Product Design, Testing and Field Evaluation

“Opinion (2nd) is the medium between knowledge and ignorance,” Plato

If you were facing a required decision about having a major medical procedure, chances are you would seek another expert opinion. So why do good companies develop, design and take to market new products every year without so much as an outside confirmation? A second opinion doesn’t mean you don’t have faith in your design, product or your team. It can confirm your intentions, your market accuracy, and even improve the likelihood of your overall success. Leading companies producing consumer products with decreasing design and release cycles while competing for fixed market share need to hit the mark every time. A single unidentified customer dissatisfaction or missed critical point of failure can be the end of a new product line or even a business.

Not many businesses can afford to have redundant engineering teams, or extensive professional staffs for product and objective field testing. It can be difficult to resource or even find the qualified skill sets to really test new ideas and products in an independent and confidential fashion. We help provide solutions for client needs on complex topics such as DFM (Design for Manufacturability) to (FMEA) Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, and can even provide “hands-on” real world field evaluations.

With a team of recognized experts comprised of credentialed engineers, as well as real-world expert users, we develop a plan with the client to not only develop their ideas but determine hidden Achilles heels potentially lurking within their products and designs. We provide the client objective design reviews, help develop innovative and revealing testing methods, provide independent benchmarking of competitive products and designs, issue research reports, and can even manage field studies and teams trialing the product.

Our goal is to increase the performance of your product, develop a design that is readily manufacturable, reliable, profitable, and exceeds the incumbent industry benchmarks. We put the pros in your professional staff that can help you and your products succeed.

In what areas of industry does your team have professional experience?

Hunting
Boating / Marine
Consumer Products
Appliances
Archery
Firearms
Fishing Equipment
Automotive
Tools
Utility Vehicles and PowerSports
Leisure Products
Medical Devices
Outdoor and Leisure
Furniture

What type of industry recognition does your team possess?

Many of our team along with their noteworthy engineering credentials and certifications are respected field authorities. Many are additionally published authors, and as such are well regarded across the respective markets and industry. We strive to align real experts that know the products and are frequently using these types of products. This gives them an excellent means to understand how a product needs to perform in use and what its potential issues might be. These individuals can then collaborate with a client team in changing their process, design, materials selections, etc., to achieve the best possible results with their new product. When needed, we sometimes will co-collaborate with university researchers to provide our clients with the best possible technical solutions.

How do you manage confidentiality?

We typically work with the client to establish mutual NDA’s with the members of both teams to protect interests and allow the parties to work in the most effective fashion. The clients typically provide timelines, early or prototype product and requirements, at which time our team develops the needs analysis and plan. We arrange for testing of the product in real environments with control of proprietary or novel ideas, so your competition never sees your new designs.

How do you handle new intellectual property as a result of a client project?

The majority of our team has a high level of expertise in IP protection and many hold numerous US patents in various industries. We always take the best interest of the client as our first priority. We work with clients to establish new IP and means to protect their innovation. If needed, we can and do draw in IP expertise from our network to assist the client as to the best means to protect their refined interests. When our team develops new IP for or with the client, we work with the client to establish the best means to protect that joint work and ensure the client’s ultimate success.

How big does my project need to be to warrant working with your team?

Really, no project is too big or too small. We have worked on ideas and products/projects with teams of 1 to over 100. We scale the level of work and the support to best meet your evaluation needs as well as help to control your development costs. We pride ourselves on making you and your team a success. It is simply how we do business.

What makes your team so different than others?

We actually align with users of the product who are enthusiastic about that activity and can provide real engineering feedback. Unlike pro-staffers, who often tell you what they think you want to hear to keep a sponsorship, we tell you the truth. The real test of a product is the marketplace. Manufacturers want it right before it gets there based on real performance data and facts, not paid opinions. For many of our team, this is their passion, not their job, and they ensure client success is paramount.

See Some of Our Success

Testimonials

“We used David and his team to evaluate and field test our hunting products, and are extremely pleased with the feedback and recommendations they provided. I will definitely continue using David and his team for future product evaluations, testing, and recommendations for material options and design improvements for our products.”

– Mr. Robert Butcher,
Senior Engineer at MSCKI LLC (Muddy Outdoors, Big-Game, HAWK, Killer Instinct Brands)

“When we engage David and his team on a project, we get definitive in-field engineering, data and objective hands-on review of a product. They have tested crossbows and broadheads for us and provide solid engineering evaluation and real results. This team is as much comprised of hunting experts as they are engineers. They test products with a passion and help make every effort to find opportunities as well as provide solutions for each area identified. Collaboration with them has helped us hone our future designs and products.”

– Mr. Jeff Pestrue,
Owner of Outdoor Sports Unlimited, LLC

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