Eco-design measurements and calculations
Daikin is a world leader in designing and manufacturing air conditioners, heat pumps and chillers. They can boast a large portfolio of residential, commercial and industrial applications. With almost 70.000 employees and activities in 145 countries this is a true Multinational.
Since 1973, Daikin has its European headquarters in Ostend with a production plant of 26.000 m2 as part of a worldwide strategy to develop and manufacture in regional hubs. The expertise accumulated by Ostend formed the basis for the formation of the European, Middle East and African Development Center (EDC) in 2011. This marked the evolution of adapting Japanese units for the European market to the complete design of new products. Currently, the EDC is transforming into an innovation hub.
Growing never goes without a struggle and so the increasing amount of projects and responsibilities caused the EDC to be understaffed. Whilst a lot of people are (being) hired to sort out this situation, a gap remained. So in come the external consultants! In February 2017, on-site product engineer Benjamin De Cooman joined the Heating Unit Section which is responsible for the design, prototyping, testing and delivery of a production ready heat pump.
His tasks mainly revolved around eco-design measurements and calculations. These are the set of regulations and standards best known by the labels on fridges, washing machines … and also apply to heat pumps, chillers and most other Daikin products. Benjamin was responsible for setting up several measuring campaigns at an external lab and consequently processing and interpreting the data. This requires a lot of specific knowledge which he did not possess, not only refrigerant, but also Daikin specific-wise. Without the help of the great colleagues his job would have been impossible.
How to work in a large organization? Get familiar with the culture and don’t get frustrated by the corporate slug.
Working your way through a large organization can be challenging, but luckily Benjamin had some past experience. So he knew it’s important to get to know the culture and not to get frustrated by corporate slug. Daikin was also a great multicultural experience, not only because of the Japanese values and management, but also due to the high amount of other expats. The lunches and following discussions with Indian, Italian, Nepalese, Spanish, Turkish … colleagues were fun and enriching.
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