014 - New Tool Tethering Solution Hits the Sweet Spot: Simplicity, Safety and Performance
Al
Welcome everybody Radio Free Tenacity, the voice of worker safety. Here today with Nate Bohmbach, part of our Ergodyne Innovation Team and one of the brightest minds in tool tethering. He's here today to introduce you all to a brand new tool tethering solution that not only helps prevent drops, it actually helps do your job better. So, Nate, thank you very much for joining us today.
Al
I was wondering if you could introduce this brand new solution and maybe talk about some of the challenges of tool tethering that this new solution helps workers address.
Nate
Yeah, thanks for having me Al. I appreciate it. Yeah. One of the biggest challenges that comes up, if you ever tried to tether your tools is how in the world do I attach a tool lanyard to the tool?
Al
Sure.
Nate
Especially with screwdrivers and nut drivers. There's no simple way to take a straight shafted tool like this and connect a carabiner to it.
Al
Right.
Nate
So we've come up with a two piece design in our 3745 Tool Grip and Tether Attachment Point which allows you to put your screwdriver in through the other side and plug it with this cap that actually has a 360 degree swivel on the other side. So then you have full functionality of your tool and a place to tether.
Al
Okay. All right. That's awesome. Tell me a little bit more about what that swivel cap does. Like, what is the point of that swivel cap?
Nate
Yeah, I'm glad you asked. So the swivel cap, unlike other solutions on the market that put the connection point on the very end of the screwdriver, it doesn't give you an opportunity to gain leverage when you're trying to use that and really put pressure on it. So the swivel cap then puts that connection point off to the side.
Nate
So it's swivel 360 degrees because screwdriver, nut driver, you need that rotation, right. And that 360 degree swivel with nothing inhibiting the leverage you need. You can really get some pressure down when you're using.
Al
Very clever. Very clever. So we're talking about functionality and using the tool. What about when it comes to not using the tool when it's holstered? I know that can kind of be a pain point for people. It can kind of get clumsy. Does this address that as well?
Nate
Yep. So other solutions on the market actually put that connection point off the driver part of the tool. So I'll hang down this way. Which works great because it gets rid of that handle issue. But then when you go to holster it, it gets caught up and whatnot. So on this solution, it just stays within the axis of the entire tool so you can holster it just as easy as you did before.
Al
That's phenomenal. I mean, so much of product development seems like kind of just like a game of whack a mole, right, where you think you have something solved. But it actually just kind of causes another problem. Do I dare say that we've maybe, you know, solved everything with this?
Nate
Yeah. Well, and here's where we say, “Oh, there's more”.
Nate
That's where you put in the gripping aspect. So we designed this thing to have added grip. We've even put holes in it so that you can maintain that natural grip of the screwdriver. So it also, I would go as far to say is a grip enhancement of the tool. If your grip is worn out, if you've got a screwdriver that doesn't have that extra grip on it, you can put this on and it will actually enhance that grip, not take away from it.
Al
Nice. Well, I mean, this is a really exciting and a new entry into what already is a really great tool tethering line at Ergodyne. Congrats to you and the team on hopefully a really successful product out in the field that you know, helps a lot of workers be safe and more productive, as you were saying.
Nate
Yeah, absolutely. And it comes in a not a variety of sizes, but it comes in adaptable size. So that if you purchase a two pack, it will come in the same size. But you have these trim lines on it here that can allow you to trim it down and put it on multiple screwdrivers so you're not messing around with different SKUs for different sizes.
Nate
Yeah. So this was a fun one to come up with. And we're on to the next thing we're hoping for even more.
Al
Right on. I'm glad you brought that up. Just one size, but you can customize it to fit a wide variety of drivers.
Nate
Absolutely.
Al
Nice. Well, thanks again, Nate. Appreciate you stopping by. And thanks again to everybody watching and listening. If you'd like to learn more about the Squids® 3745 Tool Grip and Tether Attachment, head on over to ergodyne.com and search “tool grip”. That's it for now. Thanks again, everybody. Stay safe out there people.