Introducing the Volvo Group
The Volvo Group is one of the largest manufacturers of trucks and buses in the world. The company operates production facilities in 18 countries and also produces construction equipment and engines for complicated marine and industrial machinery. However, the Group positions itself as something more than a manufacturer: it provides business services and engages in many activities associated in one way or another with transportation.
It is the Volvo Group’s vision that the industry it is in is closely connected to other industries that should be addressed, too, if a truck manufacturer wants to succeed. This is why the company contributes to the construction of infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and to the extraction of raw materials (“This is what we do,” 2017).
Also, the Volvo Group recognizes its contribution to urban development: not only urban infrastructure is built with the use of equipment produced by the Volvo Group, but also public transport used in many cities was designed and manufactured by it. Another example is that the Volvo Groups produces generators that ensure the availability of power in facilities in which blackouts are a threat to people’s lives (hospitals). The company acknowledges its responsibility for development in many areas because it is this company that produces instruments to be used for the development.
This is why the Volvo Group is keen on innovation and constantly engaged in looking for new business solutions and applying innovative technologies. To ensure the successfulness of its operation, the company develops new service development processes that are flexible and allow constantly monitoring the needs of potential customers (Kindström & Kowalkowski, 2014). Business development is strongly emphasized in the Volvo Group, and it is not only about seeking innovative solutions but also applying them properly to the market according to identified needs. A major trend in innovation addressed by the company has been the creation of safer technologies that allow decreasing the number of deaths and injuries associated with transportation.
Scope Statement
The proposed safety-related project is designing and introducing a safety seat for Volvo trucks; the seats’ primary innovative function will be to prevent a driver from sleeping. There is a variety of ways in which the problem of falling asleep while driving can be addressed; particularly, many vehicle manufacturers have recently turned to automatic sleep-warning technologies (Chu, 2014). The problem-solving technique for developing such technologies is establishing the reasons for which drivers fall asleep. If pathological conditions, such as narcolepsy, i.e. the tendency to fall asleep suddenly without being able to properly control the process, are disregarded, the fact of falling asleep while driving can be explained by the tiredness of the driver and the monotonousness of the road. How can this problem be addressed as part of a vehicle’s safety system?
First of all, it is possible to prevent drivers from falling asleep by stimulating their senses: the response will be nervous excitement and reduced sleepiness. Examples of such stimulation include loud sounds or vibration. However, there is a major challenge: for such a safety system to function properly, it is necessary that the system is capable of detecting signs of sleepiness and predicting when physical stimulation should be turned on. For this, certain devices can be installed in a vehicle. An example can be a surveillance system that recognizes drivers’ faces and detects distraction, i.e. not looking at the road; when the driver is distracted for too long, the system activates an alarm. Another example is assessing vital signs; based on pulse or breathing rate, certain sensors can identify the moment in which a driver is about to fall asleep.
The discussed solution is based on these considerations: it is proposed to create a seat that can identify the driver’s state in terms of being sleepy or awake; in case the driver is falling asleep, the seat will vibrate and wake him or her up. It is not suggested to employ a system with a camera that will detect if the driver is distracted because such a system will occupy additional space on the panel, while with the proposed system, it will be able to place all the necessary equipment in the seat without occupying extra space. First of all, it is needed to design a safety belt that will detect heart and breathing rates of a person.
It has been confirmed in previous research that the material of which safety belts are made in the modern vehicle industry allows installing sensors capable of such monitoring (Hamdani & Fernando, 2015). Certain changes in a person’s pulse or the way he or she breathes will indicate falling asleep, and the seat will automatically vibrate.
It is important to acknowledge that the proposed innovative seat will address more than one need. Monitoring drivers’ vital signs can be beneficial not only for preventing them from falling asleep but also for protecting them from being affected by a serious and sudden medical condition while driving.
The monitoring system will be able to recognize a heart attack, a stroke, and seizures. It will be connected to the Internet, and a warning will be immediately sent to emergency services so that the driver can receive help and so that authorities are aware that the driver may not be able to control the vehicle at the moment. Therefore, not only sleeping while driving can be prevented, but it is also possible to attract the attention of those customers who are particularly worried that they may have health problems while in the vehicle.
There are various ways for vehicle manufacturers to emphasize particular aspects of their products to attract customers. For example, some targets may be interested in higher speed, other targets may be interested in enhanced comfort, and some may need their vehicles to be more cross-country capable. However, among all the segments, one of the largest target groups consists of those interested in safety. When marketing the proposed safety seat, it is necessary to emphasize how the successful adoption of the technology will help save people’s lives.
Statistics should be presented on how many deaths and injuries are caused annually by sleeping drivers or drivers who lose control of their vehicles because of a sudden acute health problem. The mechanism should be explained in simple terms: the belt knows when a driver is falling asleep or losing control of the vehicle, the seat vibrates to wake the driver up, and automatically sends notifications to appropriate authorities.
Therefore, the universal need that is addressed by the proposed innovative project is the need for safety (Mashaw & Harfst, 2017). It is not only the need of drivers but also the need f communities because accidents associated with sleeping while driving often involve pedestrians. By promoting the new seat and showing how much it cares about safety on the roads, the Volvo Group will be able to gain more appreciation among communities that are not composed of only drivers. It will provide the Group with a competitive advantage and allow the Group to build a favorable image of itself.
References
Chu, H. C. (2014). Assessing factors causing severe injuries in crashes of high-deck buses in long-distance driving on freeways. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 62(1), 130-136.
Hamdani, S. T. A., & Fernando, A. (2015). The application of a piezo-resistive cardiorespiratory sensor system in an automobile safety belt. Sensors, 15(4), 7742-7753.
Kindström, D., & Kowalkowski, C. (2014). Service innovation in product-centric firms: A multidimensional business model perspective. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 29(2), 96-111.
Mashaw, J. L., & Harfst, D. L. (2017). From command and control to collaboration and deference: The transformation of auto safety regulation. Yale Journal on Regulation, 34(1), 167-180.
This is what we do. (2017). Web.