an industry, you learn a few things. I learned that while “the business” does roll downhill, there is no reason you can’t pick it up and throw it right back. As an assistant or associate, I may have written the story, but it wasn’t my initials that signed off on the final pages. Problem was, this time my initials were on the page and “the business” was coming at me from every direction. Note to self: Position in the middle of the hill much more treacherous than the bottom.  

Thanks for all of the feedback, I appreciate all of your close attention to detail. Cheers to those of you in the middle of the hill and below, at least those on the top have been in the business for some time so their arms are starting to go.

What’s your take? Post your comments below (or write me, call me, Tweet me, blog me, text me, fax me, send a smoke signal, put up a billboard on I-90/94, create a JibJab cartoon, post a video on YouTube, contact every person in the masthead and tell them to talk to me, write a song about it for my iPod, make an app for me, send me a certified letter via horseback …)

By David Mantey, Editor, PD&D

Design engineers need more recognition. More recognition? Whom am I kidding? Design engineers need any recognition for their achievements.

Why does the culture celebrate a product and not the person or staff that spent years burrowing behind the scenes, tangled in electronics, jammed in motion control or blasted by the latest design that didn’t work well with power?

I’m talking about the unsung heroes, people toiling away, creating steady innovations and staying out of the limelight – mostly because they’re deep into a new challenge. I want to recognize the people who capture, or have captured, the spirit of the design engineer.

With a desire to celebrate that spirit, the PD&D team is starting the PD&D Design Engineering Hall of Fame. We want to recognize design engineers for their lifetime achievement in the industry and we want to know who you think should be in the first class.

I’m looking for nominations. Who do you think epitomizes the design engineer? Whom do you look up to? Who is your hero and why? What did he/she create? Who is your mentor, your inspiration? What is he/she working on now?

We will take nominations from readers, compile the entries and have readers choose the top 10 nominees.     

We are also currently in the process of putting together the PD&D Advisory Board, a group of your peers who will decide which of your top 10 have the credentials to make it into the introductory class. We don’t want a Hall of Fame for design engineers chosen by anyone other than design engineers.

One of my personal picks? Al Alcorn, the man behind Pong, The nominations however, are in your hands.

Who is your pick? E-mail me at david.mantey@advantagemedia.com or post below. 

Using household supplies and tools from the garage, it’s easy to create different tools to light off fireworks during the Fourth of July.

by Meaghan Ziemba, Associate Editor, PD&D

This past weekend, I celebrated my all-time favorite holiday at my brother’s with family and friends, the 4^th of July. With a variety of cheese and veggie dips, chicken and potato salad, grilled brats slowly cooked in onions, sauerkraut and beer and a plethora of desserts; my family and I not only enjoyed the sunny weather, but we smiled with admiration as we watched the little ones run around the yard, writing their names in the air with green and white sparklers.

While I enjoyed the laughter and the beer-cheese pretzel dip I couldn’t escape, I became very impatient for the blue sky to turn black so my brother and I could start lighting the explosives.

When 9 o’clock came around, my brother and I grabbed a couple of cinder blocks to create a stable launching pad on the grass. There were various gadgets available to launch the rockets and roman candles: From the simple devices, such as the ground, an empty wine bottle taken from the recycling bin, and the not so safe idea of using just a hand; to the more sophisticated devices of PVC tubing duct-taped together and spray-painted black to like a double barrel shotgun – not a necessity, but a more entertaining way to light off fireworks.

Every launcher was either created from an empty can or bottle, or produced using simple household items from the garage, and every year the designs seem to get more advanced by adding another piece of tubing or Velcro. There was one contraption were three shells could be lighted at the same time using a blow torch, and every shell would fly through the sky and explode simultaneously. A stand was also made for angle shots, using plywood and nails found in the garage. 

Every year, different devices are made to either accommodate the size and power of the fireworks or just make the experience more enjoyable to watch. I find the same holds true for product development within various industries across the market.

Every design starts out simple; using household items found in the garage or underneath the kitchen sink. With a few test runs and adjustments, certain products become more advanced through time. Designs are constantly being upgraded to accommodate the growing size of society and to help make life more enjoyable and entertaining.

From walkmans evolving into MP3 players and VCRs leading to Bluerays, to surgical tools that perform operations through robotics and video games becoming control-less; every design began as a simple sketch and evolved into the intricate constructions that exist today.  

Sure the rocket launchers that we used weren’t as complicated, but it’s amazing the sort of ideas that can be accomplished with just a few pieces of tape, a little bit of PVC tubing and the determination to create something workable. Without the simplest of designs, advancement and striving to perfection would be impossible – and life, well it would just be boring. 

How was your 4th? Post your comments below.

"Developing the solution is great, but seeing the problem first-hand and keeping in communication with the customer can be one the greatest time-saving techniques at your disposal. So make sure you’re taking the time to get out and see those for whom your products are designed."

by Jeff Reinke, Editorial Director, PD&D

I’m a lucky guy. For a couple of reasons, but today it’s because I really enjoy my job. As diverse as the personalities that manage them are the wide range of marketplaces that our different properties here at Advantage Business Media serve. I was fortunate enough to get a taste of just how diverse we as a company are last week while working with editors from both Food Manufacturing and Surgical Products.

The names of these properties pretty much say it all. One goes to food processing professionals, while the other targets surgeons, OR nurses and those who influence surgical product purchasing. So basically, both are end-users of the products you spec out and design. And just like you, each of these audiences has some unique critical issues that the editors of these publications strive to help them address.

As you might imagine, this list is pretty long and rather intense for someone working in a hospital. But one thing you might not think too much about is the absolutely life-rendering consequences that can be realized by something as simple as how a patient is positioned during an operation. Now, I’m not talking about comfort, accessibility or a couple bumps and bruises that might result from less than tender care. I’m referencing mistakes that can result in amputations, paralysis or even death – just from the way a limb was positioned or an adjustment that was needed during a procedure.

On a lesser level, even if a patient is involved in a longer procedure that involves very little manipulation, surgeons and nurses need to be aware of things called pressure ulcers, which can result from a lack of appropriate support during surgery. Essentially, excess weight or improper positioning can cause stress on tissues, damaging them and the surrounding skin. Not only are these lesions very painful, but they lengthen hospital stays and can cost up to $90,000 to treat – a bill that is solely the responsibility of the hospital because of recent legislation that classifies these ulcers as “never events”.

Never events describe ailments produced by the surgery, but unrelated to the actual reason for the operation. Because they stem from caregiver error, the hospital has to cover the costs. So products that help prevent pressure ulcers are key in maintaining patient safety and in managing a hospital’s cost controls.

Transitioning from the expensive and scary to the passionate yet odd, I’ll try and segue to the food processing industry. Here, plant managers often have to deal with complaints and protests from PETA. Although the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is usually well intended, one of their recent campaigns really made me scratch my head. It seems the folks at PETA are very concerned about the well-being of fish. They consider fishing a cruel and unnecessary activity and have allocated funds to show that fish do indeed feel pain and register emotions on the same level as cats and dogs.

They’re so adamant about trying to change the general perception of fishing as an acceptable activity that they’ve launched a campaign called “Save the Sea Kittens”. You see, the term fish evokes notions of a cold, wet, slippery animal without arms, legs or emotions. Evidently the term “sea kitten” is thought to help reinforce the fact that these cold, wet, slippery animals without arms or legs have feelings, and that people should think twice about harvesting them, cleaning them, throwing on a coating of Italian bread crumbs and gently frying them up with butter and seasoned salt like I did this past weekend.

Although PETA is no fan of weekend fishermen like me, a bigger target is the seafood processor who brings these “sea kitten” morsels to restaurants and grocery stores. It’s an issue that they must constantly deal with and address as a cost of doing business.

So while these industry nuggets are interesting, you might be wondering how they’re relevant to a design engineer. Basically, a fair number of you design products for both the medical and processing fields, but were you aware of these critical issues? Do you depend on sales, marketing or some other more extroverted corporate function to do the face time with customers? If so, why?

We all face issues surrounding time. There’s never enough of it, especially within the constraints of a tight development schedule. But how much time could be saved if you were actually spending time in the OR, or with a processing operations manager on the plant floor? Developing the solution is great, but seeing the problem first-hand and keeping in communication with the customer can be one the greatest time-saving techniques at your disposal.

So make sure you’re taking the time to get out and see those for whom your products are designed. The insight you can gain and the time saved in the long run will be worth it. Plus, you’ll know first hand about the plight of your particular market’s version of the sea kitten, and the best way to address it.

My kingdom for a chief engineer, enough with design by committee – more ways you can improve time-to-market.

by David Mantey, Editor, PD&D

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it has nothing to do with kids jingle-belling or being full of good cheer. As a matter of fact, I find great joy knowing we’re still five months away from holiday season madness.

This most wonderful time of the year is filled with information dissemination. Walking show floors, interviews, new products, new designs and, best of all, Product Design & Development’s annual Time-to-Market supplement – my eyes are so filled with glee, it’s near-impossible to read the screen.

Every year, we survey our readership to get the time-to-market pulse. At which stage of the design and development process are design engineers running into the most time-to-market obstacles? (Testing.) What software features are helping improve development times? (Better CAD.) How can distributors speed up the process? (Speed it up.)

And my favorite, the open-ended question, the readers’ forum-like vent haven, when the gloves can come off and you can tell us what’s really on your mind – with complete anonymity.

Of the many surveys that I have administered in the past, this one had the most open-ended responses. Thanks for taking the time — even if you simply elaborated at great length on a growing lack of manpower and resources.

What good is state-of-the-art prototyping equipment and finite element analysis software if you don’t have anyone in-house that knows how to properly use them?

Scope changes, scope creep and a "clearly defined scope" were often pegged for making a "huge impact" in slowing time-to-market. Uncontrolled project scope changes typically occur when the project lacks clear definition from the beginning. It can also be negatively impacted by inaccurate or insufficient documentation, and/or overall poor project management and control.

Product feature creep was most notably affected by marketing groups who hadn’t locked down the pre-product description and feature list. According to one respondent, "too much unnecessary micromanaging by upper management looking for a reason to come to work" was slowing him/her down every day.

Creep was also experienced as a result of stubborn engineers, as some respondents noted that it can be difficult to get the engineering department to seize a trend that could be added to a future iteration and deliver the product to manufacturing in a "reasonable time."

According to our readers, particularly those neck-deep in the medical industry (not necessarily a poor position in this economy), product development continues to be delayed by clinical trials for medical device design, and heeding FDA design controls and approvals.

Regulatory compliance and documentation is becoming more difficult with smaller staffs attempting to fill additional roles, and more engineers are adding the Technical Writer position to their resumes as they have to spend more time creating marketing and product specification documents.

Many of you responded with many different qualms, but one of the greatest obstacles in accelerating time-to-market was time. Among all the other cogs seemingly working against the machine, many stated that they simply didn’t have enough hours in the day to meet expectations. It’s a bit odd, really.

As time-to-market demands accelerate, the ongoing cuts from the testing timetable were alarming. I did find it reassuring that someone stated that while "validation testing to verify that reliability goals will be met in production" is slowing time-to-market, "accelerated testing is not possible due to a lack of correlation with real-time testing."

I also noticed that a number of readers are really looking for someone to take the reigns of the project and become the self-appointed leader if necessary. Readers appear to be frustrated with decisions by committee, as one reader responded, "My kingdom for a "chief" engineer.

So sit down, strap in and prepare that index finger to flip through pages of hard data suggesting what you can do to improve time-to-market. Limited clichés to follow …