In 1999 OTW Safety designed a low profile barricade fabricated from rotationally molded plastic and ballasted with water once positioned on the runway or taxiway. This product was designed to be collapsible if impacted by an aircraft, but when full of water, heavy enough to not be displaced by jet blast or prop wash.

As the roll out of this new patented technology occurred, our customers asked to have a recess designed into the barricade so that a flashing warning light could be attached.

In late 2003 we were asked to make the barricade even lower. At this point we incorporated a 3 degree angled slope on the vertical face with three threaded inserts to bolt on reflective sheeting which had been applied to corrugated plastic. The angle of the face allowed the prismatic sheeting to reflect light from the aircraft at an angle so it could be viewed by the pilot of the aircraft. We also incorporated a hole and recess for a flag and an ear bracket to attach a light that was lower than the standard roadway construction lighting. This allowed the barricade to be much lower than the original 24 inch high version. We also added a positive u connection device so that a line of barricades could be physically bolted together in order to withstand heavy jet blast.

Eventually we were able to find sheeting that had an adhesive that would adhere the sheeting directly to the side of the barricade so that we could reduce the FOD associated with the bolts.

In 2003 the Port of Oakland specified our product and used it as part of their sustainability program.  The Airport Airside Operations Department and the Port Engineering Division implemented this project requiring the contractor to provide temporary barricades with flashing lights to delineate the temporary taxiway for the safety of the aircraft through the construction area. Airside Operations saw the opportunity to utilize reusable polyethylene plastic barricades with solar power flashlights that would eliminate the need for disposal of the
barricades at the end of the project and replacing batteries on a monthly basis. Airport Construction implemented the purchase of 125 of the reusable barricades with solar powered flashing lights. At the completion of this project, the 125 barricades with solar power flashlights were retained for use on other construction projects. The solar lights enable the Port to avoid using 1,330 batteries during project construction.

As the product roll out continued, although the product was patented, we began to see imitations in the market and began to feel competitive pressure. In addition, our rotational molding process was so slow our lead times began to get to be several weeks out for delivery. Our sales volume was nearly high enough to justify a change of the manufacturing process from rotational molding to blow molding, and blow molding we hoped would end our delivery problems. Once again, to facilitate this change of production, we would have to redesign the product. We decided to commit to the funding and design changes that would be required. We were able to keep all of the standard design features we had developed, the flag mounting recess, the reflective sheeting on the sloped panel, but we had to come up with a new interconnection method and a method to attach a light. We came up with a multi-angle connection held together with an eye bolt and molded in nut to connect the barricades in work zones subject to jet blast, but the new molding process made the bracket to attach the light impossible to mold in. We eventually came up with a post mold metal bracket that we riveted to the top of the barricade to hold the light.

This product rolled out in December of 2004, and we immediately had problems. The metal bracket did not travel well, with the top row of barricades loosing or bending their brackets on the roof of the trailer during transport.

Now we had a major problem. We had discontinued our old rotomolded version, opting for our new design that was being manufactured utilizing a far superior process, had spent a large amount of cash for the molding equipment to do this, and now realized we had a major league design flaw. In hindsight, this spurred us to create perhaps our best invention to date, but at the time it seemed a disaster. We had started producing our own lights in 2002 or 2003, and we realized our only option to save this mold and design was to design the light to screw into the fill hole of the barricade. This not only solved our problem, but it reduced the amount of FOD we were introducing into the runway taxiway environment. It also was a great invention. The first warning light design to screw directly into the barricade without the need for tools, nuts, bolts, etc.

Finally, in May 2009, our first blow mold was damaged at the production facility and a new mold was required. We decided on one more refinement, to change the eye bolt and molded in nut connection for a completely molded FOD free design. The pin is now plastic and is molded in the cavity of the barricade. As soon as the operator removes the barricade from the mold, the pin is pushed through the molded in through hole. As the barricade cools, the plastic shrinks, and the pin cannot be separated from the barricade. We created a key way in the female side so that the pin can be passes through the keyway and locked. In this manner the barricades can be interconnected and locked to prevent displacement by jet blast or prop wash and can be connected in many configurations.

And we are still not done with improvements. In May 2011 we introduced a flag made especially for this product and for the runway environment. We found that off the shelf flags with wooden dowels were creating FOD. Jet blast will break the dowel, and the flag becomes free of the barricade. Even when the dowel could withstand the jet blast without breaking, the material would wear out in a few weeks and the entire flag would have to be replaced. We have designed a steel dowel with a push pin that will not allow the flag to be separated from the barricade. In addition, we have made the flag material replaceable, so that the steel dowel can be reused.

So in May of 2014 we began wind load testing at a facility that recently opened in Utah. Initially we tested the barricade, which withstood loads of more than 70 mph.  We plan to test the flags soon.

The creative design process over the last 12 years that brought this product to its leadership position in the market today was one of identifying a niche market based on the request of a customer, and then improving that product at significant cost, in order to maintain the leadership position. These improvements resulted in a change of safety practice in the airfield work zone, to the benefit of all involved, the contractor, the airport owner, and the passengers in the aircraft. In finality, this product seems to be the end of the design. We have met all of the needs and requirements of our customer. Now we must learn how to maintain the quality and integrity of the product while lowering the unit cost in order to compete with all of the competitors chasing us.