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>You wrote:
>I guess that I subscribe to a pratical rule: if a company can't plan to
>achieve a demo unit for a show that is at the same time every year
>(once they are in production), they most likely lack some
>management/planning skills that I believe to be integral to them
>producing a reliable product.
>
>Secondly, if the "main company" is subbing out the production, then I'd
>rather know about the company actually doing the real work. As you say,
>I'm not interested in the sales company.
>
>Last point on this topic: most authorities on quality (and reliability)
>will tell you that the whole company affects the quality function. If
>sales and marketing can't plan, then who in the company can?
Henry,
Lets not forget that this is a brand new product, one which has only been
out for a few months, and one which is not mass produced by the tens of
thousands, but rather a few at a time. Right now quality per build is
spectacular, compared to mass production. And even if Rebreather buyers
start to be a "real" market, you are still talking about a few hundred
people---and they won't need "mass production" .
They also will not need a big ad agency and TV ads to convince the world
that "everyone needs a rebreather". The reality is that only a small number
of divers will really have a need for "ANY" rebreather which would justify
its use over scuba, considering that rebreathers --even RBC Odysseys, are
less safe than scuba----except when the desired use can not be done safely
with scuba. I don't think you realize how small this market really is. Any
company that gears up to mass market will kill people even if they make a
"safe" rebreather, because most divers (read this as recreatioanl
divers---the masses that manufacturers make money from) today do not have
the requisite skills to safely handle the extra maintenance and precautions,
or the abilities/stress management/reflexes for handling rebreather
failures. {have you ever been in a dive shop and seen their "no high school
diploma service tech" fixing a regulator with a hammer?....any service done
is done by the purchaser of the rebreather or the manufacturer---that is
somewhat limiting}
This early in the development of rebreathers for "public use", I think we
should worry only about the performance of the finished product, and its
reliability. If I'm flat out wrong about how many people can be trained to
maintain and safely dive these things, then a year or two from now you will
have some substance to your concerns about mass production and marketing.
Right now we need existing units in the water with "test pilots" to find out
if they are as safe as you can prove on paper. If I am going to test pilot a
rebreather concept, I'd feel alot safer with the RBC version (relating to a
traditional BC) than the electronic rebreathers (which relate to an
electronic BC). So I'll pilot my choice, you pilot your choice, and I'll bet
I get more flights than you do without "crashing and burning"!
Dan
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>
Dan Volker
SOUTH FLORIDA DIVE JOURNAL
"The Internet magazine for Underwater Photography and mpeg Video"
http://www.florida.net/scuba/dive
407-683-3592
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