Base load monitoring, energy efficiency auditing and continuous improvement in advanced manufacturing facilities
Operations teams looking to capitalise on the energy saving functionality of existing equipment plus develop innovative strategies to reduce operational baseload can benefit from potentially significant energy & financial savings plus increased asset life by employing a proactive and pragmatic multi-site energy management approach.
From a holistic perspective, further energy savings can be achieved by putting a key focus on other factors that directly impact energy usage - including 'quality', 'minimising re-work and volume catchback at weekends', 'efficient maintenance scheduling', etc.
Below are a few tips taken from Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd's significant experience leading pan-site energy focus groups in large volume manufacturing settings.
• Apply a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology when identifying and implementing energy efficiency improvement measures. It is a much better approach than 'hit-and 'run' which may negatively affect operations.
• Identify and document base load (critical) consumers such as server rooms, CCTV, fire systems, access control, coolant pneumatics, transformer/substation losses, medical equipment fridges, coolant recirculation systems, external lighting, critical area AHUs, modular data centres, etc.
• Formalise written, repeatable SOPs for shutting down production machines end-of-shift, weekends, during maintenance shutdowns etc. with solid PM scheduling.
• For production machines identified as 'critical' that need to be kept on, yellow 'don't switch off' stickers can help visually articulate this requirement.
• Perform regular 'weekend' or 'out-of-hours' energy efficiency audits, communicate findings and 'non-production energy performance metrics' to SEU (Significant Energy User) stakeholders. Drive group / ops leader training including energy efficiency responsibilities i.e. shutdowns.
• Specify 'energy saving' features when procuring new machinery and put the onus on the supplier to demonstrate the equipment's sustainability features. Buy-off approval tests can include switch off and system recovery tests to validate this functionality. HMI's can include metered 'energy dashboards' and 'sleep mode' capabilities.
• Validate during the commissioning of new production facilities that the relevant controls hardware is connected and functional - i.e. in-built energy meters, BMS controls, extraction comm links with processes to switch off when idle, etc.
• Review robot pneumatic (sealing) air timer settings are as per manufacturer instructions, i.e. 30 mins after shutdown to prevent excessive compressed air use.
• Keep on top of compressed air leakage! - employ regular system checks i.e. via ultrasonic acoustic testing and implement regular maintenance.
• Review process AHU, Chiller & LEV run timings and investigate variable timing / shutdown / weekend mode opportunities in-line with production requirements.
• Keep an eye on conveyors! Identify issues with inactivity timers & PLC logic loopholes (i.e. platen / component locations) that may deactivate / confuse shutdown timers.
• Enable 'weekend' / 'between shift' power saving modes on Andon boards in production areas.
• Lights can be fitted with motion detection with LUX levels adjusted per the area need. Office spaces can be fitted with CO₂ sensors coupled to the AHUs to efficiently serve the area. Validate unnecessary 'demand signals' that are preventing AHU/FCU idle mode activation - trim the controls for more efficient chillers serving cooled air supply units.
• Investigate the cost-benefit of installing further thermostats in office spaces to provide 'tighter' control with each sensor controlling a maximum of 2 units to prevent HVAC conflicts. Validate ACU sensors, especially those located in external air ducts are functional and accurate with a fixed setpoint.
• Document AHU setpoints and perform seasonal commissioning to ensure the facility is optimised throughout all seasons, taking advantage of free -heating and -cooling opportunities. Focus on strict change management to prevent uncontrolled deviations from the intended modes of operation.
• Audit desktop computer use out of hours and validate shutdowns out of office hours.
and finally...
• Set stretch targets for continuous improvement I.e. 'Non-Production Factor' targets for Xmas shutdowns. Encourage healthy competition via incentives and positive behavourial change. Understand 'what good looks like' - benchmark industrial peers - set up 'energy efficiency' collaborations with companies from different industries albeit with a common goal.
Good luck!
We hope you found this article useful!
If you require assistance on matters relating to energy management in advanced industrial facilities…we are here to support you every step of the way.
Contact — Biyat Energy & Environment Ltd (biyatenergyenvironment.com)
This article was written by Luay Zayed, founder of Biyat Energy & Environmental Ltd. A global energy and environmental consultancy specialising in turnkey engineering solutions that protect the environment and improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing & industrial sectors.
