Sustainable production with energy management & Co.

The question of why sustainability is relevant can hardly be asked these days without being reminded of the responsibility we all have to society. This makes it all the more exciting to ask what is meant by sustainability in the first place - especially with a view to production and trend topics such as Industry 4.0. The question is therefore not "why" but rather "how.

Ecology and environmental protection

Let's start with the most obvious one, the environment. Sustainability in this environment means that I only use the raw materials and resources that are absolutely necessary. This applies to materials and machines as well as to personnel and energy. In the case of energy, the connection with the environment is most obvious, since most forms of energy directly result in pollution of the environment - exhaust gases or at least CO2 are produced. Therefore, sustainable production quickly calls energy management to the fore. Energy management means knowing your energy consumption and optimizing it to the best of your ability. This essentially includes measures to increase efficiency.

For example, based on known consumption, a decision can be made to produce a product only with the machine that requires the least energy to do so. Another measure is to reduce waste to zero so that no unnecessary energy is consumed. It is also important to avoid losses in the distribution of energy; for example, the piping system for compressed air is regularly checked for leaks.

Energy management software helps manufacturing companies to systematically record all consumption and allocate it to the respective consumers. In this way, energy-guzzling resources as well as orders with high energy requirements can be identified. To do this, energy management must either be integrated into the manufacturing IT or at least be able to access order-related production data. Ideally, energy management is part of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), but there are also solutions that can be operated stand-alone. In addition to the recording and analysis of energy consumption, the focus here is particularly on correlation with order data and machine statuses. For example, energy management can be used to determine how much energy a particular order consumes and then calculate key figures that indicate how much energy was used to produce an individual item. The correlation with machine states allows conclusions to be drawn about possible waste during non-productive periods. It may be possible to turn off selected machines, or at least parts of them, when there is no production on them. For example, the conveyor belt that transports finished parts away or the handling robot that removes parts from the mold can be stopped temporarily.

Economy and efficiency

It is obvious that lower energy consumption protects the environment. It's just as obvious that you can also save money by using less energy. After all, energy doesn't just cost money - in recent years, prices for energy of all kinds have also risen enormously. Increasing competitive pressure in the manufacturing industry means that companies are now willing to use any means to reduce production costs. Alongside the careful use of raw materials, increasing energy efficiency is therefore a second measure with high potential for success.

Here, too, synergies between energy management and other manufacturing IT functions become apparent. Another exciting aspect in this context is the handling of energy quotas. If certain quotas are purchased at low prices, they have to be used in defined periods. This requires energy-oriented production planning, which an MES such as HYDRA from the manufacturer MPDV can also provide. At the same time, the planning can also be used to avoid load peaks, which also result in additional costs for energy procurement.

Particularly in the energy-intensive industry, certification according to DIN EN ISO 50001 ensures that further cost advantages are granted in energy procurement. Of course, such certification is initially costly - in terms of time and money. However, manufacturing companies should not miss this opportunity - especially if they are obliged to establish and operate an energy management system according to DIN EN ISO 50001 due to their high energy consumption.

Long-term and continuous improvement

It is also true for measures to reduce energy consumption that long-term and continuous optimization is more sustainable than a single action. Energy adds another aspect to the continuous improvement process (CIP) that already exists in most companies.

In addition to internal CIP measures, there is also the so-called 1.5-degree climate target. According to this target, global greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030. Since CO2 makes a significant contribution to this and production companies with their energy consumption have a significant share in this, the aforementioned measures ultimately also make a contribution to climate protection in the long term.

Author:
Markus Diesner is Senior Marketing Specialist Products at MPDV. More information on resource efficiency and energy management is available here: https://www.mpdv.com/de/nachhaltige-produktion/