Leveraging diverse expertise
We began by conducting fast-paced market research to validate and quantify the opportunity. After doing so, we assembled a multi-functional team to build a product aligned to market demand and certify agency requirements and on-the-ground conditions. We called on in-house engineers, physicists, scientists and other experts at our Global Innovation and Technology Centre.
We explored supply chain partners who could manufacture and distribute the unit and had the ability to scale fast to meet demand. To do this, we drew on expertise from our network. This included Crown Agents Ltd, an International development agency, who worked with PA to provide insights into how the cold chain, the system used for keeping and distributing vaccines, works in countries in the developing world. We also worked with European Thermodynamics, a thermal management engineering firm, who supported the design of the active cooling module in the unit.
Meeting performance, sustainability, and cost goals
We modelled the cooler’s performance so that we could optimise performance and help Sure Chill make important trade off decisions even before we made physical prototypes. We examined the impact of materials, unit construction and size objectives, optimising these variables to meet Sure Chill’s performance, sustainability, and cost goals.
Next, we prototyped the physical unit, leveraging our industrial design, science, and engineering capabilities. We embedded ‘circular’ product design principles into the design, meaning it could be completely disassembled, either for repair, sub systems reuse, or recycling, helping to reduce waste reaching landfills. For example, we ensured the chiller design is free from anti-freeze or adhesives.
The unit needed to meet safety standards and maintain consistent, multi-day cooling while being used in variable ambient temperatures, transported over bumpy roads, and carried by hand or hoisted on shoulders. So, after building a physical unit, we put the portable cooler through its paces, traversing roads and simulating how it was expected to be transported. Our goal was to create a product that met both test bed simulations and real-life usage conditions.
