“Stepping over Dollars to pick up Nickels”

What is a quality product really worth? The answer to that question, more times than not, is completely subjective and usually based on a number of variables.  A few of those variables might include the materials used for the product, warranty period, availability, functional uniqueness or the solution provided.  Based on my experience, I can get a pretty good reading on a products quality by holding it in my hands. A great example of that would be any Apple device or Rolex watch. For those of you who have experience with these products you know what I’m talking about.

Quality, in its many forms, should be important to every business owner and even more important to the employees. Why? Because quality is how you differentiate yourself from everyone else. It’s your report card on the work or solution you deliver to the consumer. So if you think you can’t have a quality product at a value price, keep reading as this Blog will hopefully influence that paradigm.

At Space Age, quality is and has always been one of the company’s core principles. Everything we do is centered around driving higher quality. From the products, to our service, to our corporate events and customer appreciation activities. If you’re skeptical that’s understandable, however, the next time you have the chance to hold one of our products in your hands and compare it to other similar products you use regularly, do it. Then let your senses make the assessment and send us your feedback via this blog comment section. Our customers voice is an important element in driving quality improvements and product innovations.

Last month a Space Age customer needed an outdoor enclosure that would cover a small Fire Alarm Panel installed in the breezeway of 14 apartment buildings. The fire panel measured 15” x 15” and recessed slightly into the wall. The first solution sought was an “off the shelf product” of sufficient size and depth to cover the FACP. The enclosure also needed to be outdoor weather resistant rated for a minimum NEMA 3:

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There are several products made of a polycarbonate plastic that would work, however, they would be significantly over-sized and required to be modified by cutting a hole in the back of the enclosure for the FACP to fit through. Not a clean or attractive installation, not to mention the cost for such an enclosure and labor to modify the unit. Cutting 14 polycarbonate enclosures without the proper tools would most likely result in fracturing at least one enclosure making it unusable.

Enter the Space Age Electronics XL8 NEMA 3 rated enclosures. Our standard 20 x 23.5 x 4.5 all metal enclosure with its baked on powder coat finish was the perfect fit and was easily customized in our factory for surface mounting over the existing FACP. Custom branding of the company logo and use of a matching FACP key/lock set were the final touches that made this solution uniquely their own. Best of all it was delivered at a lower cost than the obtrusive ill-fitting clear polycarbonate enclosure.

By taking a little time to work the problem and find the perfect solution allowed this customer to not only deliver a higher quality solution, they also branded their organization as caring professionals of the life safety industry. Sure they could have ordered over the internet some ill fitted fix, but they didn’t. They chose to NOT step over the dollars to pick up the nickels, which in the end, is a valuable lesson for us all.