What seems to make the biggest difference takes the least effort in terms of financial investment, and that’s the employee aspect. A focus on mindset and awareness really can start driving change.
First, it’s about looking at how we actually operate to nameplate. Over my career, I’ve seen occasions where, due to circumstances and external pressures and faulty equipment, the operator implemented workarounds to run the plant, and not in an optimised fashion as per the design. Operating to nameplate is a good start to help improve efficiency.
Taking that step further is codifying and embedding how we optimise operation of processes by making a clear link between operational efficiency and procedures and processes, and visualising how we are performing. Data has a big part to play here; visualising how we are performing against a benchmark raises awareness. A metric used in oil and gas is greenhouse gas intensity: the amount of greenhouse gas produced per barrel of oil produced. We measure and monitor that, and make sure that it means something to our workforce to help us build it in.
Integrating a data management strategy can help to make the most of energy purchasing and energy efficiency. If we were supplying energy to a consumer, we would be looking to see how they can build energy efficiency into their power agreements so that down the line they can finance upgrades with savings that we make.
Finally, I would not underestimate collaboration as a force for good; not only within individual companies but across them. Having opportunities to share experiences with other sites and other projects has been very helpful.