A client's expectations were gratifyingly exceeded when Lamb Engineering came up with a cost-cutting solution which has saved hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A manufacturer and installer of raised flooring wanted to reduce the amount it was spending on the support jacks used in all their contracts.

Lamb's Technical Team's analysis of the price problem revealed that the client was paying a high price for the jack's immaculate high specification finish even though it was entirely hidden from view once installed.

When asked whether appearance needed to be part of the design equation, the client immediately recognised it was not necessary. Lamb Engineering created an alternative design focused instead on cost effective practicality. This brought down the cost by nearly £14 per unit to less than a quarter of the original price.

With the price reduced from £17.50 to £3.80 per unit, there were massive savings on the thousands of jacks being used annually.

The Lamb solution replaces an original part which consisted of two solid pieces of steel, precision turned from solid round bar. The top section was part threaded and screwed into the bottom section for height adjustment.

The Lamb-inspired substitute is an adapted 20mm nut and bolt combination welded to a location tube.

The main structure comes off-the-shelf from a screw manufacturer and completion requires only a small welding operation and zinc plating.