Located in the heart of the maritime metropolis of LE HAVRE, the Lubrizol Group is a leading global special chemicals company. At their Seveso 2 site, where the majority of areas are classified Atex, the company ensures electrical safety with Marechal® solutions on this the most important site in France, and also at other facilities in Rouen and Mourenx.
Safe and Secure: Easily Identified Electrical Isolation
Excluding external service providers, over 300 people work at this site in Le Havre which specialises in additives for lubricating engines, gearboxes and other industrial purposes. The site covers 40 hectares, there are substantial facilities to manage the entire production processes which require regular checks. There are about 650 electric motors. up to 90 KW in size in this Zone 2 rated site. The pump motors, agitators, mixers and compressors are powered via MARECHAL® DECONTACTOR™ plugs and socket-outlets, which feature an integrated isolator switch.
Jean-Bernard Brouilliez, the Maintenance Manager of Lubrizol in Le Havre and Mr. Christophe Anquetil (Ameliorative Maintenance) are responsible for the electrical installations of the site. They were facing the problem of visibly identifying which systems were potentially still live, as control cabinets were often more than 10 metres away from the machines. This meant easy identification of machine lock out was very difficult. The choice of MARECHAL® DECONTACTOR™ DXN 20A to 63A Atex connectors with the padlocking isolation option ensures safe disconnection close to the point of maintenance. Technicians working on motors can easy see that it is safe to work on equipment without the risk of an electrical hazard.
Allowing Maintenance Engineers Autonomy
Preventative maintenance is at the heart of production on this site. Equipment and machines are checked against a strict schedule by a Mechanical Engineer: visual inspections, lubrication, change of belts for example. Lock off of electrical systems is carried out by the on-site Electrical Engineer, once this is done, the Mechanical Engineer can make the necessary inspections in complete safety. However, with the transition to MARECHAL® DECONTACTOR™ DXN compact industrial plugs and sockets, it has allowed full autonomy for the Mechanical Engineers. Installed close to the machines the DXN has allowed the Mechanical Engineers to safely disconnect and lock off the power to electrical equipment themselves. This saves time and site inspections can be carried out by one Engineer.
Safe and Explosion Proof Electrical Connections
After listening to Jean-Bernard Brouilliez’s site requirements, Marechal Electric proposed the customisation and development of an electrical system that closely followed the site standards of Lubrizol. MARECHAL® provided a pre-wired compact wall box and socket combination especially for Lubrizol. The main benefit for the installer is an easy installation with all internal connections between the terminal block and the socket outlet prewired.
Cable glands were specified to cover all the cable sizes to be used with the DECONTACTOR™ DXN series.
This custom design for Lubrizol has ensured that their parts inventory is kept to a minimum, saving installation time and reducing costs in repair and maintenance.
DECONTACTOR™ = Plug + Socket-Outlet + Switch
With the DECONTACTOR™ – a proprietary MARECHAL® technology – you can quickly, easily, and above all safely connect and disconnect equipment from a live power supply up to 250 A and 75 kW, with no need for pilot wiring and contactor. This proprietary technology also makes equipment maintenance fast and safe. With our exceptionally robust system, you can be sure that your industrial electrical connections deliver long-lasting performance and comply with the latest regulations (like IEC EN 60947-3 for switches, IEC EN 60309-1 and the EU Low Voltage Directive.
The DECONTACTOR™ sockets are also available in Ex version.
