How Carrier invented Air Conditioning through an Innovation Challenge If you do some quick research about Carrier, you will quickly learn about a fascinating story. Everything started in 1902 when Walter Timmis, a consulting engineer tried to solve a challenge at Sackett & Wilhelms multicolor printing plant. The problem was that the ink misaligned with the expansion and contraction of the paper stock due to humidity which created a serious quality issue, waste, and productivity loss within the company. Timmis visited J. Irvine Lyle, Head of Buffalo Forge’s sales in New York. Lyle knew engineers had been able to heat up, cool down and humidify the air and recommended to meet a recent Cornell University graduate engineer, who had already impressed many people at Buffalo Forge. Carrier started to experiment with cold water flowing through heating coils and airflow to cool the air down to the desired dew point temperature. As a result, the first set of coils was installed at the plant along with fans, ducts, heaters, perforated steam pipes for humidification, and temperature controls. The compressor was introduced later in 1903 to meet the demands of the first full summer of operation. This system of chilled coils was designed to maintain a constant humidity of 55 percent year-round and have the equivalent cooling effect of melting close to 50 Tons of ice per day. And thus, modern air conditioning was born.
Source: https://www.ennomotive.com/business-innovation-success-stories/
Customers needs are changing and entrepreneurs invent and develop according to these trends. In more recent terms, creativity is defined within three core fields of application:
Based on the case study, critically discuss how Carrier invented Air Conditioning through an Innovation Challenge by associating creativity to the following elements:
• Creativity creates newness (new ideas, new problem-solving techniques and, in the end, new products)