Energy Audits and a Lean Business

By Aarne Haas
Manufacturing-Works
www.manufacturing-works.com

An energy audit is a report which may either sit on a shelf and gather dust or be a guide to improving energy efficiency and leading to cost savings. To achieve the latter takes understanding why an energy audit is done in the first place.

As the cost of energy increases, businesses need to be aware of this component of their 'cost of doing business'. By making the right decisions, the energy cost increases can be offset by changes in operating methods and facility changes which lead to more efficient energy use. As the readers of this blog know, two basic concepts of a Lean Business are the improvement of flow and the elimination of waste. While the energy audit does not do much for business flow, it can guide decision making by locating the various wastes of energy in a business.

The energy audit looks at historical usage to form a baseline to validate current measurements. By understanding seasonal and other patterns in energy use, insight into use trends can be separated from externally driven factors. For example, business growth and colder weather may both drive a higher energy use. Once the driving factors for a business are identified, the correct response can be formulated. Why try to curtail energy use when all the increase is going into getting product out the door?

The energy audit compares your uses to others in like industries. This 'benchmarking' helps the business understand their competitors performance and highlights those areas of energy use where others may be doing better. Again, the issue of eliminating wasted energy use is the goal and the comparisons will highlight areas where there may be opportunities for savings.

The energy audit documents the performance of different systems in your facility. By looking at individual equipment and systems, measurements of the performance are made and these can be evaluated anbd compared to the 'state of the art' or at least the state of your competition. These comparisons will show where the greatest differences are between what is and what can be achieved.

The energy audit presents a set of recommendations based on the points above which identify ways to eliminate or minimize energy waste. These are often ranked in terms of biggest return for the effort or funds required. These recommendations will generally cover both building and operating issues and can be a guide to the implementation of an energy savings program.

The results achieved by following the recommendations can be compared to the baseline energy use information developed by the audit. Closing the loop, the 'do and check' items previously described as a part of lean thinking, will allow the business to measure their progress in eliminating the waste of energy. This progress is part of the continuous improvement which is a hallmark of Lean Business.