David Clayton-Smith

…who has pioneered commercially and in the NHS. At Halfords there was an issue with the car parts business. The competitive advantage in the fragmented market came from superior buying power allowing competitive pricing and high margins. This created a tricky situation with the buying teams relishing an 81% margin on starter motors but the reality that cars just don’t break down very much these days. Some customer listening provided clues…‘I used to get failed bulbs replaced when I took the car in for a service’, ‘cars only need servicing once a year and it’s a pain to buy bulbs/wipers etc from the garage’, ‘cars are so complex and fiddly, I find changing bulbs impossible’ and at a customer service conference….’actually Halfords in Chester were brilliant, they offered to fit my bulb but they don’t do it at weekends because it’s busy’. The response was a new service called ‘We’ll Fit It’. National pricing for a seven day service established, 350 stores had Gazebos, tools and training and 20 yrs on it’s still their most profitable lineUsing human centred design principles, David could see new opportunities to improve. For example, treating burns injuries effectively was not originally part of what firefighters prioritised – they were there to rescue people and save property. But burns need particular treatment, and applying cool water, fast, is the first step. However, in practice it rarely happened as each agency sought to quickly convey the survivor through the chain of care. Despite this, survivors typically arrive at a specialist burns facility long after the window of opportunity for the benefits of early cooling has passed. David also recognised the mental effects of trauma and the need to help people deal constructively with what happened to them. This whole joined-up, human approach was new, but results are encouraging. There is much more to do, and David continues to pioneer in the international emergency and disaster sector.

You can see his Pioneer interview here