8 Mar 2004
Turning Chilean ideas into products
Nelson Sanhueza is manager of product design and engineering at Cerraduras Poli Ltd. in Chile. "My job is to lead the development of new products, to turn ideas into products that meet our clients' needs and add value to the company," Nelson says.
Nelson faced two major challenges in 2003. He became a father again after 12 years, and Poli joined the ASSA ABLOY Group. Nelson has worked at Poli for ten years in the areas of die casting, quality assurance and method engineering. Four years ago he took on the key challenge of managing product design and engineering, ensuring that production capacity keeps in step with market demands.
"I am fortunate to have work that I enjoy, and to get paid for it," Nelson says.
"Poli’s culture is that project development involves everyone. We welcome people’s ideas, and this shows in how quickly we implement product improvements."
Today Nelson’s team has a special goal. A formal quality certification is scheduled. The product is Poli’s first mortise lock for prisons, its price and quality designed for Chilean market conditions. The client and the sales and marketing force all took part in this process. The team meets to review inspection records, coordinate the quality assurance trial and wait for the external team who will validate the certification.
THE TRIAL is passed successfully, and Nelson’s team prepares to train the retail sales force in the new product.
Nelson says, "It is crucial for sales people to know the attributes and benefits of each product and demonstrate their mastery of locking solutions."
After lunch Nelson prepares his detailed weekly report on current development projects, checking progress with profit center managers and external suppliers. The report goes to Marketing Management, who checks that projects are following the critical development path, take corrective action if necessary, and plan for a product launch at the ideal time.
SINCE POLI’S TARGET market is all of Latin America, new products are designed in modular form, needing only slight changes to adapt them to different countries’ standards. Poli’s two strongest product lines are electromechanical and mechanical rim locks, and mechanical mortise locks.
"Our capacity and dedication to product innovation have resulted in some exciting new locks," Nelson says proudly.
"We have a silent electromechanical rim lock with an electronic card that warns when a door is left open or ajar. And there are mortise locks with different backsets and front and counter-front shapes that allow price segmentation and discrimination."
At the end of the day, Nelson puts on his shorts to play soccer. And next summer he hopes to go fishing with his children at a hidden lake in Southern Chile.