Royal Mail

SafeBox - safe, sustainable delivery for biological specimens

Background

Facing increased competition in core markets, Royal Mail commissioned Lucid to spot and develop new opportunities in lucrative specialist services.

 Objectives included:

• New services exclusive to Royal Mail.

• Fit to existing delivery processes.

• Intuitive use.

• Lower carbon footprint vs competitors.

• Compliance with international regulations for transit.

Discovery

One of the options Lucid investigated was the market for delivering millions of potentially infectious diagnostic specimens.

Often cited as a commercial burden, we saw unique opportunity in Royal Mail’s universal service obligation.  Could being everywhere, every day be advantageous?  

Rural vets testing herds of animals and participants in dispersed clinical trials faced challenges ensuring the integrity of biological specimens in transit.  Most samples could not be posted. Courier services meant carbon-intensive pick-ups in bulky, costly packaging.  Handlers were exposed to infection hazards.

One of several options proposed was a rugged, tamper-evident/resistant pack that could simply drop into a normal post-box. 

Was it possible?  Transporting toxins compliant to international standards in such a compact container had never been done.

Collaborating with Royal Mail’s safety, security and logistics experts, potential senders and recipient labs, every interaction a specimen could have with people and resources was mapped.  We understood risks and the opportunities.

Design

Creative use of 3D CAD, structural analysis, mouldflow and extensive prototyping enabled development of Safebox™, an incredibly robust and intuitive pack.

A patented one-way snap-fit system precludes reuse and cross-contamination.  Recipients and postal staff are protected by features which visually indicate breakages pre-opening.  Parts separate for recycling. 

Delivery

Lucid managed tooling setup and pre-production, assisting with IP protection and independent testing to UN pressure, impact and ingress standards.

Results

Usability

Focus on simplicity of interaction with fit to systems paid off—with 20 years of sales and the Starpack Gold Award for Innovation.  

Royal Mail Safebox™ has been licensed to postal authorities in Australia and the Netherlands.

Brand impact

Lucid followed Royal Mail Brand guidance across labeling and instructions for use, reinforcing their commitment to quality and service excellence.

Regulatory and safety

Safebox™ is the only post-box dispatch pack compliant with UN3373 (transit of biological and infectious substances).

Sustainability

Safebox™ turns a receiving lab’s cost of 1000s of items of packaging disposal into revenue stream from plastics recycling — eliminating mileage in courier pick-ups.

Manufacturability

Involving UK based tool and mould manufacturers early, Safebox™ is designed for quality and automated production.