Powerful aspirations

Dr Cedric Rodrigues, MD of CMR Consultants, is off to Japan again. For energy management experts like him, it is currently one of the most interesting places in the world. There's a lesson for us and, indeed, all industrialised nations in the way it is dealing with a sudden and crippling power shortage – if we choose to listen. Japan is confronting a 7% shortfall in its overall power generation and more than 20% in its main industrialised area around Tokyo. The earthquake and tsunami that sent the Fukushima nuclear plant into meltdown also closed more than 40 of the country's 54 nuclear reactors for safety checks to reassure its frightened populace. With no oil of its own, Japan is buying heavily in world markets to keep its economy turning over. But it has also made fierce demands on its own people. "The government is asking businesses to cut their power consumption by 15% and individuals to help in any way they can," says Dr Rodrigues. "And, in inimitable Japanese style, they have all rallied round." Companies are staggering working hours, cutting overtime and turning off the air-conditioning, even in the sweltering Japanese summer. The public's demonstration of community spirit is even more impressive. They are travelling to work hours earlier than normal in unlit trains, garaging their cars, taking days off midweek rather than weekends and turning off all electronic gadgets. They are even blogging energy-saving ideas. Clearly, they can't keep this up forever. But these few months have shown how much can be achieved through concerted, focused effort. Inevitably, the whole country is now reconsidering its long-term energy consumption. Dr Rodrigues' new project is typical – he is working with a major pharmaceutical company eventually to take its Japanese plant entirely off grid. Making it self-generating will also make it resilient to both natural disasters and more hikes in energy prices. Praise be that UK is not in an earthquake zone – but our own situation is still getting worse by the day. This summer has seen massive energy price hikes across the board. We are already competing with other nations for imported oil and gas and the energy gap will only get worse as our ageing power stations come off line, long before new ones are built. Doesn't it make you slightly uneasy that Saudi Arabia is embarking on a massive programme to build nuclear power stations? When a major oil-producing country cuts its own dependency on oil, it has a lot more to sell and can charge a lot more for it. Meanwhile, Britain is signed up to massive emission reductions by 2020. According to a recent report by KPMG, it will cost £108 billion to reach those targets through renewables like wind energy against £74 billion through nuclear and gas-fired power plants. Either sum will inevitably find its way to future industrial and domestic energy bills. And to cap it all, we have a government at loggerheads. On one side, the chancellor promising "we're not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business"; on the other, the energy secretary decrying "green economy deniers" as "an unholy alliance of short-termists, armchair engineers, climate sceptics and vested interests" while slashing support for solar schemes at just six weeks' notice. Dr Rodrigues sees no easy way out: "Energy is an international commodity and if we are not careful, the cost will double by 2020." So there is no point in waiting for a miracle technology or even a coherent political solution. Bluntly, industry needs to chart its own course for survival and that means cutting energy consumption by each and every way possible. Can we do it? Rodrigues regularly advises manufacturers on their energy management. What he sees in many sites is not encouraging. "It's generally quite poor with little good communication." For example, performance dashboards commonly give detailed information about quality and production but nothing about how they measure up in terms of energy consumption or sustainability. He cites one household name that actually has 100 'energy champions' on site. So far so good, "but they have no idea at all about the macro situation – how much the company actually spends on energy and what is happening in the outside world". There are pockets of good practice – one company designates reducing CO2 emissions as a 'key business unit value driver,' applying across the entire organisation and one of the five elements that govern everyone's bonus. But another – a bakery – frankly admits its sole focus has been getting 1.5 million loaves out every week, regardless of cost. It has not even looked at optimising its ovens. Yet it is under constant cost-down pressure and its margins are in single figures. It wouldn't take much of a hike in energy costs to wipe its profit out entirely. Rodrigues is now working with it on a plan for a 10% reduction in 2012 and 5% thereafter. His main criticism, however, is reserved for the way organisations fail to involve their employees: "They don't communicate with them in a visible, persuasive manner. It doesn't work just telling people to switch off. They could be religiously doing everything they are told but it gets their backs up when there is no incentive and no feedback – they think 'okay, the company has saved a million but what's it doing for me?'" It's a crucial point. Every strategic ambition to slash carbon emissions is at the mercy of a single employee who leaves the compressor running, turns up the space heater or forgets to switch off the lights. Bonuses work, but even better is an inclusive approach that harnesses the knowledge and ideas of everyone in the plant. There are several external programmes available to manufacturers for identifying potential savings and devising routes for tackling them. Rodrigues, for example, has developed an intensive, one-week programme called Energy Kaizen (see box p35). They are all useful in kick-starting the quest. But long-term success needs a truly sustainable culture and embedded values, built over time and permeating every aspect of a company's operation. Let's go behind the scenes at Best Factory Award winner Camfil Farr to see how it's done. This company doesn't hide its green credentials under a bushel: it declares itself "a champion of environmental protection" with a commitment to be the greenest and cleanest air filtration company in the market. That cuts two ways. It can't promise its customers efficient filtration combined with low energy consumption without demonstrating rigorous control of the resources it consumes in its own manufacturing and distribution. It sums up its credo as "doing more by using less". Evidence of savings That's easy to say – how does it play in practice? The numbers speak for themselves. Electricity:?14% reduction in 2008, 8.25% in 2009 and 7.75% in 2010. Gas: 30% reduction in 2008, a further 35% reduction in 2009 (yes, really) and 24% in 2010. It cut the fuel consumption for its own delivery fleet by 25% in 2009 and 9% in 2010, and reduced waste by 36% between 2009-10. And significantly, Camfil was the first UK manufacturer to achieve certification to the energy management system standard BS EN 16001 and then the first in the world to be awarded BSI's Kitemark for Energy Reduction Verification. Self-evidently, it practices what it preaches. The bedrock of Camfil's energy reduction is the enthusiastic, knowledgeable involvement of its employees. MD Bill Wilkinson sums it up as "support from the top but build from the bottom". At base level, it means a lot of people point if someone leaves a machine on. But it really means the best, most effective ideas have come directly from employees through the engagement scheme CEASE (Camfil Energy Awareness Saves Environment). CEASE – which is promoted regularly across the plant – incorporates most of the normal mechanisms of suggestion schemes; it just does them a lot better. Prizes are worthwhile and energy savings are also reflected in staff bonuses and pay reviews. That alone would be music to Dr Rodrigues' ears. Bright ideas are put in action fast – a process known internally as JDI, or just do it – and a lot of quick wins have come out of it. More complex suggestions turn into one-week team projects. And feedback is fair and full – a recent presentation celebrated 70% of this year's savings originating from JDIs. The distinguishing feature, however, is the way a general culture of energy awareness co-exists with an acceptance of personal responsibility for making improvements. For example, Camfil has a robust recording and reporting system for understanding exactly where it's using energy. Each product area is metered and monitored individually. "Comparing that total with product throughput gives an energy efficiency figure," explains SHEQ manager Brian Haslam. "Our supervisors report back on their team's performance within efficiency bands. If they go outside their normal band, they are expected to put something in place to improve it and make sure they don't repeat it. If they go below, we want them to concentrate so they can repeat it. The important thing is understanding what causes variations because, if they do that, they will find the improvement." It's interesting to see how Camfil has extended a key lean improvement technique in support of its sustainability agenda. Portable meters are also used when extra data is needed. "So many factories and offices just don't know what they are spending their money on," he says. Camfil knows exactly where its money goes and uses the information to decide on its priorities. Replacing energy inefficient lighting and removing unnecessary lamps from wire welding machinery saved nearly £46,000 a year. Optimising heating systems cut the gas bill by £5,600. Identifying and repairing leaks in the compressed air system produced a hefty £10,000 saving and incorporating known problem areas into the preventive maintenance schedule (a direct result of the suggestion scheme) keeps it that way. All drivers have been trained in fuel-conserving driving techniques and Camfil has invested in a fleet of fuel-efficient vans with eco-start technology. And the amazing thing is that the entire capital outlay has been funded through cost-savings. "We made huge savings in the first year," says Wilkinson. "By maintaining the right behaviours in the business, we will continue to make savings each year. We feel that sustainability is an absolutely crucial part of moving forward as a business. It's part of our DNA and embedded in the culture of our organisation." Haslam admits it's getting harder to find easy savings now but there is now a cast of mind that is always looking for new ways. There are changes they would dearly love to make like an electric vehicle for local deliveries. "It's not practical yet but one day that may change." One small detail shows how energy saving has almost become a reflex action among employees: when Camfil carried out a transport survey across the company, it found 73% of those who drove to work were already car sharing. "There really is a general will to reduce our impact on our environment: it's involvement that makes the difference." Bringing energy into focus Despite the urgent need to cut energy consumption, free sources of advice are thinner on the ground than they used to be. The Carbon Trust no longer arranges free energy surveys in England although some avenues of support remain in the devolved administrations. The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) offers advice on energy management, energy diagnostics and culture change. Depending on the region, it can provide workshop-based programmes itself or in combination with experts like the Carbon Trust or environmental charity Groundworks. CMR Consultants offers a free one-day visit to review current energy use and the extent of any likely savings through further improvement activities, including its Energy Kaizen programme.

• www.groundwork.org.uk
• www.mas.bis.gov.uk
• www.energ.co.uk/cmr-consultants