Summary
DENCA supports international manufacturer WD-40 Company ensuring new machinery destined for a European production plant
complies with the latest ATEX standards.
Challenge
As a worldwide brand and household name, global lubricants manufacturer WD-40 Company is a responsible organisation committed to its obligations. Consequently, the company must conform to the appropriate manufacturing standards across all the territories where they operate. As part of a major innovation project in Europe, and in collaboration with high-volume automated machine assembly specialists Haumiller Engineering, the WD-40 Company team needed to ensure that the proposed production machinery was fully ATEX-compliant for their European manufacturing sites.
With a glowing recommendation from another DENCA customer, WD-40 Company called us to see how we might assist. For this project, timing was a key factor. It was essential that they could achieve full compliance with ATEX standards. However, there had to be no delay in delivering the machinery to the production site.
Approach
The WD-40 Company team were particularly impressed with our flexibility in accommodating a project across different time zones and the overall timescales we proposed whilst ensuring that there was no delay in the project. The risk of hold-ups was a particular issue that must be avoided.
Following initial discussions online, DENCA submitted our preliminary report and proposals. Our project team then travelled to Chicago, IL where the new machine was being manufactured. Following a very warm welcome, we set to work in our consultancy role. We advised on the best approach and procedures to ensure the machine specification and associated documentation met all appropriate ATEX requirements.
Our recommendations, subsequent report and process documentation were fully accepted by WD-40 Company and are now being followed to implement the ATEX standards on their machines.
Once the work in Chicago is complete we are looking to expand the project. The aim is to implement the compliant process equipment in Poland, Italy and the UK.
As always, we took a down-to-earth and pragmatic approach. We help our customers meet their goals in a practical, real-world way.
The DENCA Perspective
Dealing with international customers can present challenges when effective communication across different time zones has the potential to become an issue, particularly when it is important to drive a project forward without any unnecessary delay.
The WD-40 Company team was finding it difficult to source assistance from suitably qualified and experienced ATEX specialists (inevitably based in Europe) who could operate across the 5-hour time difference which would impose significant constraints if teams were working only within their own local working hours. The DENCA project team was happy to accommodate their geographical concerns. Our technicians were quite willing to be flexible; where necessary, liaising outside normal working hours until we arrived on-site in Chicago.
Undoubtedly, once we arrived in the US, it was much more convenient and the project progressed smoothly and on schedule.
This has been a satisfactory and highly successful project to date. As a bonus, our two engineers who went stateside thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality that WD-40 Company and Chicago had to offer.
We are thoroughly enjoying our experience working with the good folks at WD-40 Company. It is satisfying to support them through their transition to ATEX compliance. We look forward to growing our working relationship as the project continues.
If you wish to discuss how DENCA Controls can help find an ATEX solution for your project, please contact us.