Festool — The Apple of the Power Tool World.

Tools have been around for years, from saws to drills and everything in between, then one day some guy called Thomas Alva Edison invented something called the lightbulb paving the way for the world of electricity. Fast forward a few years and Power tools were invented. they’re loud, powerful and a whole load of fun to use. Their main goal was to save tradesmen time completing slow laborious tasks and increasing their output ten fold. These power tools were great except they weren’t exactly ideal. I worked in the construction industry for 13 years before becoming a UX Designer, so I have struggled first hand with the frustrations of these so called “time savers.” Then one day a company called Festo came along and revolutionised how power tools would help the industry forever, but how I hear you ask.

Lets start by taking a look at the much loved skill saw. This tool is amazing, you can slice sheets of wood in straight lines in a matter of seconds, well, once you have set everything up. If we take a simple task analysis of the original process of cutting a sheet of wood we can identify some pain points.

1. You would have to measure on the wood where you would like the cut to be and draw a line with a straight edge.

2. Next you would need to measure the thickness of the blade.

3. Then you would have to measure the width between the edge of the saw and add this to the thickness of the blade.

4. Now you would have to fix a straight edge the same distance away from the cut line as your previous measurement and secure it with clamps.

5. Next you have to set the depth of the blade and you’re ready to cut.

6. Once you have cut the wood, you are left with a sea of saw dust EVERYWHERE.

This process was fine for cutting one sheet but what about when you had 100 cuts to make. The time wasted setting up the saw and cleaning up would be costly. There had to be a simpler way. Cue the Festool (they changed their name a few years back) track saw.

This thing is genius, you can place the saw on a straight track and the edge of the track is where the cut will be made. Just mark where your cut is and you’re ready to go. The track has rubber strips to grip to the surface of the wood and if you want an absolutely perfect cut, you can use quick clamps to fasten the track down. Every single functional item on the saw is highlighted in bright green plastic to easily spot. The blade instantly stops spinning when you release the trigger and starts off slowly so as not to cause the saw to jump backwards.

So what about the dust? Well they have also redesigned the extractor. Not exactly a new invention but its the approach to design that makes this so useful. The power cord and extraction hose are plugged into the machine and they are compatible with every single power tool that Festool make. No more having to unplug each tool, find the right connector for the hose, you can just switch the tools out at the point of work. Again, everything functional is bright green. On top of this, they created the boom arm, this holds the hose and power cord above the workstation meaning no more tripping over the cables. The tools are so precisely designed that dust extraction is almost perfect. Those once time consuming 100 cuts are now effortless, and there is little to no clean up.

The trusty drill had a redesign too, no need to keep switching drills out, and unfastening drill heads, this tiny yet powerful thing can have the heads swapped out in a matter of seconds. Letting the user fasten or drill in confined spaces and at all different angles. Again a huge time saver. Add all these time saving features up and productivity increases majorly.

Lastly, every single tool fits in its own unique container perfectly, which can then be linked to all other tool boxes, no more awkward different sized boxes and messy storage. Theres even different wheels to transport the stacks of tools around.

So why are Festool so much better at designing power tools than the competition? Is it because they have more qualified designers and engineers? No. Is it because they have more money? No. It must be the marketing team then? Nope. It’s their approach to design. Festool started designing for the user. User Centered Design is the genius driving this company. They focused on every task the user would need to do to achieve their goal and they improved and reduced the number of steps.

This is one of the best examples of User Centred Design put to use outside of the tech industry and it clearly shows the power of a good User Experience. Every now and then I still hop on to their site just to see what else has been redesigned. Focusing on the user’s goals before any physical design is the only way to really improve a product or service and the sooner companies realise this, both inside and outside of the tech industry the better.

Disclaimer: I don’t nor have I ever worked for Festool I’m just a sucker for good design.