Door Industry Journal - Spring 2013

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk 58 THE door industry journal spring 2013 powered gates For two years now, the convenient Plug’N’Sense System for the assembly of safety contact edges has been available. ASO Safety Solutions, developer and manufacturer of tactile sensor technology, gate controls and corresponding electronics, is proud of such a customer oriented product. Further development steps are in progress. In Germany there is a saying, which when expressed in English means: “The bait is meant for the fish and not for the fisherman”. With this saying in mind, some of the errors made by engineers and product managers could have been avoided. Unfortunately products are too often developed with the approach, to create something new as an end in itself. Too few ask the right questions before they give the wrong answers: What kind of problem is a product supposed to solve? Whose problems shall be solved? And the most important question: Does the product solve this problem? ASO Safety Solutions from Salzkotten can answer this last question with a determined YES. But let us first talk about the question for the what and the whose . The answer is quite simple. The assembly of safety contact edges is usually the task of door and gate system manufacturers as well as engineers responsible for the installation and maintenance of doors and gates. What do these groups all have in common? Answer: The need for time. Delivery dates must be kept and other things have to be done. The engineer’s wife has already sent three short messages, not to forget to buy some milk. Not to mention the complaining customer that is already waiting on the site in a screaming tantrum. Can an ASO product solve these problems? No! But it can do something else: Not to become yet another worry! So, the task seems to be obvious. The system has to be easier and faster so that there is time again to deal with important issues. Item No 1, done! Those who install and maintain doors and gates have a responsibility. Mistakes can have very aggravating consequences. Mistakes, no matter who caused them, are caused by complexity. Reducing complexity means reducing error potential. So the system has to be simple and less complex than competing systems. Item No 2, done! Whoever buys a ready to use assembled industrial door can be quite sure that the manufacturer already thought about safety at the pinching and shearing points. Consequently, as an installer, your first thought does not necessarily focus on safety contact edges. But after the implied or statutory warranty a malfunctioning safety contact edge has be replaced by the operating company or a service provider. So, flexibility and simple handling has to be ensured for qualified personnel, that do not work with safety contact edges every day. By giving the possibility of on-site-assembly, a very high level of flexibility is guaranteed. Item No 3, done! After having answered successfully the question of what and whose, you gain a simple but significant insight: You know precisely, which benefits the newly-developed product has to have. Does the Plug’N’Sense System solve the problem described? Yes! The market response gives many reasons to believe that. The acceptance in the market for the new system is huge. Not least because, despite all simplifications, the Plug’N’Sense System meets all requirements of a safe contact edge. Some service providers expressed joking concerns, the Plug’N’Sense System would make their expertise redundant. It goes without saying, that good consultancy, conscientiousness and reliable work cannot be replaced by a product alone, even though it is well designed. Service providers that encounter this product need not have concerns for their expertise and competence being called into question. The next evolutionary phase is in progress. “After the success of the Plug’N’Sense System we will also adapt Plug’N’Sense to other plug systems, so even more safety contact edges can be assembled with this system.” , René Heydorn (Sales Director of ASO GmbH) says. How does the system work? Due to there being very few components, the complexity of a Plug’N’Sense System is very manageable. The assembly instructions are available on ASO’s web site and also printed directly on the packaging. The system comprises a pre-assembled end cap, a lock cap and a plug. You simply cut the safety contact edge to length; push in the plug with the help of the whole end cap into the switching chamber. It is sealed automatically by the integrated butyl sealing. Now just push the end cap onto to safety contact edge, finished! Visitors to the 2012 R+T Show in Stuttgart were able to try it themselves at the booth of ASO Safety Solutions. The most common reaction was: “Is that it?” Simplicity itself. ASO follows the philosophy of being a Partner in Performance. The easiest way to achieve that, is to provide excellence. ASO understands how to transfer that into product developments. Products are meant to render a service to customers and to make their lives easier. The Plug’N’Sense System sets a perfect example: Not more and not less, than the easiest way yet of making safe gates. For further information please visit www.asosafety.co.uk . THE EASIEST WAY YET FOR MAKING SAFE GATES Bild: ASO GmbH, 2012. Functional principle of a safety contact edge with Plug’N’Sense System Photo: ASO GmbH, 2013. Compact, pre-assembled Plug’N’Sense System Photos: ASO GmbH, 2012. Simplified sequence of the assembly of the Plug’N’Sense Systems