Overview

The team at Ecolab designed a chemical dilution dispenser for more accurate and lower cost hospital room cleaning than alternative options.

The Challenge

The new dispenser needed to output a use-solution at an adjustable and precise concentration. Too much chemistry could irritate patients while too little wouldn’t effectively clean rooms. The dispenser needed to be lower cost than the alternatives, easy to use and calibrate, and developed within an aggressive time line.

The Solution

Cost targets drove the development team to use old technology in new ways. A functional prototype was developed within a week and a unit for field test within three months. Units were installed in the field and monitored. The feedback gathered allowed us to design a more user friendly and aesthetically pleasing unit. The dispenser was completed within the cost targets and met all chemistry concentration requirements.

My Contributions

• Developed and prototyped initial system
• Designed parts for injection molding, sheet metal fabrication, and thermoforming.
• Performed finite element analyses (FEA)
• Formed technical development timeline
• Conducted failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA)
• Installed units in the field
• Filed for patent
• Planned experiments and participated in reliability testing

Links

• Encompass Dilution Management System
• Encompass dispensing accuracy and quat absorption
• Buy one