Case Study 2: Lawn Mowers

The majority of homeowners in the U.S. have a love/hate relationship with their lawns. It is the subject of either pride, if everything goes well, or irritation. In any case, people spend a lot of time and money making sure their lawn looks good. With this kind of interest, a huge industry has evolved to help.

Figure 6: Evolution of the Lawn Mowing Industry

To understand the future of the lawn mower, it is necessary to analyze its past to find its spot on the continuum of evolution shown in Figure 6. A comprehensive history should probably begin with animal grazing and the scythe, neither of which is very efficient by the standards of most lawn owners, which led to the development of the lawn mower. A drum with blades became the rotary lawn mower, then the power mower, self-propelled mower, riding mower (mini-tractor) and remote-control mower – all aimed at reducing the homeowner’s time involved in the lawn mowing process. Finally, a completely robotic machine was created to completely eliminate human labor from lawn mowing.

Does the progress stop? No. It is fundamentally impossible to stop the natural process of evolution. There are always new problems arising and waiting to be solved. Consider the robotic machine, which is too expensive for a retail customer. It still requires the owner’s involvement because it must be taken out of storage, checked for problems, filled with gas and oil, cleaned, put back into storage, etc. It requires maintenance, repair and so on. What still can be done to decrease the amount of time and energy required by the process of lawn mowing, while increasing the quality of the lawn? As long as this question remains, the evolution of lawn mowing will continue.

In looking for ways to improve the lawn mower, the principle of time-to-value reduction may lead to an increased speed of mowing, which will surely the customer’s time. Using a more powerful motor or introducing a different transmission ratio might be a way to implement this concept. However, a “bigger/more” approach, which is typical of companies, is not necessarily the best solution. By constantly choosing larger and more powerful mowers, the homeowner approaches the equivalent of professional mowing equipment, with all of its cost and safety issues, rather than addressing the value issues that are relevant to the lawn of a single-family home.

Another standard solution that saves a user’s time is to combine mowing with other operations; for example, a mower could introduce fertilizer or herbicide while mowing. Another alternative is to make the mower multifunctional; the mower could mulch debris or aerate the lawn. Having to buy only an attachment for these jobs instead of another piece of equipment would save the customer money. This approach could lead to the idea of a modular lawn mower’s design, with a base unit and attachments. If this concept is taken further, the base unit could become the functional foundation for a number of devices used around the home and yard (such as a snow thrower, power generator, shredder or vacuum pump, which would provide a great value for customers who do not need to buy multiple pieces or equipment. Someone who decides to use this model will not be dependent on the mower market and will gain substantial advantages compared to the rest of the companies.

Lawn mowing has one more major evolutionary avenue available. A significant time reduction associated with lawn mowing can be achieved if the lawn does not need to be mowed as often. This is possible if grass does not grow so quickly. By introducing growth inhibitors instead of fertilizers, a slower growing lawn may emerge. Fertilizers are advantageous for the lawn mowing industry and homeowners whose grass does not grow well, but growth inhibitors could be advantageous for a typical homeowner with a healthy lawn. This idea for a new product could be either an opportunity or a threat for chemical companies, but it is surely a threat for both the producers of lawn mowers and lawn care service providers. Does this mean that progress has stopped? Only for those companies that do not evolve along with their products or services.

Slowing down the rate of grass growth could be achieved on a genetic level as well. If this concept is taken to its extreme, grass may become genetically modified so its length does not exceed a certain ideal height (3-4 inches). If this happens, no mowing will be necessary. Such a grass would have to go through rigorous testing to determine its impact on the environment, which would raise new problems and further extend the evolutionary path of lawn care.

Conclusion

These case studies illustrate that GTI provides the universal theoretical foundation and set of standard tools that are equally applicable to any industry and any company. Both theory and tools were applied effectively to the unrelated industries of movie rental and lawn mowers. Any organization can just as successfully use the principle of time reduction to assess the current position of its product or service within its industry, and then identify and articulate the problems that it will face in the future. These formulated problems will represent either a company’s future opportunities or threats.

GTI is not a quick fix for all of a company’s problems and issues. It is, instead, a potent theory that is capable of controlling the process of innovation, which would effectively work for any specific application. As a result, GTI is perfectly positioned to significantly contribute to any conceivable business objective, which requires a change of the status quo, to enable an organization to confidently identify future changes in the marketplace, which is identical to precisely knowing the future needs and desires of your customers. This advanced knowledge will reveal those future problems that will be faced by a product or service, representing a solid foundation for the continual creation of commercially successful products and services – enabling a company to attract and retain customers, and achieve consistent performance and continuous business success.

Adopted from GTE By Greg Yezersky from http://www.triz-journal.com/an-overview-of-the-general-theory-of-innovation/

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 695