From patent to product - the long, hard road

摘要

It might be expected that an engineering consultancy with a 30-year history in the analysis of equipment safety problems would have no difficulty in producing and selling a single part product it developed to solve a long-standing safety problem in the swimming pool industry. However, the project was almost destroyed by a series of obstacles and setbacks not often identified as major issues within the core design and manufacturing process. This case example is used to highlight eight specific issues which can easily cause a technically sound project to founder in its early stages. The influence of each issue on the project is not necessarily something that can be controlled by the design team or even the company. Nevertheless, once identified, steps can be taken to minimize the negative effects of each one on the outcome of the project.