TRIZ - Intermediary
An Intermediary is a temporary or nonessential, component of a product or system which can be easily removed. The intermediary lens can be applied in one of two ways:
1. Use an intermediary carrier article or intermediary process.
a. i.e. Carpenter's nail set, used between the hammer and the nail
2. Merge on object temporarily with another (which can be easily removed)
a. i.e. Use a pot holder to carry hot dishes to the table
A consultant is an intermediary in a business environment. The consultant comes in to the company to evaluate a certain aspect of the business or solve a problem and then leaves.
Chemical processes often use this principle. In some chemical reactions, a specific, otherwise unnecessary substance is included as an intermediary. The new chemical, Chemical C's, sole purpose is to make the main chemicals, A and B, react faster or move the process along further.
In the old days, bootleggers used salt as an intermediary to hide their goods. When the bootleggers got a tip that authorities would be coming on board the ship to look for loot, the smugglers would put salt rocks on top of the 55-gallon drums of alcohol. They'd throw the drums overboard, and the salt rocks would cause the containers to sink.
When the authorities searched the ship, the contraband was gone. After a while, the salt would dissolve and the drums would rise back to the surface. The salt rocks served as an intermediary in the bootlegging process; a temporary step to improve the end result.
Intermediaries are even making their way into the legal system. Mediators are quite popular these days in divorce court. Rather than fighting out battles in the courtroom with expensive lawyers and legal fees, couples hire a mediator to help resolve the issues before the parties actually go before a judge. Mediation is big business in today's divorce-happy society.
Give 'Em a Piece of the Action
Sometimes an intermediary is necessary to make a project happen. When I worked for Parker Hannifin, we built flight hydraulic actuators for almost all of the commercial aircraft in the world. Boeing actually builds the airplanes, and Parker Hannifin was sub-contracted to Boeing to build the actuators. Unfortunately, Japanese Airlines would not give Boeing the contract to build airplanes for them unless at least one company in Japan got a piece of the action.
So, we came up with an insane plan to get around this requirement. We still built the hydraulic actuators at Parker-Hannifin, but we shipped the actuators, with a part tag, to a Japanese company. When the product arrived in Japan, all the company had to do was glue the tag onto the actuator - using a glue kit that we supplied to them. The company marked the product up a percentage to make a profit and then sent the actuator back to Boeing.
We did all the work, and then let the Japanese company do 30 seconds of labor to glue the tag on. This extra, although seemingly unnecessary, intermediary step allowed us to say that a Japanese company was included in the process. As a result, the Japanese airlines then agreed to a purchase contract with Boeing.
Boeing was happy to pay the extra shipping costs and the markup; after all, the extra money was a drop in the bucket in comparison to the profit from the contract.
Funny what you'll do to get the job done isn't it?
Can you improve your product or business by adding in an intermediary?
Insurance Software offers risk mapping and exposure management. - ThomasNet Industrial News Room (press release)
iPhone Controlled R/C Car Say What??? - the iPhone Blog
the iPhone Blog iPhone Controlled R C Car Say What??? the iPhone Blog, FL - ... for the full how to guide, which can be found here (Note, you will need to have a PC around to act as an intermediary between the iPhone and the RC car).