Kevin sits down with Neil Lakomiak of Underwriters Laboratories to talk about innovation in the fire industry. They also discuss industry trends, collaboration in the fire service, how to help firefighters avoid technology overload.
Underwriter Laboratories is one of a handful of companies that are approved to perform safety testing in the United States. It’s no surprise that technology being brought to the fire industry needs to be rigorously tested to ensure it is safe to use. Another thing Underwriter Laboratories does is test innovations before they go to market to ensure they are worth the cost of adopting. If not, Underwriter Laboratories works with companies to find ways to improve the product. Underwriter Laboratories tests these technologies and provides a line of communication to the companies and members in the fire industry.
The fire industry has a difficult time adopting new technology. The fire service can be a tough industry to break into, firefighters need fast and effective solutions and can't afford to use time and resources testing new technology in the field. Underwriter Laboratories takes charge of this part of testing. Underwriter Laboratories works with startups to find the technologies that are going to improve the safety of firefighters in the long term. If a technology doesn't meet this standard Underwriter Laboratories helps companies understand why, and where they need to improve. By requiring special standards, Underwriter Laboratories protects the fire industry from ineffective or inefficient innovations.
On the other side, Underwriter Laboratories works with fire service members to establish the standards for development. Technology to be used in the fire service has a different set of standards than those of a different field. To achieve this standard Underwriter Laboratories collaborates with members of the fire service. By getting input from firefighters, Underwriter Laboratories can provide an accurate set of standards for startups to meet. Input from the fire service isn’t just used for setting standards. Their input is given to companies to provide a line of communication for the needs of the fire service.
The fire industry is becoming a hotbed of new technology and innovations. The increase in companies in the industry also leads to a sense of worry that many of these innovations won’t be as effective as advertised. Underwriter Laboratories tests these technologies and provides a line of communication to the companies and members in the fire industry.