The subsea engineering firm came to Exporta with a problem. It had an array of different pallet boxes that their engineers would use to take parts on-site to a job. The problem was, there was no consistency or style of box in place. It was a collection of different styles and different lids. This meant regular confusion and wasted time for the engineers working on site. The boxes weren’t identifiable as Oceaneering property and regularly went missing, putting the crucial parts inside at risk. The lack of identification also caused confusion when trying to have the correct box of parts delivered, resulting in wasted time. It also meant Oceaneering boxes could be confused with other boxes belonging to other firms at the dockyard. Another concern was security, there was nothing in place to secure the lids to the pallet boxes and lock them in place.
The challenge Exporta faced was to create a bespoke solution to Oceaneering’s issue. When nothing in stock was found to be suitable, it became clear something would need to be manufactured. This was a bespoke design project. The first step was to virtually meet with the team of Oceaneering engineers directly affected by the pallet box confusion to work out exactly what was going wrong.
There were a few options to consider initially. These included rigid pallet boxes with castors and collapsible pallet boxes. It was ultimately decided that castors would not be suitable for the rough dockyard terrain. Collapsible box wouldn’t be necessary suitable due to the nature of the contents. It was clear that the best option was a modified rigid pallet box. The key modifications required were an attached lid, that could easily be locked, and Oceaneering branding to ensure they were recognisable as their property.
Exporta worked on a prototype in-house. The intricate lid system had to be designed to work with the pallet box design. Once completed, the engineering team at Oceaneering tested the prototype to ensure it worked as required in their operation. The pallet box was approved for production, with the order being placed in December 2020. The modified rigid pallet boxes were branded with Oceaneering’s logo and delivered after just four weeks.
Now, the uniform boxes, complete with Oceaneering branding, means there are no longer issues with missing pallet boxes. The boxes are easily identifiable at the dockyard as Oceaneering property. This has saved on cost and time, as engineers can easily identify the correct pallet box to take on a job. The lockable lids provide added security and protects the valuable contents. The engineers have keys to the pallet boxes and simply take the corresponding key and pallet box on-site when required. As well as the identification benefits, the boxes also provide some added brand exposure for Oceaneering with their logo clearly displayed.