Dotting the i’s: The Story Behind Traka’s Red Dot Award for Key Management Innovation

L/R: Mark Williams, Wayne Stant (back), Perla Munhoz (front), Paul Wright

Right from the start, we focused on four main tenets: durability, simplicity, flexibility, and sustainability.

During the project, we gathered insights from customers across the world and from a variety of voices among businesses and partners. This was essential and included suggestions in overall look, flexibility of positioning within a facility, and improved integration with existing fobs/keys of all sizes.

We took those recommendations and worked with our production, operations and field service engineering teams to identify basic adjustments that would make building, configuring, installing and maintaining the product easier. Additionally, we consulted with our project management, sales, and technical support teams on issues they see in the field with customers, including aspects they loved about our products and what it would take to make them better.

That dialogue and collaboration with all our stakeholders proved invaluable in the design and development phase of the Touch Pro and led to a series of micro innovations that enhanced the product into the market leader it is today.

Among the innovations are:

• A modular frame design that incorporates more sustainable materials
  
• A lower-energy construction method for easy assembly, disassembly and reuse / recycling without sacrificing security or strength
• A unique 2-axis, adjustable-recessed door hinge design that provides lifelong, secure access and tested to over 1 million cycles
• A new ergonomic pod design with a fast-responding control board and a durable, modern, bright and responsive capacitive touch screen that supports use in various lighting conditions
• Greatly increased common key hanging height and depth across range, ensuring larger key sets can be securely stored and shared in all sizes of cabinet
• Common construction, fixings, spare parts and features accelerating familiarity, installation and servicing
• Multiple common fixing positions and cable entry points, providing more flexibility over installation location
• Swing-out removable receptor frames, enhancing quick access to keys in an emergency
• Dual-control pod height options on L series for improved accessibility to meet needs of all users
• Compatibility with existing Touch iFobs and receptor strips, protecting customers’ existing investment, minimising cost and impact of upgrade
• Lightweight, environmentally friendly cardboard packaging that’s recyclable, which lowers its carbon footprint

By emphasizing durability, sustainability, simplicity and flexibility and embracing the latest design thinking, we feel we’ve delivered a truly evolutionary, next generation key management solution. Perhaps most importantly, it’s a solution that reflects the feedback of our customers, who are using it every day in a variety of industries. As such, being awarded the prestigious international Red Dot award for Product Design is not only a manifestation of our passion for innovation, but a clear example of collaboration with our customers, who remain critical to our advancements in efficient key management.

By Wayne Stant, Product Director, Traka ASSA ABLOY

Learn more about the Traka Touch Pro series by visiting our website at www.traka.com.