FEATURE
Sharon Ratcliffe , key account manager for the chemicals and processing industries at Middlesbrough-based Industrial Technology Systems ( ITS ), asks some key questions about energy consumption .
It doesn ’ t matter where you are , at home or at work , you can ’ t get away from the biggest single problem in a generation : out of control , spiralling costs . People sitting at home in the dark with their heating off , simply unable to afford to put it on , companies mothballing parts or , in some cases , whole factories , unable to cover the cost of running them .
There is no doubt that the high energy prices and rising interest rates are temporary . The problem for us all , personally and professionally , is what irreversible damage will have been inflicted before it ends ? A further increase in homelessness due to unaffordable mortgages and rents ? Deaths due to hypothermia ? Mothballed factories never reopening ?
So , the question is : What can we - as individuals , as employees , as business owners - do about it ?
As individuals , we do not like to waste our own money , so tend to naturally be very good at avoiding unwanted costs . Just think how far you will drive to avoid parking charges , choosing to go to Teesside Park or the Metro Centre rather than pay the additional cost of parking in Darlington or Middlesbrough town centres . Think about how our behaviour has evolved to avoid the never-ending charges airlines come up with . Where once we happily checked in our large , heavy suitcases , we now opt to travel with one under-the-seat bag to avoid giving them even more of our hard-earned cash . And thus , as individuals , we must think likewise at work , staying a step ahead to take good care of our money . And , of course , your employer ’ s money is , to some extent , your money , as without it there will be no pay rises , no investment and reduced job security .
Obviously , no employer is going to expect you to work in the freezing cold or in the dark . After all , they have a responsibility for your wellbeing and safety .
But just as they have a responsibility to you , you have a responsibility to them . If no-one is in the room , the light does not need to be on . Can the heating be turned down a degree ? How is it controlled ? Are they dependent upon the behaviour of their staff ? Is it automated ?
From human reliance to timers , movement detectors through to sophisticated building maintenance systems , energy usage can be monitored and controlled in all sorts of building , data centre , chemical processing and manufacturing environments . What can be monitored and controlled can also be optimised , and with energy costs as high as they are , who doesn ’ t want that ? So how can we help our employers and industry optimise ? From installing simple LED bulbs to replacing several physical hardware , energy-using servers into a series of virtual ones , there are multiple ways energy usage can be reduced .
Think of your boiler at home . Old boilers are expensive to run and have a habit of breaking down just as you need the heating . Industrial assets are no different . Obsolete assets use a far greater amount of energy than the modern A and A + efficientrated equipment , not to mention non-planned failures .
Asset management tools , along with several readily available utilities and energy monitoring systems , can save you and your company time and money . Go a step further and combine that with the likes of overall equipment effectiveness reporting , and energy savings can become significant .
The “ advantage ” of sky-high energy pricing is that payback time for capital justification makes these systems much more justifiable , quick payback times becoming even quicker .
Energy monitoring systems automatically record your usage of electricity , water , steam , air and gas . And they can present the data in real time in a user-friendly format that suits your needs , such as graphs by site , by department , for individual bits of equipment and by utility type .
By simply selecting a department or a piece of equipment and by clicking on the utility type , you are able to see daily , weekly , monthly and annual consumption graphs and costs relating to that utility . You can also see when the most or least electricity , gas or water is used and the reason behind it .
It combines energy monitoring with such software solutions as an OEE ( overall equipment effectiveness ) package to optimise and automatically collect , calculate and deliver a range of data about machine production , as well as equipment efficiency and downtime . You can compare operators , shifts and products , not to mention quality and waste levels , downtime causes and frequency . A synergy occurs , enabling companies to gain an accurate understanding of usage and efficiency patterns so they can quickly identify and target areas that require improvement .
Energy monitoring solutions have claimed to be able to make savings of up to 40 per cent , while some OEE packages claim to repay investments in just three months . Here at ITS , we don ’ t make such promises . However , as a well-established solutions provider with more than 30 years of experience , we know some of these claims can , in some cases , be close to the truth . We ’ re here to help you keep your costs down and hold on to your profits . As an independent company , we can offer a range of energy monitoring solutions , and have access to several OEE packages and various reporting systems .
And that ’ s before we look at bespoke solutions we can use to pull it all together , ensuring you avoid giving all your profits to the energy companies or , worse , mothballing your company for good .
You don ’ t waste money at home , so don ’ t waste it at work either . Don ’ t sit in the cold and dark ; learn to adapt and stay one step ahead . Use the optimal bag size that fits all you actually need , but still goes under that seat .
Need help to optimise and find that optimum size ? Call ITS on 01642 222232 .
The voice of business in the Tees region | 47