PDD product and service innovation consultancy

UnoMeter™ Safeti™ Plus

Challenge

Unomedical, a ConvaTec company, commissioned PDD to research and develop the successor to its UnoMeter™ Safeti™ urine monitoring device for hourly diuresis management. This was a difficult challenge as the current product had been value engineered progressively over its ten year lifespan and many of the features were well liked by users; and in a mature market, differentiation is hard to achieve.

 

Solution

PDD conducted research in hospitals across Europe with the aim of identifying where opportunities existed to improve user and patient safety (especially in relation to infection control) and ease of use. The study mapped the product life from purchasing through to disposal and defined the touch points and roles, needs and attitudes of all the stakeholders. A clear message emerged that although infection control is an important issue, customers were not prepared to tolerate a premium price for infection control features, unless they were fully documented and financially justified.

 

Result

The UnoMeter™ Safeti™ Plus incorporates the best features of its predecessor with numerous improvements to both usability and infection control. Design does not need to be revolutionary to be successful. Value is added through understanding and satisfying stakeholder needs. The UnoMeter™ Safeti™ Plus has had an immediate effect on Unomedical’s top line and was the single biggest driver of new product sales.

 

The UnoMeter™ Safeti™ Plus won a prestigious Gold DBA Design Effectiveness award for its user centric design and commercial success.