How To Define Your Market So You Can Become Profitable

What Kind of Step Stool do Mechanics Want to Work on Trucks

Hi, I'm David DuPont inventor of the Shure-Step® Safety Step Stools and most people don't know this about me but I'm a mechanic by trade. You see back in 1992 I was tuning up a 4 wheel drive truck and everything was going fine removing the 8 spark plugs until I got to the last one. It was way in the back on the passenger side and that spark plug didn't want to break loose. I was standing on a plastic milk crate to reach the spark plugs and it didn't really seem to matter since the spark plugs had all come out pretty easy up till that point. This last spark plug was giving me a hard time so I grabbed my extra long 3/8 drive extension and started to brute force the spark plug out. Do you know what happens when you apply enough force twisting a long 3/8 drive extension?

It torques, meaning the extension absorbs a lot of the applied force. So what do I do? Apply more force until the spark plug breaks loose!! When that spark plug broke loose, so did the plastic milk crate. All the torque in the 3/8 extension exploded when the spark plug came loose, it sent me shooting to the ground.

I was lucky, I only had cuts & bruises. I have since read stories about other mechanics that had been standing on a milk crate and fell. But they broke a leg or had to have knee surgery. I didn't think I was lucky, I was pissed and hurt.

There had to be a better way! So I set out to find a safe step stool for a mechanic. I thought I had found one on a tool truck so I bought it. I was using it in the shop one day shortly after purchasing it and had set it next to a vehicle that I was working on. The vehicle was on the lift and when I was lowering the vehicle the lift caught the corner of the step stool and crushed it. The step stool was ruined.

I really didn't care for that step stool because it would slide out from under me (the step didn't have any rubber pads on the bottom) when I was working in the engine compartment and leaning on the fender of a truck. So I decided right then and there that I would design a step stool for mechanics that was durable and that would not slip or tip over. I also realized that mechanics and trucks come in all different sizes and shapes so I would have to design this mechanics step stool to be adjustable in height too. I sat down with my engineer and after several designs we came up with what I thought was the safest adjustable step stool for mechanics. It is the original "L" Shure-Step®. You buy 2 of these steps (One set) to place around the complete engine compartment of a truck or you could stack the 2 Shure-Step®s one on top of another to grow the height of the step from 10 inches to 16 inches.

Today the "L" Shure-Step® is used in every Ford Training center in North America. But It didn't take long to realize that this Shure-Step® model was too big for some repair shops so we designed 2 other smaller Shure-Step® models for mechanics. The Shure-Step II which measures 2 feet long and the Shure-Step III which measures 3 feet long on the top surface. Now both of these Shure-Step® models are stackable jus t like the original "L". What keeps these mechanic's step stools from sliding and tipping over like the milk crate? On the bottom of the Shure-Step® we installed 6 large rubber pads to keep it from sliding. The Shure-Step® design is a pyramid shape, the bottom is bigger than the top so the mechanic's body weight is centered over the middle of the step, not over the edge of the step like a square milk crate.

All Shure-Step® products are rated for 500 pounds. In lab tests these steps were subjected to an applied load using a 4 x 4 block of wood placed on top of the Shure-Step in various positions. The block of wood had up to 2750 pounds of weight applied to it. At 2750 pounds of load the block of wood was pushed into the Shure-Step®, but the step never broke! After releasing the load and letting the Shure-Step set overnight, it almost completely returned to its original shape. It had a slight indentation where the block was, but it was still functional as a step stool. Show me another mechanic's step stool that can take this kind of abuse, you can't.

When you have a Shure-Step® working for you in your shop you know you have the safest most durable mechanic's step stool money can buy! It comes with a lifetime warranty so you know you've got a quality product and it's made in the USA.

What Makes a Step Stool Safe for a Senior Citizen to Use

Hi, let me introduce myself, I'm David DuPont inventor of the Shure-Step® and designer of the Senior Step, the safest step stool for mobilizing seniors in the USA. I'm also the #1 Best Selling Author of "Seniorology: The ultimate guide to keep seniors safe from slips, trips & falls".

Years ago I had the opportunity to interview 4 executive directors and one physical therapist of assisted senior living facilities about what they wanted in a step stool to assist their residents when stepping onto or off of their transportation bus. You see the first step up onto their buses is about a 12-14" step up from the ground and quite a few of their residents were having a hard time getting on & off their buses because of this challenge.

The first feature the directors wanted was a safe & sturdy step stool that could cut the distance in half stepping up to or out of their bus. The directors had all bought one of those cheap flimsy step stools from a big box store and seen that their residents were very uncomfortable using it. The residents didn't like those steps stools because the step flexed and felt like it wouldn't hold their weight very well, they could feel the step bending when they stood on it.

So the directors all agreed that having a step stool that is rated for 500 pounds was a must! Some of the residents were 300+ pounds and the cheap flimsy steps stools were giving way under the 300 pound load.

The directors also wanted a step stool that did not have legs because they had seen residents get their foot caught under a step stool with legs. The resident would be stepping up to get on the bus thinking that their foot was on top of the step (when in reality it was under the step) and set their weight down, only to fall down. The directors had seen that a perimeter wall allows the senior to move their shoe towards the step until the toe of the shoe made contact with the side of the step stool. Then the senior would know to raise their foot up until they felt their foot get to the top of the step and then set their weight down on top of the step. The resident was much more confident when they used a step stool with a perimeter wall instead of legs.

Speaking of not being able to see the step stool, the directors wanted a step stool that was made in bight contrasting colors so the seniors would be able to see the edges of the step better. This way they could place their foot closer to the center instead of on the edge where they would be more likely to fall.

The step stool they wanted for their residents also needed some texture on top to keep the senior's feet from slipping on the top and they wanted to make sure the step stool itself wouldn't slip or slide when someone was stepping on it.

We listened!

The Senior Step Stool is 6 inches tall to cut the distance in half when stepping up to a mini-bus. This step stool also works great for physical therapy after knee or hip replacement. The physical therapy director at the retirement communities said that the first exercise after one of these surgeries is to stair step up & down 6 inches.

The Senior Step Stool is load rated for 500 pounds, even though it can hold a lot more. It also has a perimeter wall instead of legs so your senior cannot get their foot caught under it. The Senior Step Stool is yellow with a black sandpaper pad on top. The sandpaper pad keeps your senior's feet from shifting or slipping. The black color of the sandpaper pad contrasts with the yellow of the plastic step stool to make it easy to see.

The Senior Step Stool also has 6 large rubber pads on the bottom of the step that keep the step from moving, even if it is set on a wet, slick concrete floor. So now your senior can safely and easily step up into buses, trucks, airplanes, trains & SUV's.

The Senior Step Stool only weighs 10 pounds, so it 's light enough to be easily portable. It measures 24'"W x 13.5"D x 6"H so it's big enough for your senior to turn around on if they are trying to get into a truck or SUV.

If you're looking for the perfect step stool for your senior I hope you'll agree that the Senior Step Stool is about as good as they get!

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps

Friend on a Wheelchair...a Letter from a Customer

Dear David,

On Monday this week, I signed a friend of mine out from her SNF for some shipping, site-seeing and a nice lunch. During the day, we transferred both my friend and her wheelchair in and out of my minivan several times. Each time we were getting her back in, she politely requested my help to boost her up high enough to be able to get into my van.

After I had gotten home and was thinking about the lovely day we'd spent together, I started thinking about how nice it would have been to have had a very secure and sturdy safety step for her to stand on for that little extra measure of independence and dignity.

So, I opened a Google page and typed, "Senior Safety Step" and it took me straight to you.
I examined all your models and studied all your descriptions and chose your basic, standard, full-width, Bright Yellow Senior Step. I am thrilled to have found exactly what I envisioned!

I LOVE that it's Bright Yellow to allow her to easily see it herself and muster her own confidence to trust it to step right up! This is so awesome! So empowering for the aging! Well done! I can hardly wait to see it in person! To see for myself that is actually is all that I believe it is from the online photos and descriptions.

I will go again on Sunday to pick up my friend to take her to church; how nice it will be if UPS delivers my beautiful, new step on Saturday! Thank you so much for shipping it right away!
I appreciate that very much!

I appreciate you designing and producing such a useful tool. Thank you. How wonderful to be able to offer seniors that little extra boost of independence, confidence, security, dignity and accomplishment! I can't thank you enough! I am sure she will enjoy using it!

I loved your motto online that you are not selling steps, per se; rather you are improving our real-life situations by making your steps available for service. How true!

Thank you again.

Have a great day.

Sincerely,

Ellen Hanson

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps