Pandemic fast-tracks entrepreneurial innovation
The impact of Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown has had a severe impact on small businesses. However, for agile entrepreneurs, the forced closing of their primary business could be seen as an opportunity to create additional revenue and help in the fight against the spread of the virus.
Like many other South Africans, entrepreneur Brendan Tinsley’s business ground to an abrupt and complete halt with the announcement of the lockdown and revenue dried up with it. Tinsley operated a small carpentry business building custom furniture and manufacturing and supplying products to the hospitality, corporate gifting and events industries.
The small business owner quickly realised that a new revenue stream would need to be developed and identified a need for products to help contain the virus and stop its spread, which led to the development of the Touch LESS concept.
Made from Birch plywood the hook-and-push tool allows users to minimise direct skin contact with high traffic surfaces such as doors, shopping trolleys and baskets, shelved products, speed point machines and parking pay stations.
Tinsley developed a few basic handmade prototypes in his home garage before returning to his manufacturing studio to develop and refine the Touch LESS to a final product.
The tool aims to minimise the potential risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19 as well as other harmful germs and bacteria and could also potentially reduce the need to regularly change personal protective equipment such as gloves.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation