What You Can Expect from Howard Interactive

Howard’s team of dedicated engineers can take your kiosk ideas and put them on paper. From conceptual drawings to industrial and mechanical design, we can give you the look and features you want, down to the smallest detail. Adhering to the highest standards in the industry, your kiosk is manufactured and tested at our facility in Ellisville, MS, USA. 50-plus years of manufacturing experience enable us to supply your business with a high-quality, turn-key kiosk solution. Additionally, Howard has its own transportation subsidiary, so getting your shipment of kiosks from point A to point B is not a problem. Each kiosk is packaged and secured for easy unloading and moving once it gets to your location.

1. Discovery Phase

During the sales process, the sales rep determines what the customer’s needs are. These needs include:

What application will the kiosk be used for (wayfinding, bill pay, registration)?
What components and physical features are needed (barcode scanner, camera, receipt printer, credit card reader, etc.)?
Are there any hardware requirements specific to the software provider they use?
- How much processor power are you going to need to play video, load graphic files, and run the software?
- What components can be run on USB power?
- What components needs AC power?
- If solution uses power from the PC power Supply, will it slow down your PC with loss of power?
How will the customer provide software to meet the requirements of the kiosk solution?
- How can Howard help meet this need?
- Can a Howard software partner be introduced to the customer to meet the requirements?
- How can Howard meet the integration requirements of the software in the solution.
  - Deal with imaging PCs.
  - Testing the software with the components during the integration process.
  - Burn-in Testing and Shipping
Where will the kiosk be located (inside or outside)?
- Outside can mean you need IP65 for dealing with water?
- How bright will you need to have the NITs of the display so it can be seen in sunlight?
- How do you deal with the direct solar loading (black screen) on the display?
- How do you deal with the heat of the sun making the touch screen dangerous to touch?
- Will you need HVAC or a heater?
- How do you deal with moisture in the kiosk?
- How do you seal or flow air through the kiosk and not make it susceptible to water?
What styles are they interested in (stand-alone, countertop, wall mounted, etc.)?
What do you have to deal with in regards to ADA compliance and making your kiosk fully Accessible?
Are there any size/footprint requirements?

2. Design

We will try to help you find a standard enclosure that can meet your needs or can be customized to meet your needs without starting from scratch, which is the most expensive way to achieve a design or get to a unit that can be used as a proof of concept design.
Our engineering team will provide a conceptual kiosk design based on your needs.
The conceptual design and estimated cost will be reviewed with the customer.
Customer will be included in the design process to keep the conceptual and drawings on point.
Site surveys are required before we build the kiosk. From there, engineering designs the kiosk based on what this site survey lists.

3. Order Placed

All information will be reviewed by engineering for accuracy.
A final design drawing will be created for customer review and approval.
Mock-ups with the customer’s chosen colors and logos will be created for customer review and approval.
- *Note- this must be approved and returned no more than 2 weeks after approved design drawing has been returned.
Lead-time begins when the customer returns the approved design drawings.
- (Lead-time for standard designs is 10 weeks.)
- (Lead-time for custom designs will be 10+ weeks, and will be based on the complexity of the customization required. )

4. Manufacturing and Integration

Manufacturing of the enclosure.
Kitting of all components for integration and tracking
Integration of the electronics into the enclosure.
Solution testing of each unit and burn-in testing.

5. Logistics and Installation

At approximately the 8th week, a Kiosk Hardware Product Specialist will work with the customer to schedule installation.
Logistics
- Shipping
- Contractor Prep
  - Bolting in concrete
  - Wall build outs
Government licensing and Zoning
Installation
- Power and connectivity are verified
- Accessibility and conditions are inspected
- Security access is specified