Manufacturing Ascent
Function designs
Stair lights from Miles Nelson Manufacturing
The idea for the new bracket came from a desire to produce a new product that added value to the company's existing range, Lee says.
"We are always asking ourselves: 'How do we build a better paper clip?' 'A better mousetrap?' We encourage ideas; it's part of our philosophy of improvement."
It's one thing to have an idea and accurately guage its value, but it's another thing entirely to attend to all the details and address the myriad challenges, big and small, that must be overcome before that idea can be turned into a product. Once the decision had been made to pursue an idea, the company commits to the project fully, Lee says.
Development began by listing all the building codes and safety standards that applied to staircase brackets. These clearly defined the parameters, such as size and strength, for the proposed product, which the designers had to work within.
Design is not about styling, or about taking a technology and making it look good. It isn't an add-on, a way of dollying things up, or a cosmetic addendum to the "real" process of product development. Increasingly, design is being recognised as an integral part of the whole development process. Well-designed products have three characteristics: they are useful, they are useable, and they are desirable. The team at Miles Nelson set about satisfying all three criteria.
