QADDY™, nkt cables’ trolley, wins the Danish Ingeniørens Special Award for its particularly outstanding design and functionality – first pronounced improvement of cable drums in 100 years. nkt cables has won Ingeniørens Special Award for QADDY™ - an integrated cable drum, payoff and trolley. The award is presented by Mediehuset Ingeniøren.
The panel of judges gave the following reasons for choosing nkt cables' cable trolley:
"This year the judges chose to give a special award for particularly outstanding design and functionality.
The prize is awarded to a cable drum for building sites. Transport and handling of cables is difficult and ergonomically inappropriate, but this is solved in a way where thorough understanding of user requirements and context-awareness is clearly exploited, including transportation on pallets, reloading between pallet and floor, manual transport on the building site down to the actual pay-off.
The solution is intuitive, simple, easy, reliable, ergonomic and quality oriented. The design work has lifted the product to much more than just a practical device. When you see the product, it is surprising that it has taken so long to reach such a unique product."
Focus on functionality and ergonomics
QADDY™ has been created to provide easier working conditions for electricians on building sites as conventional cable drums can be heavy and difficult to work with.
“We thought there had to be a better way. We wanted to find a solution that would make it easier for electricians to use our products,” says nkt cables’ Design Manager Uffe Nordlander. “We now have a solution that eliminates back pain, can be used on multiple surfaces, and can be handled by only one man, thereby providing major time savings.”
QADDY™ was developed, designed and manufactured by nkt cables in partnership with industrial designers Harrit-Sørensen. In addition, to ensure the best possible results, close consultation took place with the future users throughout the development process. Among other things, an extensive testing programme was carried out to arrive at the optimum design for the trolley’s components, which have traditionally comprised three separate units.
”We are proud to receive Ingeniørens Special Award. QADDY™ is a tangible example of practical product innovation created in collaboration with the electricians who know the impact that bad working posture has on the body,” says Peter Hem, CEO of nkt cables.
These electricians confirm that QADDY™ makes their everyday working easier.
”QADDY™ is simple and handy and rides easily on almost all surfaces. It is easy to move around even in muddy conditions. Our electricians are delighted with it, particularly on sites with lifts. It makes their working so much easier, they simply love it!” says Thomas Vraa Baiemler of Viby El-Værk.
Sustainable and hygienic
It has also been crucial for nkt cables that QADDY™ can be manufactured from recyclable materials. The company uses a very high percentage of recyclable materials in its products and has its own recycling facility in Stenlille, Denmark. The cable trolley is made of a variety of recyclable plastics, and redundant trolleys can be returned under the deposit and return system which exists with Danish electrical wholesalers.
QADDY™ also has the advantage of being able to reach places inaccessible to wooden cable drums.
”Being made of plastic, QADDY™ is easy to clean and therefore a hygienic solution. This is a major plus for us as it means we can use it for food industry projects, such as abattoirs and kitchens,” says Michael Olsen, head of department at Arla Foods in Slagelse, Denmark.
A QADDY™ can be used a number of times before wearing out. It is then dismantled at the Stenlille recycling plant and the various plastics are returned to the supplier for use in other products. QADDY™ is currently only available in Denmark.
Further information
For more information on nkt cables’ QADDY™ click on www.nktcables.com/Downloads/QADDY
About Ingeniørens Product Award
Ingeniørens Product Award consists of a master award and awards in the categories of construction, IT, electronics, end-user products and health. Finally, this year a special prize for particularly outstanding design and functionality was awarded.