Product design for a safer and more open world

Increasingly, customers see access control and security systems as integral to their premises, reports ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA.

As a result, they expect the same attention to detail and design principles they find in other building products, in both the commercial and the residential sector.

The industry needs better design thinking to meet these changing demands.

‘Product design’ of course has always encompassed more than aesthetics. An access solution’s performance and any potential ROI for adopters will be impacted by product design decisions made during the earliest stages of planning and development.

“Product design is really a bridge between the technical demands of engineering, the creative spark of aesthetics – what people often think of when they hear the word ‘design’ – and the commercial needs of product management and sales,” said Perla Munhoz, Director & Head of Product Design, ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA.

It is fundamentally multifaceted and future-oriented.

On the aesthetic level, the design remit includes trends in contemporary architecture or designing products with minimal visual impact to retrofit historic buildings.

“At the Norwegian Opera and Ballet on Oslo’s waterfront, ASSA ABLOY worked with Norwegian architects Snøhetta and Swiss manufacturer Glutz to combine an access solution with a custom-designed handle to complement the space and meet the design vision for the site,” explained Perla Munhoz.

But important as they are, aesthetics is just one aspect among many: Security, usability, reliability, sustainability ease of installation, maintenance and so on.

For example, the range of ASSA ABLOY Cam-Motion Door Closers works aesthetically in all kinds of modern environments. However, product design was also conceived from the start to provide concrete benefits to installers.

Each closer’s symmetric cam design enables fitting in any of four mounting positions: To the door leaf or frame, push or pull side.

A grooved spindle with 14mm height adjustment offers flexibility and compensates for minor installation imprecision. These features make fitting quicker and more accurate – saving installers’ time and customers’ money.

“This kind of end-to-end thinking is fundamental to good product design,” she added.

A history of pioneering product design

ASSA ABLOY has long instilled design thinking throughout its global organisation.

It has invested in creating devices and user experience (UX) to meet the changing demands of contemporary buildings and their designers.

This investment has been rewarded with a catalogue of awards for innovation and smart product design.

ASSA ABLOY hardware has won Red Dot Awards on multiple occasions.

In 2023, the eCLIQ key-operated digital locking system was awarded the PLUS X AWARD in four categories: Innovation, quality, ease of use and functionality.

The Aperio H100 was named winner at EUIPO’s DesignEuropa Awards and the German Design Council’s Iconic Award: Innovative Interior.

Two years running, new ASSA ABLOY escape door devices – the effeff ePED and ABLOY Security Door Closer with integrated latch bolt and escape door strike – won major building trade awards presented at BAU, in Munich.

“Innovation, utility, value and digitalisation potential are all incorporated at the early stages of our product design processes,” added Kelly Gill, Chief Technology Officer at ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions EMEIA.

Product design ‘under the hood’

Every aspect of hardware performance is impacted by design decisions taken at the earliest stages of product development. Design in this sense has been at the heart of ASSA ABLOY’s mission during its long history innovating mechanical security.

An ASSA ABLOY company originally patented the design for the Euro lock format, in 1928. It is now an industry standard design, adopted everywhere. The latest generation of ASSA ABLOY mechanical locking solutions have several patented design features for ease of use and enhanced security.

“Who knows, these, too, may one day become industry standards!” said Gill. “At ASSA ABLOY innovation does not sleep. It in the company DNA. It always has been.”

In the security space, toughness and reliability have often been prioritised over aesthetics and without doubt durability is a key measuring stick.

Mechanical components at ASSA ABLOY are engineered to meet or exceed all relevant national and regional performance standards.

“Our product designers never forget that our hardware, devices and technologies do not usually operate in ideal ‘laboratory’ conditions,” continued Gill. “They are created and tested for the real world.”

For example, battery powered digital devices may need to work reliably outdoors, sometimes in extreme climates.

Interior deployments may be in a hospital or school where devices may not always be treated with care.

Product durability and reliability are non-negotiable, whatever the environment.

The growing importance of software design

As business increasingly digitalises, product design must encompass more than tangible physical items.

The software interface is the point of contact between a security team and their chosen digital access system – and undoubtedly the part which receives the most daily interaction.

It is critical that manufacturers get software right.

Intelligent UX design makes software solutions more efficient and helps organisations to maximise the return from their investment in hardware.

The recently launched ABLOY Cumulus API- and SDK-led access solution won International Security Journal’s 2024 Leaders in Security Awards. It was also named winner in the Innovation Initiative category.

Intelligent software design can also help streamline workflows for those who specify access solutions.

Openings Studio software, for example, simplifies collaboration and data sharing among building project stakeholders.

It even helps manage openings over the full project life-cycle, from planning and estimation to installation and beyond.

“Openings Studio has always been helpful in projects,” explained Gaurav Nirmalkar, Designer at leading Indian architects, Edifice.

“Personally, I have used it in three of the data centres. It never disappoints.”