Bespoke PDUs for Superstore

06-07-2020

Company: Frederick Thomas Electrical and Maintenance Ltd | Location: UK | Sector: Retail

When a major DIY superstore chain required a range review for its lighting section they sought a bespoke unit to provide the power distribution. A previous design had proved troublesome to source and as delivery certainty was critical in any new roll-out a more reliable supplier was demanded. The the main contractor, Frederick Thomas Electrical and Maintenance Ltd having known Proteus Industrial Switchgear as part of the Installation Materials Division for many mains low voltage installations made contact to see if a solution could be found.

The Installation Materials Division also includes the manufacturing operations of Centaur, M2, RPP and Tamlex and it was to RPP the wiring accessory specialists that the enquiry was submitted. Working only initially from an image of the previously supplied product a new drawing was required from RPP. With its own design and development department with the latest CAD software, dimensional engineering drawings were quickly created with a fully rendered 3D image of the proposed product for the end client to approve. Having identified some cost savings and following some amendments, a finished design was agreed upon with the main contractors and the client and working samples were ordered and submitted for approval.

The Proteus Industrial Switchgear operation who had recently installed the latest laser cut technology to improve efficiency and provide a greater accuracy in the shaping of all its enclosures were asked to provide the steel bodies for the PDUs. The digital files from the design office were downloaded to the laser cutter and the steel bases and covers for this project were rapidly produced. Finally the items were powder coated via the in-house paint plant within Proteus prior to being sent to RPP for final assembly and testing.

Working to ISO9001:2015 Quality Systems detailed assembly instructions were created that included final verification testing and batch coding for traceability purposes.

Grant Charlesworth of FTE & M Ltd said, “We wanted the quality of the product improved from the previous supplier and the delivery schedule was critical. The resources of the Installation Materials Division meant that the job went as well as it could possibly could and met both these requirements”.