Ladder Category
Winner

Jonathan Prins of Auckland.

Jonathan Prins

Jonathan Prins is first year engineering student at the University of Auckland.

He said “It has been my dream job, for as long as I can remember, to ‘invent’ stuff. As a result, I am now an Auckland University student in my first year of engineering. I entered the Idea Nation competition after receiving an email at university, outlining the competition, and providing a link to the Idea Nation site. Being an engineering student I couldn't resist entering, so I submitted a few ideas that I had shortly after.’

“A while after I had received the email, my Nanna had an accident on a ladder, smashing her kneecap. I took that as a sign that I needed to come up with an idea to help prevent falls from ladders, and began to think about different ideas. After a few days, I submitted my idea for a ladder base with an alarm, to warn the user when their ladder is starting to become unstable.’

The idea:
The Ladder Base Alarm combines a levelling base for a ladder with a tilt-alarm which warns the user if there is a danger of over-balancing.

The judges said “There were lots of ladder-related ideas submitted that had a levelling device or a tilt-alarm. This idea was the only one that combined the best features of both types of solutions, which makes it more effective and easier to use. Falls from ladders can be extremely serious and a product like this could have a significant impact.’

Highly commended – Chris Friedeman of Havelock North

The judges said “Mr Friedman submitted several very interesting ladder designs, many with merit. He clearly put a lot of effort into his designs which is to be commended.”

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