NFPA Research Education Series

1
NFPA Research Education Series

• Module 1
• Research Profit

2
How does research equal profit?

• Research helps ensure you will have a future by
  staying on top of the innovation cycle
• Invest in new innovation and research to survive
  and make profit in the future
• The final result of research will be profit.

3
Why is research important?

• For your company
• To position your company as a global leader in
  your field
• For the students
• To offer an opportunity to see real world
  engineering in action
• For international customers and the industry
• To fulfill their interest in pushing the next
  generation of technology and always staying ahead
  of any competitive environment that is trying to
  copy their technology
• Research helps ensure you will have a future by
  staying on top of the innovation cycle.

4
How do you get started?

• To succeed you must
• Determine the future needs of your customers
• Identify realistic product innovation to meet
  those needs
• Engage in research to bring that innovation about
• Execute quickly to improve your time to market
• Create a dedicated team in your organization to
  focus on these issues.

5
Getting started

• Determine the future needs of your
• customers
• Analyze the market to help identify future needs
• Look for shifts in the product markets
• Talk to your customers to assess what they will
  need in the future

6
Getting started

• Identify realistic product innovation to
• meet those needs
• Develop technology ahead of that need
• Understand what can be done
• Determine what can be done to improve that
  product
• Analyze how the improvement will impact that
  product and where can it go from there will it
  sell?

7
Getting started

• Identify realistic product innovation to
• meet those needs
• Determine the core idea inside your company, then
  you can identify the objective of your research
  program
• Need to work on products with a
• technological edge to be a global leader.

8
Getting started

• Engage in research to bring that
• innovation about
• Build a partnership with a local engineering
  college or university
• Recruit from schools with a large number of
  mechanical and electrical engineers and expose
  them to fluid power
• Pick the best talent
• Offer internships

9
Getting started

• Engage in research to bring that
• Innovation about
• Build a partnership with a local engineering
  college or university
• Become involved with PhD students on an
  interested thesis topic
• Fund research by sponsoring a student
• Gain access to facility and staff and work with
  them during research
• Save 1/3 the cost of hiring an engineer
• Universities can do specific parts of research
  and development cheaper than hiring staff
• Hire qualified candidates discovered through this
  partnership

10
Getting started

• Engage in research to bring that
• innovation about
• Build a partnership with a local engineering
  college or university
• Endow a chair at your local engineering college
  or university

11
Getting started

• Execute quickly to improve your time to
• market
• Look into partnerships with experienced companies
• Learn from your partner, theres no need to
  reinvent ideas
• Integrate suppliers as part of your team

12
Getting started

• Execute quickly to improve your time to
• market
• Develop a detailed, workable timeline
• Get fast to market to get a fast return
• What do I need to survive to tomorrow, to make
  money tomorrow?

13
If they can do it, why cant you?

• Research success story
• Cisco took existing technology and modeled to
  commercial side with research and development
• Fiber optic speed
• Bought basic technology, continued research and
  development and in a short time brought new
  product to market

14
If they can do it, why cant you?

• Research success story
• Auto industry innovations
• Joint replacements and other medical advances
• Robotics

15
Advice for companies just starting out in
research

• Talk to someone with experience in research and
  development
• Get suppliers involved in partnerships to get
  ideas for new technology
• Choose a good team with an experienced team
  leader
• Create a realistic timeline
• Require regular reports from your team

16
Advice for companies just starting out in
research

• Work on a product with a technological edge to
  become a global leader
• Determine a final audience for your product
• Green initiatives are very attractive right now

17
Your Comments and Feedback

• Was this information helpful?
• What additional information would you need to
  succeed at research and development?
• Do you have a research success story to share?
• What advice would you offer to the CEO of a
  company looking into starting a research and
  development program?
• Your comments and feedback is very important!
  Please respond by clicking here

18
Resources

• http//www.nas.edu/21st/research/
• http//www.ostp.gov/html/rand/2_integration_of_res
  earch_and_ed.htm
• http//www.asee.org/resources/beyond/greenReport.c
  fm

19
Special Thanks To

• Ed Howe Enfield Technologies
• Gus Ramirez HUSCO
• Hans Zobel Festo

20
Watch for upcoming modules in the series

• Module 2 Basic vs. Applied Research
• Launch date March 2008
• Module 3 - Research for Hire vs. Pre-competitive
  Research
• Launch date May 2008
• Module 4 - Research Trends in Fluid
  Power Launch date July 2008
• Module 5 - Unanswered Questions in Fluid
  Power Launch date September 2008

21
Watch for upcoming modules in the series

• Module 6 Funding Resources Launch date
  November 2008
• Module 7 Research Infrastructure Launch date
  January 2009
• Module 8 Catalog of Research Launch date
  March 2009
• Module 9 Success Stories Launch date May
  2009