Is CEI Right for Me?
The most successful CEI programs will be undertaken by organizations that have already established some basic energy-efficiency goals. Leadership should be open to strategic planning regarding energy resources and will have budget in place to support projects.
Your organization will be more successful if you’ve already had hands-on experience with the philosophy and framework behind process improvement initiatives, such as lean manufacturing, total quality management or Six Sigma. Also necessary is a willingness to create
an energy team and the energy champion role from within the organization and provide those individuals with the time and tools to be successful. Executive leadership should be supportive in driving, mentoring and applauding the organization’s efforts at accomplishing goals, changing old processes, and adopting new approaches and attitudes toward energy efficiency.
Kick-start Your Program
Consider hiring a third-party consultant that has the expertise, tools and coaching ability to help set your organization on a path to success. An experienced consultant should assess your systems and processes and help you design a plan and identify opportunities and projects leading to early success and return on investment.
If you’re looking for new ways to drive long-term energy savings, then considering a CEI program is a great starting point. When you make the leap from one-off energy-efficiency projects to an open pipeline of ongoing opportunities you can turn energy from a fixed cost into one you can actively track and manage.
Case in Point
During the past five years, a Portland, Ore.-based light industrial company completed minor capital upgrades, which improved the energy efficiency of its facility. The company allocated a modest annual budget for energy improvements and created an energy team comprised of employees with a demonstrated interest in energy efficiency. These actions reduced the firm’s annual operating costs and became a source of pride for the energy team. But, once the low hanging-fruit was identified and “picked,” the energy team knew it needed to look for other ways to continue to reduce its energy consumption. The company hired Portland-based Cascade Energy to implement a Continuous Energy Improvement program at the facility.
Cascade Energy discovered that the efforts and excitement around efficiency on the part of the company’s energy team was not widely shared by others in the organization. The interest and focus of the energy team, while strong, had not spread to the management team or other employees.
Cascade Energy helped assess the management team’s vision and commitment, as well as offered turnkey action items to address the cultural disconnect. Cascade Energy provided the company energy team with training about how to engage other employees and helped them set up an employee feedback program. The energy team began to collect, assess and implement employee suggestions. Cascade Energy deployed its energy information software solution, SENSEI, to establish a baseline energy model for the facility and begin tracking progress toward the company’s newly established energy-savings goal. Facility personnel learned a great deal about their energy-use patterns and discovered areas where low- and no-cost changes could easily be implemented to lower energy costs. Fueled by the ideas of fellow employees, the company energy team has increased the facility’s savings and has begun to change the mindset around energy management throughout the facility.