1 Because true encapsulator agents travel on and over the water mo
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Posted: Dec 6, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
A number of fire equipment makers use several types of assistance in testing a prototype product before they produce thousands of copies of the unit.
Typical groups might include advisory panels that have fire department, government agency, business, and industrial facility representatives on them. Other groups consist of focus groups, and beta testers put a product through its paces to identify any modifications that should be made before the manufacturer swings into full production of the item.
Dealer Involvement
Rod Carringer, chief marketing officer for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT has used both product development and dealer advisory councils for 25 years to get feedback on its products before they go into full production. “Any company registered with the Insurance Services Office (ISO) will have a quality system in place that’s driven by the ISO standard,” Carringer points out. “And, part of that system is the ability to have a formalized method and manner of collecting customer feedback.”
![1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv1.jpg) |
1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used. |
Carringer says that TFT’s approach to customer feedback is twofold: a worldwide dealer advisory council that meets for a week annually to advise TFT on “how we’re doing, our shipping history, financials, information about the marketplace and competition, and other things that keep them awake at night, which is our business advisory council,” he says. “We also run smaller regional group settings for product development that typically include regional managers and engineering people to collect feedback from customers of a specific product.”
“Sometimes we’ll test market with a few dealers for six months, get feedback, and modify the product accordingly,” Carringer observes. “There’s a lot of trial and error in product development. Some products never see the market, while others take the feedback and use it to develop a better product.”
![2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv2.jpg) |
2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips.) |
Training Agencies
Todd Herring, director of marketing for Fire-Dex, says his company uses a variety of advisory panels and beta testers. “We worked very closely with Safety and Survival Training, in New Jersey, in developing our in-pants harness,” Herring says. “We developed the prototype and put it in their hands to use over a period of time and took their ideas and incorporated them into the next version for more testing and fee
Read more
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- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Dec 6, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
A number of fire equipment makers use several types of assistance in testing a prototype product before they produce thousands of copies of the unit.
Typical groups might include advisory panels that have fire department, government agency, business, and industrial facility representatives on them. Other groups consist of focus groups, and beta testers put a product through its paces to identify any modifications that should be made before the manufacturer swings into full production of the item.
Dealer Involvement
Rod Carringer, chief marketing officer for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT has used both product development and dealer advisory councils for 25 years to get feedback on its products before they go into full production. “Any company registered with the Insurance Services Office (ISO) will have a quality system in place that’s driven by the ISO standard,” Carringer points out. “And, part of that system is the ability to have a formalized method and manner of collecting customer feedback.”
![1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv1.jpg) |
1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used. |
Carringer says that TFT’s approach to customer feedback is twofold: a worldwide dealer advisory council that meets for a week annually to advise TFT on “how we’re doing, our shipping history, financials, information about the marketplace and competition, and other things that keep them awake at night, which is our business advisory council,” he says. “We also run smaller regional group settings for product development that typically include regional managers and engineering people to collect feedback from customers of a specific product.”
“Sometimes we’ll test market with a few dealers for six months, get feedback, and modify the product accordingly,” Carringer observes. “There’s a lot of trial and error in product development. Some products never see the market, while others take the feedback and use it to develop a better product.”
![2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv2.jpg) |
2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips.) |
Training Agencies
Todd Herring, director of marketing for Fire-Dex, says his company uses a variety of advisory panels and beta testers. “We worked very closely with Safety and Survival Training, in New Jersey, in developing our in-pants harness,” Herring says. “We developed the prototype and put it in their hands to use over a period of time and took their ideas and incorporated them into the next version for more testing and fee
Read more
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- Article rating: No rating
Posted: Dec 6, 2016
By Alan M. Petrillo
A number of fire equipment makers use several types of assistance in testing a prototype product before they produce thousands of copies of the unit.
Typical groups might include advisory panels that have fire department, government agency, business, and industrial facility representatives on them. Other groups consist of focus groups, and beta testers put a product through its paces to identify any modifications that should be made before the manufacturer swings into full production of the item.
Dealer Involvement
Rod Carringer, chief marketing officer for Task Force Tips (TFT), says TFT has used both product development and dealer advisory councils for 25 years to get feedback on its products before they go into full production. “Any company registered with the Insurance Services Office (ISO) will have a quality system in place that’s driven by the ISO standard,” Carringer points out. “And, part of that system is the ability to have a formalized method and manner of collecting customer feedback.”
![1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv1.jpg) |
1 Task Force Tips used a variety of customer feedback methods in developing its PRO/pak Multi-Expansion Portable Foam Unit, which has a 2½-gallon reservoir with a built-in eductor that can be quickly set to the ratio of foam or wetting agents used. |
Carringer says that TFT’s approach to customer feedback is twofold: a worldwide dealer advisory council that meets for a week annually to advise TFT on “how we’re doing, our shipping history, financials, information about the marketplace and competition, and other things that keep them awake at night, which is our business advisory council,” he says. “We also run smaller regional group settings for product development that typically include regional managers and engineering people to collect feedback from customers of a specific product.”
“Sometimes we’ll test market with a few dealers for six months, get feedback, and modify the product accordingly,” Carringer observes. “There’s a lot of trial and error in product development. Some products never see the market, while others take the feedback and use it to develop a better product.”
![2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-21/issue-12/1612FA-PetAdv2.jpg) |
2 The Blitzfire High Elevation Oscillating Monitor made by Task Force Tips is a product resulting from feedback by product development and advisory councils and beta testing by career and volunteer fire departments. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Task Force Tips.) |
Training Agencies
Todd Herring, director of marketing for Fire-Dex, says his company uses a variety of advisory panels and beta testers. “We worked very closely with Safety and Survival Training, in New Jersey, in developing our in-pants harness,” Herring says. “We developed the prototype and put it in their hands to use over a period of time and took their ideas and incorporated them into the next version for more testing and fee
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