A Caldwell custom forklift saves time, boosts safety at stamping plant.
From the Jan/Feb 2017 WRE, a specialized Caldwell composite beam lifts U.S. Navy drone.
there are still a number of people in this industry who prefer to go about things the old-fashioned way. Tat’s absolutely fine; we’re not trying to take them to a configuration procedure they’re not ready for.” “We’re still learning the capabilities of the software
and future upgrades,” Jacobs picks up. “Te focus right now is on the product design side and that’s just a matter of having enough resources,” adds Noe. “Like anything else, we have to balance everything with the financial burden. IT has become more involved recently and we figure sales and production will get more involved as the progression continues. To date, the engineering department can be credited for doing the ‘heavy lifting’.”
A SLICE OF PIE As referenced, Caldwell chose AWRF events to introduce the SmartSpec concept to the market. Te association, which serves the lifting, rigging and load securement industries, stages spring and fall meetings, and co-locates a Product Information Exhibition (PIE) every 18 months. Noe shares an insight into the success of that endeavor and outlined the importance of choosing the right platform from which to launch a new product. He says, “Te audience dictates. Many of the folks
at AWRF are also our key partners and dealers. A large number of the members will be using this platform. If done correctly, trade shows can be invaluable, especially when you consider that many decision makers are already there under one roof. Many of these people are those that we have good working relationships with already and they’re very open and honest with us.” “We knew that the long-term success of the concept
would rely on input from the point of use so we wanted that community to be engaged as early as possible,” he
“WE KNEW THAT THE LONG-TERM SUCCESS OF THE CONCEPT WOULD RELY ON INPUT FROM THE POINT OF USE SO WE WANTED THAT COMMUNITY TO BE ENGAGED AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE,... THAT WAY, THEY HAVE A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP. IT’S TRUE THAT [SMARTSPEC] IS AN ONGOING WORK IN PROGRESS BASED ON FEEDBACK WE RECEIVE. I STRESS TO PEOPLE DURING TRAINING THAT WE MUST HAVE FEEDBACK IN ORDER TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON IT.”
continues. “Tat way, they have a sense of ownership. It’s true that [SmartSpec] is an ongoing work in progress based on feedback we receive. I stress to people during training that we must have feedback in order to continue to improve on it.” “However,” he concluded, “As with anything new, you can get too many ideas and it can become overwhelming. It’s important, therefore, that a system is in place to collate feedback and manage ongoing improvement of products like this. We love hearing everyone’s thoughts but it’s necessary to have filters in place to ensure that a concept evolves and doesn’t try to be everything to all people.” SmartSpec’s evolution continues. y
Founded in 1954, Caldwell is the leading manufacturer of below the hook lifting solutions, providing distributors and customers with the best, most effective material handling solutions available. Caldwell’s engineered lifting equipment offers the broadest range of products in the industry to give you flexibility to address your particular application requirements with the economy of a standard product, and at the same time their engineers offer innovative solutions to applications that require custom design.
WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE JANUARY–FEBRUARY 2020 37
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