Business: Industrial
Setting up an Energy Management Program
1.5 Involving employees
The energy management program would achieve little without involving everyone
in the foundry – from managers to sweepers. The change of culture
must involve everyone. Active participation and involvement of all employees
in energy conservation measures and efficiency improvements are necessary.
The initial step is to increase energy awareness. Focus first on elimination
of
wasteful practices, i.e., better housekeeping.
- Form a team of volunteers from
different departments, and give it a catchy slogan (e.g., The Super Savers,
Energy Cost Slashers, Energizers, Fight Energy Costs!, etc.). Launch it with
hoopla! - Mount a publicity campaign: use existing
means of communication to stimulate interest. (Mail special news bulletins
directly to employees’ homes,
use posters, information sheets and energy efficiency handbooks for all
employees. Plenty of these can be obtained from different sources.) - Explain simple, good
housekeeping methods. Concentrate on one type of energy at a time, for
example, natural gas, electricity and compressed air. - Give pats on the back: encourage,
monitor progress and report improvements. - Stick to it, to make the change permanent.
Different approaches may work as
well. A company decided that to train all of its many employees in recognizing
energy waste and to reduce waste was impractical.
Hence, only middle management was chosen, as they were able to influence energy
usage, both directly and by motivating their teams. A training course was designed
with outside help (i.e., electric utilities, gas companies, NRCan).
The course
had four two-hour modules, delivered over extended lunch breaks – one
module per week, at a cost of $150 per person. The course first encouraged
participants to carry out an energy audit of their homes and then to draw parallels
to energy use at their workplace. They performed a walkabout energy audit of
their own department and involved others. The effort resulted in a 3% reduction
of the total energy bill and a payback of only three weeks.
Before the project,
only 10% of the work force regularly took practical energy-saving actions.
The percentage increased to 85% after the project. Suggestion programs
may help, as well. They need to be maintained systematically and constantly,
however, to yield results on an ongoing basis. Some maintain that it is better
to base these programs not on the initiative of individuals, but rather on
a team approach. This minimizes the potential of divisive personal rivalries.
Another solution is to approach the issue of energy efficiency in a foundry
as an opportunity for continual improvement, and use any of the number of proven
techniques to achieve it: Quality Circles, Kaizen, Total Quality Management
(TQM), etc. Of course, if the environmental management system ISO 14001 is
implemented, the continual improvement is embedded in this international standard
as a key
requirement for the entire organization. Energy efficiency improvement programs
are often selected by the organization to realize its overall objectives and
targets (see 2.1.11, "Implementing a management system," page 35).
Ongoing
training also helps. A foundry in Eastern Ontario invests two hours of training
per employee per week as matter of policy. Part of the training
also deals with energy efficiency matters.