The Challenge:

For the electrical wiring of various motors, pumps and other equipment on their offshore oil drilling platforms, an oil and gas exploration & production company was using enclosures and terminal blocks. But they were experiencing numerous problems with the traditional hardwiring of equipment including:

• Miswiring of terminal strips which were hard to label
• Condensation build-up as a result of extreme conditions including sea water, rain and wind.
• Corrosion on the terminal strips causing electrical problems.
• Electrical shorting from terminal to terminal when condensation or water droplets get into the enclosure because sealing glands are not installed correctly.

These problems increased downtime for troubleshooting, repair of corroded terminal strips, replacing gaskets on enclosures, and rewiring equipment.

The Remke Flexible Solution:

To meet the unique set of physical and environmental conditions to be overcome, the Remke Flexible Solutions Team determined that Modification Level 3 – A Customized Product Solution was needed.

The Remke Flexible Solutions team:

• Redesigned the internal footprint of an 8-outlet Mini-Port Distribution Box to accommodate various pre-wired circuits
• Changed the material of construction to a polyester resin for enhanced corrosion-resistance and durability.
• Redesigned the distribution box to include stainless steel legend plates for easier circuit identification
• Completely sealed the distribution box internally to eliminate air gaps and moisture/water ingress.

The Result:

The Remke Flexible Solution allowed the customer to quickly replace modules as needed instead of spending hours with rewiring & repair. Downtime was virtually eliminated as were the dollars associated with troubleshooting and repair. Other benefits of the Remke solution included foolproof circuit identification, an enclosure that was completely sealed against corrosives and moisture, and a smaller footprint. Although reducing size wasn’t required, the customer was pleased to have a smaller distribution box as available space is at a premium on any offshore oil platform.