Water damage is one of the most common and expensive issues in homes and buildings, with a risk ten times higher than fire damage. That insight led Quandify and Svekon to create Water Grip, the first battery-powered leak detector of its kind – essentially a smoke alarm, but for water. Quandify approached Svekon for support with product industrialisation and bringing the concept to market. The goal was to develop a product with robust mechanical function that requires no plumbing expertise and with a design that suites all homes. The result was awarded by the Red Dot Design Awards for its sophisticated design and intelligent measurement technology.
A project made for Svekon
Quandify’s CTO, Peter Eriksson, saw the opportunity to collaborate with our industrial designer Mårten Andrén when Quandify wanted to develop the idea and take it to market. He also knew that working with Svekon means gaining access to the combined expertise of all our engineers, alongside a trusted network of partners and suppliers to support every stage of development and production.
“I knew that every day at 2 p.m. there’s fika at Svekon, and that’s when Mårten discusses current or potential challenges with his colleagues. So essentially, we also get access to 50 other talented engineers.”
Peter Eriksson – CTO, Quandify
Svekon contributed with industrial design, concept development, engineering, mechanical solutions and material knowledge. The goal was to develop a product that is intuitive, provides clear user feedback, and meets high standards for function, efficient manufacturing and appealing aesthetics – especially since the product is mounted visibly onto a pipe.
A Smooth, Efficient Process Through Local Collaboration
For Quandify, local development and manufacturing were key priorities – and ultimately a major success factor. All parties, including suppliers, could quickly gather to discuss materials and solutions for efficient tooling and high-volume production with consistently high quality. Final assembly was also a constant focus to enable a high degree of automation. The accessibility and engagement from all local partners meant we reached a strong final result quickly, without compromising quality.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to work on projects like this with such skilled people. We’ve really made the most of everyone’s unique expertise.”
Mårten Andrén – Industrial designer, Svekon
The project was iterative and creatively driven from start to finish. Svekons industrial designer collaborated closely with industrial designer Maria Lorenz from Marlo Design, generating numerous concept sketches, challenging each other’s ideas, and refining the vision. Prototypes were continuously tested, evaluated and optimized together with the rest of the team. Thanks to these diverse perspectives, we quickly arrived at a strong solution that covered every key aspect: mechanics, construction, manufacturability, smart features and efficient production.
An Intuitive and Robust Construction
The entire idea behind Water Grip is simple installation. The device snaps onto the outside of a pipe, even in difficult-to-reach areas such as under a kitchen sink or up in a ceiling. Anyone should be able to take it out of the box and immediately understand how it works. This made usability and durability guiding principles throughout the development.
Challenging Mechanics
One of the key engineering challenges was creating the advanced mechanical solution required to achieve the desired functionality while still delivering a clean, user-friendly design. The product also needed to be suitable for high-volume production, which meant developing efficient production tools – a highly creative and innovative process in itself.
Award-Winning Design
Water Grip stands out through its sophisticated design and intelligent sensing technology, helping prevent water damage and unnecessary resource waste. For its design, the product was awarded the Red Dot Design Award. From day one, the team set out to create an award-winning product, and they achieved exactly that.
“From day one, we said this product should win a Red Dot. So it feels especially rewarding to sit here today as a winner of that award.”
Peter Eriksson – CTO, Quandify
