Cutting-edge ways of thinking, and the ability to recognise gaps in the market are helping these companies refine processes and offer novel solutions, reports CIARÁN BRENNAN.

CLEARTONE TECHNOLOGIES

A fair hearing

HEARING AID technology has evolved from analogue to digital, but the testing process remains almost entirely based on analogue equipment.

Founded by Martin Ganter, Declan Ganter and Fintan Graham, Cleartone Technologies is aiming to fill that gap in the market.

It has designed and developed a computer-based digital audiometer platform onto which a variety of products and services can be added for people who have some level of hearing loss.

"There is technology out there to do hearing tests, but the technology tends to be very fixed in its abilities and features," says Dr Martin Ganter.

"In other words, it's based on some old tests which are at fixed frequencies and fixed decibel levels to check a person's profile.

"And what you can do with that at the moment is essentially come up with a solution by offering a person a hearing aid."

Cleartone is using digital technology to carry out a similar kind of test, but much more detailed and comprehensive.

The technology developed by Cleartone captures a person's digital hearing print which can be used in the tuning or fitting of a hearing aid.

It can also be used for customising any personal listening devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players or personal stereos.

"Because it is a digital profile you can embed it on the network of a mobile phone," says Ganter.

He compares the digital audio profile to the high pixel resolution of the latest digital cameras.

"We brought it to a much higher resolution and therefore you can do testing at more points on the spectrum in terms of frequency or decibel level - and, ultimately, end up with a much clearer photograph of the hearing print."

Because it is a medical device, the technology has to receive approval from the FDA in the US and receive the CE mark in Europe.

Now, a number of manufacturers of personal listening devices are already said to be very interested.

GAELSTORM

Quantifying learning

LESS THAN 30 per cent of learning from business courses is transferred to on-the-job benefit. However, evidence suggests that learning investment that is transferred delivers a 20-25 per cent return.

So the key thing facing any company is not only transferring knowledge to the workplace, but measuring its effectiveness. Essentially, how does a company know it's getting the benefit of its training programmes?

That's where Galway-based Gaelstorm Software Solutions aims to make an impact. They have developed an automated approach to learning evaluation which enables organisations to systematically plan for, execute and measure the impact of learning investment.

The company has partnered with leading expert in learning evaluation, Dr Jack Phillips, and has been awarded a global copyright to his ROI methodology for evaluating learning and access to a global partner network.

"He produced this methodology and, while it was good and there were a lot of people using it, it was falling down because it wasn't practical. There was too much administration involved," says Gaelstorm chief executive Peter O'Connell.

With its SensiROI product, Gaelstorm has married the methodology to its software, simplifying the process, eliminating administration costs, and taking the focus away from a retrospective approach to evaluation.

"Instead of starting by looking at what training you plan to deliver, it starts by asking what the business needs are and then, from those business needs, asking what behaviours you need to change."

Using an easy to follow step-by-step process with automated checks and balances and actionable indicators, SensiROI allows rigorous planning at each level and dovetails with strategic objectives, says O'Connell.

User definable templates allow a company's evaluation experts to create evaluation plans and roll them out across the business, ensuring accuracy and consistency of approach, he says.

EXPD8

Law in the 21st century

ANYONE WHO needs convincing that the legal profession is heavily paper-based and that legal eagles haven't been tripping over themselves to embrace new technology should look no further than news reports of court cases on television.

Regularly we are treated to pictures of barristers and solicitors wheeling boxes of information into court while clutching bulging folders of legal documents under their arms.

"Yes, lawyers and professional people are drowning and sinking in a sea of paper. Why? Because they are printing the stuff," says Declan Branagan, chief executive of eXpd8.

"If I send an e-mail, the first thing they do is get their secretary to print it."

Through his company eXpd8, Branagan is aiming to bring the legal profession into the 21st century in terms of technology.

It provides business process management software targeting primarily the legal market in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Australia and South Africa.

eXpd8 Ireland started off as Branagan Business Supplies back in 1986, before Branagan recognised a gap in the market for a simple business solution that would create a better business process for legal firms.

In consultation with professionals across the legal industry and with a single developer, eXpd8 client management software was born.

eXpd8 Law, its flagship product, is designed for solicitors by solicitors, says Branagan. It is a software interface that brings all critical information into one central, searchable, easy to use screen. Up-to-the-second client and case information will be at a solicitor or barrister's fingertips, allowing clients to get the information they want, when they want it.

"eXpd8 is a workflow process," says Branagan. "We give lawyers a process without changing a single thing that they do."

Headquartered in Swords in north Co Dublin, eXpd8 now has offices in Australia and South Africa, and plans are under way to begin trading in the US and Canada.

FOOD SURPLUS MANAGEMENT

Second meals

IT WASN'T that long ago that all waste ended up in landfill - thanks to changing legislation, that is changing. But if you have ever wondered where the out-of-date meat products from supermarket shelves end up, look no further than Meath-based company Food Surplus Management.

Established in January 2004, Food Surplus Management is the only company in Ireland with a category three intermediate plant licence, which allows it to recycle both the packaging and contents of short-dated meat products, dairy products, soft drinks and other material which would otherwise go to landfill.

"Because of a European directive regarding the handling of animal by-products, retailers are no longer allowed to dump foodstuffs in general waste; especially meat products," says Niall Lord, managing director of Food Surplus Management.

"We knew this was going to happen so we were ahead of the time, and that's why we got the first licence in Ireland for handling this type of product. Our company is an example of how you can succeed in business if you identify a niche in the market. We recognised a demand and sought to meet it."

On average, up to 20,000 tonnes of waste are processed per year at the plants in Trim and Summerhill in Co Meath.

Processing the waste involves de-packaging the food, freezing it and re-selling the bulk product to manufacturers of animal feed and pet food.

"It's recycling food," explains Lord. "We take in approximately 400 tonnes of food a week and we recover 85-90 per cent of that food for animal feed or pet food."

The company currently employs 40 people, has eight trucks on the road, and provides a nationwide service.

"We cater for about 100 supermarkets at the moment and hope to have that up to around 300 by the end of the year," he says.