Although Szymanski reviewed several potential solutions, “I really saw the value in the Eaton product because of the modularity of it,” he reveals. “That was one of the biggest selling points for us. It allows us to make changes as we expand in the future, and we liked the way that we could combine stations.”
“We have assurance that we can reconfigure and gain additional stations, just by changing the components,” he adds. “This is critical as we make facility investments for the long-term growth of our operations."
EDF RS opted to deploy nine Profile Command Consoles facing the video wall, and a tenth in the adjoining training room. Then, beginning in July, the company embarked on the arduous task of transitioning its Minnesota facility to the new San Diego OCC, a process that was carried out over a four-month period.
“We built out all nine stations, even though we only needed six initially,” Szymanski says. “That way, we’d have everything in place for future growth.
”Adding to the consoles’ aesthetic appeal was EDF RS’s ability to select from a range of material and color options. “We were able to make it look very professional, yet functional,” Szymanski confirms. “We have a mix of side panels and table top surfaces. I think we ended up with a really sharp color combination.”
Beyond the visual score, the Profile Consoles also address important ergonomic issues. For instance, EDF RS opted to install electronic lifts for the back row of consoles to ease use for employees. Profile’s manual height-adjustable keyboard platforms and sit-to-stand height-adjustable workstations are available in multiple configurations, and single and dual lift platforms allow users to adjust their working postures to comply with the most current ergonomic recommendations.
“Our people love it and we show that off all the time,” Szymanski confirms.
In addition, EDF RS employees appreciate the consoles’ cable routing and power management options, as well as convenient rotary book shelves installed underneath the work surfaces.
Management and command center operators aren’t the only ones impressed by Eaton’s Profile Consoles. “Another advantage was our IT personnel loved the systems integration capabilities,” Szymanski says. “They could put client PCs right into the consoles, and it provided a very clean, functional installation.”
The solution also enabled the company to overcome a challenge it experienced within the Minnesota OCC, where monitors were stacked in a way that was not visually appealing. “The facility had some monitors stacked 3 x 4, and it just didn’t really look very good,” Szymanski recalls. “With this system, we could neatly integrate the monitors, giving it a very professional, clean look.”
Noting that EDF RS frequently hosts both existing clients and prospective customers for facility visits, Szymanski says he gets a kick out of unveiling the new OCC.
“We have a privacy screen in a separate conference room and when we lift it, we immediately get a lot of ‘Wow’s,’” he says. “The room shows itself really well. The layout of the workstations adds a lot to the look."
In addition to the numerous benefits afforded by the Profile system, Szymanski is quick to praise the Eaton sales team.
“They are a very responsive product group,” he reports. “They were very receptive and helpful, which factored into my decision. I felt I could work with the organization because they understood my needs as a customer very well."
EDF RS also turned to Eaton to help address other aspects of its project, including the installation of an airflow management solution. In a separate IT server room, the company deployed vertical containment walls, end-of-row doors and vertical blanking panels. Three Eaton transformers were also deployed.