Product market combination:

The product (An accessoir which can be attached to certain tools for when they fall) is meant for
professional workers who are working in heights such as construction workers. On this market there
are a millions of people (The specific amount cant be found) with a job that requires a product as
this.

The problem of the customer is that when he is working in heights there tools aren’t attached to
anything and they could drop to the ground. This could create very dangerous situations. When
something like pliers drop from a high place, they could come down with such a speed that it could
kill somebody walking underneath it. Also, if a plier drops it is very inconvenient for the worker, since
he has to come all the way down to pick it up, just to maybe drop it again a few minutes later. What
the customer needs is a reliable system that prevents the tool from dropping down. Per year,
684.000 people die from falling objects such as pliers. Where 20% comes from first world countries.
However, per year 37.3 people get injured from falling objects (Any falling object) where medical
attention is required. De customer would probably would want is some sort of cord that prevents the
cord from falling, however it has to either build in withing the tool, or be detachable from it. The
problem would be solved when customer can work, without having to worry about their tools falling
down. The product that we want to make will provide this, and will cost as less as possible, but still
enough for the company to make a profit of it. The result of the product can easily be measured. You
can test it with the pliers that they are made for, and throw it of a high place with the product
attached. You can also test it in a specific area such as a construction site and compare the results of
accidents/falling pliers with other construction sites to see if it makes the workplace safer. The
strategy that will be used would be productdevelopment according to the Ansoff modell.

Problemdefinition:

The main question is; How can we prevent tools from falling down from high (working) places?
A few subquestions are:

-How can we achieve this without changing the pliers itself?

-How can we make this product safe to use?
-How can we make this problem cheap to produce, but with the highest quality as possible?

Future scenario:
The future scenario is as follows: First of all, the worker will make himself ready for his shift by
grabbing his equipment, and putting on his belt. Then he would attach the accessoir with the cord to
his tool, and the end of the cord to his belt. This way when he is working and he drops his tool, the
cord will make sure the tool doesn’t hit the ground and can easily be pulled up by the worker.

Idea drawings:

Idea #1 is a sleeve made out of two parts which go over the handles. The two parts are connected
with each other with a stury elastic band, and they have a turnable lock which will asure that the
sleeve doesn’t open up while the pliers are falling. The cord is attached to the upper side.
The second Idea consists of 2 very sturdy rubber/plastic rings which slide over the handles and sit
right above the widened point. The two rings are connected with a cord incase one of them fails.
That cord is connected to the main cord which is attached to the worker.
The third Idea is drilling a hole in the pliers handles and put the cord through there. The hole would
be reinforced.
The fourth Idea is an attachment that attaches right above the widened point and right beneath
there. The attachment right above the widened point is there to make sure it doesn’t slide off the
plier.
The last idea is a bit the same as Idea #3, but this time, the widened part is widened more so that
there is place for a hole.

Conclusion:

Since the idea has to be simple, and I don’t want to change up the already existing pliers to much I
will continue working on the first and second idea. The product market combination also helped me
a lot while working on ideas to get a better vision on what is needed on the market.