Different problems. Same question: is there a better way?
Sometimes I create the answer.
Sometimes I help your team create it.
Sometimes I help your team get better at doing it themselves.
INNOVATE / COLLABORATE / ENABLE
Your choice.
innovate: i find the better way
New functional ideas that give products a reason to be different, and customers a reason to choose them.
One simple observation. 35 years of sales.
Spotting what every steering wheel had in common led to a much simpler way to lock it.
In 1990, the client had spotted a proven opportunity in Australia, but the existing steering-wheel locks were clunky, awkward to use and mechanically overcomplicated. The breakthrough was noticing that steering wheels have no spokes in the top half, because they would obscure the instrument panel. That simple observation meant the lock could pass through the wheel and use a single locking point instead of the two used by existing products. The result was StopLock: simpler, easier to use, commercially successful, and still a top seller 35 years later.
Make brake wear impossible to miss.
A simple mechanical indicator turned product wear into a reason to buy the next one.
Madison’s premium Aztec brake blocks lasted well, but that meant riders were not replacing them often enough. I developed a simple one-piece moulded indicator that stayed hidden until the brake block wore down, then popped up as a clear red warning that replacement was due. No electronics, no sensors, just a simple functional idea that improved safety and helped drive repeat sales.
collaborate: Better products are often a team sport.
I work inside your project team, contributing ideas, engineering thinking and practical development input to help get to a better answer.
half the calories. keep the doughnut.
Urban Legend wanted to make a doughnut that tasted and ate like the real thing, but with around half the calories. The key was the frying process. I worked with the team on the engineering and thermodynamics behind a waterfall fryer, using temperature and flow calculations to minimise fat absorption while still developing the right flavour and texture. I then helped adapt existing fryers for early proving trials before producing schematic designs for the final production machine ready for scale-up.
Engineering the frying process to cut fat absorption without losing the flavour and mouthfeel people actually want.
enable: Make your team better, not just the product.
Help people generate stronger ideas, work together more effectively and get innovation moving faster so you don’t need me anymore.
Three years stuck. Three months moving.
When I joined Michelin Fenner, three development projects had each been dragging on for over three years. The technical work was largely there, but decisions were not being made and the projects were not getting over the line. I worked with the team to cut through the uncertainty, make the key calls and create enough momentum to get all three completed within my first three months. The pipe-rehabilitation calibration hose was one of those projects.
This special hose is an unreinforced silicone tube used to repair damaged underground pipework without digging up the road. It is inserted into the pipe and inflated to press a resin liner against the damaged wall while the liner cures. The key technical advantage is the silicone tube’s high elasticity, allowing it to expand significantly and suit different pipe diameters.
Sometimes the biggest innovation problem isn’t the idea. It’s getting the team to make decisions and finish the job.
Which kind of help do you need?
A new idea, another brain inside the team, or a team that needs to get better at finding the answers itself.
INNOVATE / COLLABORATE / ENABLE