Small company finds its R&D team at MAGNET PDD
RIT Rescue & Escape Systems' Omar Jordan hit a brick wall while developing an essential new product. MAGNET Product Development & Design engineers helped RIT break through the static and get an important new product to the marketplace
OverviewIn 1997, a team of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, firefighters was battling an apartment building fire when—without warning—the roof collapsed around them. As the shaken firefighters struggled to their feet, all Omar Jordan could see was a window.
"I thought we were going to have to jump out that window," Jordan recalls grimly. "Fortunately, we were able to get everybody out down the steps. But I didn't sleep well that night. Or for a lot of nights after that." During those sleepless nights, Jordan came up with the idea for a Fire Fighter Rescue Escape Device (FFRED)—a lightweight harness and descending device that would allow an individual to safely lower himself down a structure without assistance. Jordan's new company, RIT Rescue and Escape Systems, based in Twinsburg, Ohio, spent months developing, testing and certifying this system. The unique feature of the system's descending device is its reliance on a 3/8-in. tubular webbing woven of kevlar fiber—a very light, extremely strong and highly heat-resistant aramid fiber. The woven-kevlar webbing takes the place of nylon rope used in other rescue devices on the market. The company's original descending device used an off-the-shelf descender that was manufactured by a third party. It worked well and met the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) standards. But in 2006, those standards were updated. The new certification tests would require the device to withstand higher extremes of temperature and bigger loads. Jordan was faced with redesigning RIT's descending device. Because of the molecular structure of the kevlar fiber, the new descender could not have any 90-degree angles. At very high temperatures, such sharp bends would reduce the strength of the rigid kevlar webbing by as much as 50%. However, the device would still need to create the friction required to create a controlled descent. "We designed a sample device ourselves," Jordan recalls. "But it was clear that the market was learning towards an auto-stop descender—a descender that would automatically stop the descent if the individual became unconscious. That had us stumped. We were just spinning our wheels." ApproachJordan contacted MAGNET's Product Design & Development team and together, they developed a stringent list of design limitations, including:
Over the next six months, MAGNET senior mechanical design engineers and an industrial design student intern from the Cleveland Institute of Art met with Jordan and his team for brainstorming sessions. They developed sketch renderings for six possible design concepts. Jordan picked the one with the smallest number of parts. "The more parts, the more chance that a little moisture—combined with freezing temperatures—and something might break," says Jordan. "We didn't want to take a chance with that." EvolutionMAGNET's team generated a Pro E final concept rendering, documentation and a full-scale FDM model. Jordan took the documentation to a manufacturer and began the in-field tests leading to certification in February 2008 and brought the device to market in May 2008. The new product, called the F.I.R.E.-A.L. (auto-lock), is completely enclosed, so no glove or clothing can get caught in it. If the user lets go of the device, he or she hangs suspended in the attached body harness, allowing rescuers time to intervene. "I don't mind saying that we would probably still be messing around and wasting our time and money if it weren't for MAGNET," declares Jordan. "It's like getting an engineering think tank. You can explain what you're looking for and they have the ability and the knowledge to create what you've imagined." |
