In "Got Ops?", we shared our point-of-view that lasting energy performance improvement (and GHG emissions reduction) sits with the operators.
In "Inside Out", we discussed how organizations capturing and sustaining leading enterprise value are not chasing reporting frameworks or scoping large capital projects one site at a time. These winners are building portfolio-wide operational disciplines that address inefficiencies, reduce risk, and improve performance from the inside out.
In this final segment of our 3-part series, "Picking Money Up Off the Floor", we will reveal both shocking findings from our site visits that contribute to higher utility costs as well as leading practices from O&M personnel who simply appear to be passionate about EBITDA. Addressing these simple O&M fundamentals is the key to a fast start. Imagine if all your facilities were able to address these challenges and implement leading practices more consistently, and across the entire facility portfolio.
What are you guys doing?
Below are short, paraphrased interactions of actual findings and observations from our Energy Opportunity Assessment site visits. In all cases, these findings relate to a combination of operational and maintenance challenges within these businesses and are not solved by buying and installing replacement equipment.
Type of Business: Precision Metals Machining Facility
System/Equipment: Air Handling and Exhaust
Bridge House and the Client are on the facility’s roof inspecting Roof-Top Units (RTUs) and we notice an open exhaust vent.
Bridge House: “Hey Client, there is 70-degree conditioned air coming out of this vent.”
Client: “Dang. That’s the exhaust fan in the compressor room. We don’t have a thermostat on that fan. Someone must have turned it on and forgot to turn it off.”
Type of Business: Auto Parts Manufacturer
System/Equipment: HVAC - RTU Economizers
Bridge House: "Hey Client, it's 45°F outside with low humidity, but these RTUs are still operating with mechanical cooling. The economizer controls don't appear to be opening dampers to bring in cool outside air."
Client: "Really? My guess is that free cooling has not been used in years. The units just run the compressors whenever the building needs cooling."
Bridge House: "So even on mild spring and fall days when outdoor air could provide all the cooling, you are paying for mechanical cooling?"
Client: "Yeah, that's probably what's happening. We haven't checked the economizer settings, outside air dampers, or any HVAC settings in a long time."
Type of Business: Non-industrial Consumer Services (90+ locations)
System/Equipment: Compressed Air
Bridge House site assessors note clearly audible hissing sounds throughout the facility.
Bridge House: “Let’s take a look at that air compressor.”
Bridge House: “Wow, that PSI reading is a new high-water mark for us.”
Client: “Yeah, we’ve never had an expert come through here and assess how we operate or find and repair leaks. We instruct our staff to listen for leaks, but nobody really does it. We are also aware, unfortunately, that our equipment is close to end of life and we don’t have redundancies.”
Type of Business: Automotive Repair Shop
(100+ locations)
System/Equipment: HVAC - RTUs
Bridge House: “You’ve got 5 or 6 Roof-Top Units (RTUs) installed and operating. Where is your roof access? We’d like to get up there and inspect the equipment.”
Client: “Ummm, we don’t have any roof access.”
Bridge House: “How does your HVAC maintenance contractor get up there to service the units?”
Client: “I don’t really know. Come to think of it, I don’t think he ever goes up there.”
Type of Business: Food Manufacturer
System/Equipment: Compressed Air
Client: “We haven’t run this production line for two weeks, but we can walk you through it so that you can see the differences from the other lines.”
Bridge House (hearing audible hissing out of compressed air lines): “Do your shut down procedures include valving off the supply lines to the production areas that have been shut down?”
Client (using code for “no”): “We should check to see if instructions should be added to the shutdown procedures.”
Now That’s What I’m Talking About.
Here are a few examples of unique approaches and leading practices that help prevent businesses from overpaying their utility providers. In many cases, these leading practices can serve as key lessons for other sites in the portfolio.
Type of Business: Auto Parts Manufacturer
System/Equipment: Overhead Dock Door
Client: “Some of the guys would complain that it was getting hot and humid in the facility and I would always have to point out to them that somebody had left the main dock door open.”
Bridge House: “How did you correct that behavior?”
Client: “Well, I installed a timer that begins the moment the dock door begins opening. Now, due to safety considerations, I can’t just automatically close the door. However, if the door is still open when the timer hits 5 minutes, a high-pitched siren goes off.”
Bridge House: “Does that work?”
Client: “100%. That siren is so loud and annoying that the guys come running to close the dock door, which turns the siren off!”
Type of Business: Precision Machining Facility
System/Equipment: Handheld Diagnostic Tools
Bridge House: “Are you using any handheld diagnostic tools to help you be more predictive with your maintenance and/or equipment upgrades?”
Client: “Yes, sir. We’ve used an IR camera for several years to spot areas of heat loss within the building envelope and more recently to identify when motors and drives are running hot. We’ve also recently acquired an ultrasonic leak detector that helps us keep our compressed air system operating like it’s supposed to.”
Bridge House: “Nice work. Those types of leading practices are great candidates to be shared with other company facilities. OK if we take that knowledge to our next site visit and share?”
Client: “It would be my pleasure.”
Type of Business: 3PL Warehouse
System/Equipment: HVAC - Zoning
Bridge House site assessors are walking through a conditioned two-story warehouse and notice a small, partitioned space within the warehouse.
Bridge House: “Hey, Client. What’s the story with the partitioned space over there?”
Client: “That’s a kitting area where we have just a handful of employees, on a single shift, kitting products for a few specific customers. Before we built that partition, we were heating this entire space in the warehouse during the winter just for that small group of employees.”
Bridge House: “Excellent. I bet you reduced your seasonal natural gas costs quite a bit with that move.”