Howard Wright Wins iF International Design Award
Howard Wright wins iF international design award for M8 medical bed Howard Wright’s M8 critical care medical bed has added a prestigious international iF design award to its line up of design awards. The M8 has already won an award in October last year for its design innovations in the prestigious Best Design Awards run by the Designers Institute of New Zealand.
In addition, the M8 is also a finalist in the 2010 Australian International Design Awards, says Howard Wright’s Industrial Designer, Alexander Wastney. “The awards give us recognition internationally that we are going in the right direction with our design led approach,” says Mr. Wastney. “The M8 was the first medical bed that we took through a full design process involving more than three years of research and development with 10 prototypes.” Since 1953, the iF product design award has been recognized as a label for good design.
This year 2,486 products from 1016 contestants were submitted from 39 different countries. Howard Wright’s M8 medical bed was among the 778 products that have been awarded with a coveted iF product design award. To win the iF design award, the M8 was evaluated using the following criteria: * design quality * finish * choice of materials * degree of innovation * environmental impact * functionality * ergonomics * visualization of intended use * safety * brand value + branding * universal design Images of the M8 will now be displayed at the iF product design award exhibition which opens on March 02, 2010 and runs until August 2010 in Hanover, Germany.
During this period, iF organisers are expecting around 250,000 international visitors. The M8’s design innovations have also been recognised with a good initial order book. In December, 2009, the bed was selected as the sole provider in the Western Australian Public Health Unit’s (WAPHU) contract for critical care beds. The WAPHU contract means Howard Wright is the sole preferred supplier for more than 170 critical care beds forecast over the next five years across the Western Australian Department of Health’s 11 main hospitals as well as regional health centres.
Howard Wright has also been named a preferred supplier with its M7 general ward bed, its M7 stretchers and examination couches, and for its PREMA Advanced III mattress. In total, the WA state contract could be worth in excess of A$10 million for the regionally based company which has been designing and manufacturing medical beds since the 1960s. With a design philosophy of “making human care easier”, what’s innovative about the M8 is that it allows for a wide range of procedures to be performed on the bed without the need to transfer the patient.
A prime example is its radiolucent deck which allows X-ray and C-arm imaging capabilities without shifting the patient. “An onboard rechargeable battery means the bed can be wheeled into X-Ray and operated without having to be connected to an external power source.” says Mr Wastney. Using a simple keypad, its fully electric functionality means the M8 can be reconfigured to a cardiac chair, into trendelenburg or reverse trendelenburg positions, raise the lower leg or the upper body, or raise and lower the height of the bed overall.
With patient handling and lifting a key issue for medical professionals today, this means the M8 dramatically reduces the amount of manual handling for 99% of patients worldwide. This covers the shortest or smallest patients up to the largest and tallest patients at 250 kg in weight or up to 2.2 metres in height. Moving and stabilising the M8 has also been made easier for the orderly and smoother for patient with the latest generation of Tente linea castors and a standard 5th wheel. A central locking and braking system can be operated at either end of the bed.
A full range of accessories can also be bundled with the M8 such as IV poles, a monitor tray, and three sizes of oxygen bottle holders. Howard Wright’s simple, smart, human design approach has recently seen it win significant Australian supply contracts for its M7 medical bed with Cabrini Health, and Healthscope. In addition, Howard Wright has just won a substantial supply contract for more than 600 M7 beds to the Waikato District Health Board in New Zealand.
Ends For further information, please contact: Howard Wright Limited www.howardwrightcares.com Bruce Moller, Howard Wright CEO, phone + 64 (6) 755 0976 Dirk Bartelsmeier Anne-Kathrin Aumann Sabine Böhmer iF International Forum Design GmbH Messegelaende 30521 Hannover Germany P. +49.511.89.32404 + 32405 + 32428 F. +49.511.89.32406 [email protected] Released on behalf of Howard Wright by Adviso Media: Bruce Gatward-Cook, ph + 64 (6) 75 74 743
