Who Is Top Of The Chainsaw Tree?

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:06:34 +0000

Stihl has long been at the top of the chainsaw tree although many would argue that Husqvarna is right there with it. It’s an interesting rivalry with both brands having their loyal band of followers.

2006 has been a productive year for Stihl who have confirmed their status in the world of chainsaws with recognition in the October edition of Consumers Digest. No less than four of it’s chainsaws received “Best Buy” commendations which is no mean feat considering the magazine doesn’t hand out these type of accolades lightly.

Stihl’s Innovation

One of the major reason’s that Stihl has remained top of the tree is it’s ability to continually usurp technology and come up with outstanding innovations. One of these is what they call the Easy2Start feature which makes starting the world’s most dangerous power tool an effortless exercise. In fact, it’s suggested that just about anyone can start a chainsaw with this feature although for good safety practice, it might be a good idea to let the kids keep playing with the toy models.

Husqvarna: Looking To The Future

Meanwhile, Husqvarna isn’t laying idle in it’s endeavours to stay stride-for-stride with Stihl in the chainsaws race. It also has smart start technology which from a chainsaw users point-of-view is “just what the doctor ordered.” Why? Well, when dealing with such a volatile and dangerous power tool as a chainsaw, the less effort one has to expend in operating it the safer it is.

Husqvarna recently announced one of it’s new breed of chainsaws designed for the homeowner market simply called the 240. One of the features of this machine, due for release next year, is it’s excellent anti-vibration system which again, gets into the area of user comfort. Fatigue is a dangerous hazard in the use of any large power tool but more so with chainsaws. In the past, large vibrating chainsaws meant the operator was continually expending vital energy in maintaining his machine at a smooth a level as possible but in doing so, fatigue and tiredness would creep in which would ultimately lead to carelessness and accidents in many instances.

Producing Better Chainsaws

It’s interesting to see the larger companies now producing machines aimed at the homeowners. Chainsaws were once the domain of the professional lumberjack but with technology evolving at a rapid rate, particularly during the last decade, smaller, yet powerful chainsaws are being produced. This has seen a virtually untapped market emerge in the shape of the non-professional user and manufacturers have been quick to seize the initiative and cater to them.

The big players like Stihl and Husqvarna will continue to go neck-and-neck in their endeavours to remain in front which means only one thing; consumers will reap the benefits through increased and better technology.

By: Dean Caporella

How Does One Measure Innovation?

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:31:50 +0000

It is easy to measure performance and quality and other metrics because these are all either discrete or continuous data. However, how will one measure innovation? If someone has the initiative to change things and improve processes, how does one ultimately measure if the innovation applied is successful or effective? For years and years, the business community has not really figured out a way of measuring how effective implemented changes are. But now, there is an accepted way of measuring innovation and this is done to standardize innovation policies across the business and commerce sectors.

The truth is, we cannot quantify innovation. What we can measure is the process and if the people working on a certain company or organization will embrace these processes, the company is bound to achieve its goals. The people who run the company should also be willing to take risks in spending for innovation. One type of change or improvement may not really bring about satisfactory results. However, it is very likely that the next one will.

It is a given fact that innovation can be measured by the amount of profit it brings. However, this is only taken from the organization’s perspective. From a customer’s point of view, innovation always has something to do with amazing service. If this has something to do with a product, what people will be looking for is the features. People will only say that improvement exists if what used to be non-existent before exists now.

Just take television sets, for example. We now have LCD monitors that are a lot clearer, vivid, and thinner than the first generations of television sets. To a customer, this is the ultimate measure of innovation. They get more features than what they could have gotten, had the new television not been improved. The same principle applies in technology. Now, open sources are gaining popularity, as opposed to software programs that one has to buy. Today, companies develop software programs which all their customers can use for free but cannot buy. Innovation can also be measured based on its impact on people’s lives. If you take a closer look at the evolution of cellular phones, you would see how they have changed the pacing of how mankind goes round and about their daily tasks and jobs. The cellular phone has also changed the way people communicate.

There is really an issue on how people can see how innovation is effective. It has been contested that the ultimate metric is the return on investment. Many people say that any process that does not bring about more revenue is futile. The concept applied here is that we need to improve processes and products to get more customers to buy them. However, if there re no changes, then there will be no sense to implementing these at all.

However, people also say that profit is not the only way innovation should be measured. This is precisely because there are products that have never changed for many years. Accordingly, innovation is also measured at how fast these products and services get to the customers. Ultimately, it is customer satisfaction that will dictate and measure innovation.

By: Sam Miller

Technology Innovation » Innovation One

Who Is Top Of The Chainsaw Tree?

How Does One Measure Innovation?