I get to do something pretty fun at work this week. A little back story first. I had the hobby of creating videos back in the day and luckily I get to apply my video talents to the First Responders Technologies (R-TECH) portion of my work at SAIC. I get to throw on the director’s hat and pan, tilt, and zoom my way through the week. I’m not going to get into the logistics of what section of DHS and what EXACTLY they do, blah, blah, blah, because you’ll probably fall asleep (and isn’t the point of a blog to have people read it?!) But basically, SAIC is contracted to test and evaluate prototype responder equipment that is not on the market yet. Howe and Howe Technologies brought their SUPER COOL HUGE YELLOW MONSTER TRUCK (that I got to ride in, no big deal!!) with two fire-fighting robots tied up on the back (which were equally as cool) for first responders to assess this week (robots, not the truck). My job is to produce an informative video on the capabilities that R-TECH assesses of this piece of equipment.
I am writing this blog more to share my thoughts I have had this week dealing with research and development (R&D) of a product. SIDENOTE: the SAVER Program I also work for (same employees, just different contract) pretty much does the same thing, they just test readily available commercial off the shelf equipment (so I have been involved with the evaluation process for about 2.5 years.) R-TECH is different in a sense that responders are working with something new!! A new invention! The kind of inventions that link old technology to new technology in this world. I work with a great team that knows how to conduct a legit assessment. We had a propane tank on fire, we ran the robot through water, we had it running over trees, and tomorrow we have it climbing steps! The experienced responders we have hired this week have been very helpful, they know their stuff. Holding an event to orchestrate the assessment of a prototype requires a lot of work and research. So far this week it has been an exciting few days.
I wasn’t around to see the thought process that went on to literally build and design the robot (I believe this equipment was on one of the episodes, but I am not 100% sure on that). However, I get to see the testing and evaluation portion. The part that, in my opinion, REALLY matters; how responders view this piece of equipment. How they pick out the valuable and subtle features that manufacturers and designers might not be aware of at first. Also, it’s helpful because the manufacturer learns what they need to improve upon. I may be filming a video, but we have data collectors who record every bit of feedback that the responders make during the assessment.
Not every product in the world goes through the same process, but there is an importance of R&D. I consider R&D an investment to the quality you are providing your customer. From a simple survey to a focus group, there should be some type of research involved in understanding your target market and figuring out what they need/want. How can your product be the best? What could you have missed? What does your customer value? How can we produce it efficiently? And so much more… Understanding the back ground through R&D creates a higher return on investment. From my experience with the first responder community and SAVER/R-TECH Programs, without the focus groups and these assessments; responders would be less educated on what is available, less aware of how well a piece of equipment performs, and BENEFICIAL advancements would not be applied if it were not for this research produced by these programs.
Now for a plug… To find out more on the R-TECH program, go to http://www.firstresponder.gov. To learn more about the SAVER program and available report documents, check out www.rkb.us/SAVER
- Turtle
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