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Greg Ponesse
Powertools Sales Up 30%-Why?
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As the consumer marketplace has become more saturated and is becoming much more difficult in finding that competitive differentiator, ergonomics is now becoming front and center in the design and development of such tools like the electric screwdriver.
Ergonomics is a field of engineering that involves analyzing the human body and the way it moves and using the findings to design and make easy-to-use products. In the past, it was mainly used in areas in which a design flaw could literally be a matter of life or death. Recently, however, with competition for sales of commercial products becoming ever more intense, it has become difficult for companies come up with something new in terms of functionality. This has led firms to look to ergonomics as a means of making their products stand out from those of their competitors. Another factor behind the ergonomics boom is the global spread of universal design, which follows the principle of making things usable by as many people as possible.
The electric screwdriver FWH12DC3 released by Hitachi Koki Co. in June 2006 was designed based on ergonomics. While such tools had previously been created with functionality being given top priority, usability is now more of a focus given the increasing number of hobbyists who use tools on the weekend. When the screwdriver created by Hitachi Koki is gripped, the tool carefully determines the amount of pressure put on the palm of the hand, and it is designed in a way that the user does not feel the device to be heavy. As a result of these improvements, sales of this screwdriver are 30% higher than those of previous models.
(web-japan.org)
Via: web-japan.org
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