Case Studies

Batteries
Cables
Speakers
Switches
Miscellaneous

Optimising Sealed Lead Acid Batteries
One of our customers had been dealing with the market leader for over twenty years. Prior to Stortech’s involvement they were sold a generic battery.

We worked with them to fully understand the application and the way their customers were using their product.

Then we optimised the battery to increase its capacity by almost 30% in the same case so their customer didn’t have to change any of their tooling to fit the battery. We also changed the ratios of the raw materials to optimise the battery for their specific application.

The result? A massively reduced failure rate in use. But we still continued to suggest innovations that would improve their reliability even more.

Sealed Lead Acid batteries have an inherent failure rate and in this case the application was particularly demanding. Even though the failure rate of our batteries was already extremely low – and significantly less than the previous supplier – we continued to analyse any battery that failed and introduced production processes and checks to reduce the failure rate even more.

Optimising the pack and build quality of Ni-Mh Batteries
Prior to Stortech’s involvement the failure rate for our customer’s previous supplier had been so bad that they had threatened to take legal action. They settled out of court and as pat of this arrangement were supplied batteries free of charge for several months. But although the failures reduced the problems continued.

We discovered that for whatever reason the battery pack had been designed to suit the size of their hand held controller rather than their power requirements. So the reason they were getting such a high failure rate was due to the fact that they were using the wrong cell size for the amount of power they were trying to get from the pack.

The obvious solution was to use a larger cell size but this would have involved a huge cost to the customer for retooling. Instead we worked with the factory to optimise the capacity of the individual cells.

There were some initial teething problems which we immediately took to our in-house assembly facility who corrected a minor issue with the fuse supplied by a well-known European manufacturer. Having corrected the problem we were able to reassure the customer by guaranteeing to carry out 100% inspection and testing of every pack.

The result? We have been supplying the customer for over a year. Even with the fuse issue our batteries’ failure rate was a fraction of the previous supplier’s and following its correction is now negligible.

Cables

Improving mouldings and design capability for Din Plugs
Prior to Stortech’s involvement one of our OEM customers was having a huge failure rate for components from another supplier.

The problem? The din plug kept coming away from its moulded surround.

The solution? We improved the design and process for moulding the din and suggested improvements to the strain relief.

The result? We have now been supplying these cables for ten years without a single failure.

Design improvements to reduce failures
One of our customers had a recurring fault which we were finding difficult to identify and therefore rectify.

The problem? There was damage to the inner core on one colour wire. Despite extensive investigations we had been unable to see what was causing the problem. So both Stortech and the factory went to see how the customer was using the product. It then became immediately obvious that rather than using the product as specified in the manual they were using it in a way that was easiest for them.

As soon as we understood what was needed we were able to suggest design improvements which quickly resolved the issue.

The result? The correction to the design has been in place for over two years and the fault is no longer an issue.

Speakers

Ease of identification
One of our customers uses two speakers in large volumes. The size and shape etc are identical – the only difference is the impedance.

The problem? Even though we gave them different part numbers the production staff kept mixing the two types and, as the error wasn’t being discovered until the final test, they were wasting many man-hours putting it right.

The solution? Initially we marked the back of the speakers with different coloured stickers which worked for a while until temporary labour was used and the problem re-emerged. So in addition to the stickers we changed the output wires on one of the speakers to two of the most unusual colours possible.

The result? Problem solved.

Switches

Stortech’s speedy sourcing capabilities
One of our customers was buying an Outdoor IP rated switch from a market leader. The switch, which came from India, was not very robust or particularly well built and although the size of the switch was acceptable they ideally wanted one that was smaller.

The solution? We used our extensive souring expertise to find a switch from the Far East. Although it was slightly more expensive than its predecessor the build quality was superior and the size was exactly what the customer had been looking for.

How long did this take? Just 48 hours.

Managing leadtimes to meet demand

One of the concerns customers have about sourcing products from overseas – and the Far East in particular – is the leadtimes required which are typically 12 weeks.

Stortech proactively manage our customers’ requirements. By negotiating a scheduled order and agreeing a buffer stock our customers can immediately react to changing demand patterns.

The result? One of our largest customers has consistently achieved stock turns of 44 using our services.