opinion
When it comes to kiosk design and build, quality
must be much more than just a perception
By Kenneth Larsen, owner, KT Group Ltd – www.kioskterminals.eu
As an industry veteran, one of the most
common questions clients have is – does
this supplier produce a quality product?
And, how can all suppliers provide quality
when we’ve heard horror stories? More
so, how do we perceive quality as surely
it’s different?
If you search for the meaning of
‘quality’ in a dictionary the word means,
“the standard of something as measured
against other things of a similar kind;
the degree of excellence of something.”
I felt that this was a good benchmark or
starting point to examine closer. Quality,
therefore, means something that is
measured against a similar product and
is better than that product so when a
manufacturer writes it’s a quality product,
how have they made such a statement
or claim? Did they measure their product
with others? Most likely not, so my
understanding here is that quality has
lost its relevance – it’s loosely thrown
into some marketing jargon. Sadly, many
products aren’t defined in their build
and assembly to be quality – more than
likely it’s built as cheaply as possible and
pushed through quickly too.
Furthermore, quality is on many
occasions detracted when labelled ‘Made
in China’. Again, I find myself wondering
why everyone automatically thinks
Chinese made products are poorly made.
Remember that China manufacturers
so many products for the global market
more, than the US and EU combined, so
could that not be in essence where we
become jaded and overlook or forget
the countless products that come out of
China well made; instead we zero in on
that one bad experience.
The pursuit of quality
In beginning most companies make
errors and mistakes – it comes with the
territory. So it’s important not to replicate
the same errors continuously. You have
to remove the errors and mistakes, and
explore those previous errors to ensure
that new products also don’t suffer from
similar issues. So after a while, you find
that core team of skilled staff who started
off working as professionals without
background now have a background.
The next step in achieving quality is
the manufacturing location; it’s a well-
known fact that if you wish to achieve
excellence you must have the building
blocks to do so, and one such building
cornerstone is the right manufacturing
partner. As success grows, your thirst
for improvements will naturally grow
alongside with more complex designs
requiring more advanced machinery, not
to mention the expertise to interact with
machinery to gain best results.
With any product you start with raw
materials, which in our industry are based
on metals; primarily steel but products
are also enhanced with an array of other
materials such as stainless steel, plastics,
acrylics and aluminium. These are just
some of the raw products that have the
added quality factor. And only the most
experienced staff will know how to grade
raw materials.
Assembly of product is another area
where the inexperienced will not know
what to look for – whether its in finish
of welding, powder coat paint finish or
the type of hinges used to affix doors
– a kiosk has hundreds of minute parts
to make a complete product, and each
item or stage is just as important as next
because this sets a product’s robustness,
finish, appearance and lifespan. In more
cases than not, the inexperienced will
overlook facets which may not seem
important at the time but play an
important role, for example, rust and
metal degradation can start to appear
on enclosures that are painted but not
primer beforehand that can extend both
lifespans of unit and also the maintain
appearance of the finished product.
Reducing complexities
Cabling is complex and the amount of
errors I see from ‘experts’ is breathtaking.
Cabling has to be carefully thought
through to ensure the route, from point
A to point B, to ensure that cables are
routed out of the way of service staff
and also away from places where they
could potentially be damaged. Cables are
at the heart of what ensures kiosks run
uninterrupted, so cable boxes and shields
to protect the cable itself against damage
and wear and tear are a must.
A thorough cable diagram has to be
the starting point for each new kiosk
project so a plan is set in motion as
to how all connections work together
and at what points they should meet.
Furthermore, labelling of cables and
using index cards for reference points
are a must for each unit as dozens of
cables are used in each kiosk. This allows
individuals to quickly and efficiently locate
a specific USB or AC cable – something
that should be quick and easy.
Consider the finer points
How many kiosk owners receive technical
manuals with their purchases? These
documents should be mandatory for each
kiosk – providing a detailed overview of
the kiosk terminal, with detailed photos,
schematics and short descriptions. The
manual is a cornerstone to any service
technician’s toolbox. n
KIOSK solutions 35