Development of a holistic method to analyse the consumption of energy and technical services in manufacturing facilities

This chapter describes the background to energy usage in production operations and sets out some principles, process steps and methods to provide a more holistic view of the Significant Energy Users (SEUs) and the related consumption of energy and technical services (Heat, Air, Water). A model based on direct and indirect energy analysis from a ‘product’ viewpoint is extended to identify waste or auxiliary energy in line with ‘Lean’ principles. The auxiliary energy identified represents the best opportunity to gain energy savings through operational and behavioral changes at the lowest possible cost. The proposed process mapping methodology [Value Stream Mapping (VSM)] effectively acquires production and energy data that can be modelled to provide both steady state and dynamic energy consumption and potentially provide a multidimensional hierarchical view of this energy consumption and cost directly related to production equipment. The method is one that can be updated easily to reflect changes in the production environment and to provide a holistic view of the energy and technical services in the context of the varying production activity.