New Technology Supplement

Foundation for Success

Agility, innovation provide means to achieve greater goal for manufacturer

• By Del V. Salvi
• Oct 01, 2006

DORTRONICS' reputation for in-house engineering expertise and production capabilities was recently put to the test while being faced with a situation when a specified switch assembly purchased from another company was not measuring up to Dortronics' standards. Rather than source a comparable product from a different vendor or try to shift the focus of the issue, the company chose to re-engineer the design and manufacture the product by itself. In doing so, Dortronics was able to improve the device to meet its standards and substantially increased its electrical current rating.

Rather than source a comparable product from a different vendor or try to shift the focus of the issue, the company chose to re-engineer the design and manufacture the product by itself. In doing so, Dortronics was able to improve the device to meet its standards and substantially increased its electrical current rating.

Building a Better Mousetrap
According to John FitzPatrick, vice president at Dortronics, the company was providing equipment for a job that included a specification for a particular pushbutton. The device requested was an off-the-shelf control unit, and although specified for the job, it was not designed for the security market.

"While testing the device, we discovered that the electrical contact portion of the switching component had a tendency to intermittently stick, and this caused the switch to sometimes malfunction," he said. "Our next step was to study the options available and determine which of these alternatives could be reliably adapted to work with the specified switch assembly. Once we had sourced the more appropriate components and conducted our in-house tests to confirm the reliability of the re-engineered unit, it was then simply a matter of gearing up for production. From start to finish, the turn around time was quick, and this was due to the fact we could do it ourselves and didn't have to rely on outside engineering or delays associated with off-shore sources."

You Can't Put a Price on Good Will
For the upgraded version of the switch, the cost difference was pennies and records indicate the reliability has been favorable. FitzPatrick said the company is able to keep costs at a minimum because of in-house design as opposed to paying a third party to design the change.

Another element often overlooked on the subject of cost is customer satisfaction -- an area of concentration Dortronics believes to be critical.

"Had we provided a faulty component, this could have easily cost us future business," FitzPatrick said. "By recognizing the potential problem, and addressing it immediately, we were able to implement the design changes with no obvious physical signs that the unit was upgraded. It was a pretty seamless implementation as far as the customer was concerned."

Commitment to Quality and Value
In today's security-conscious environment, faulty equipment and systems not only result in lost revenue and down time, but also significantly impact the vulnerability of a facility. Incoming raw material testing and ongoing equipment calibration and maintenance are an integral part of the production process at the company.

The company will soon be introducing a new line of economically priced control timers and door prop alarms.

"We are constantly improving our product line based on customer demand and/or the industry migration to system integration," FitzPatrick said. "This strategy allows us to remain competitive in the marketplace in areas other than cost, while our reputation for quality and performance helps ensure market share and volume, which in turn can help us keep our costs down."

Changing Roles
Dortronics is a division of Sag Harbor Industries, the contract manufacturing company founded by Charles Edison, son of the famous inventor Thomas Edison. Originally known as an OEM parts manufacturer for major security manufacturing companies, Dortronics has evolved in the past 10 years to a full-line manufacturer of electric locking hardware and controls for the security, hardware and door control industries with product solutions available in standard or custom configurations.

FitzPatrick believes the company's commitment to implementing innovative ideas and solutions will serve Dortronics well in the coming years.