When you think of your facilities manager, what do you see them doing? Drawing up a fire evacuation plan? Organising a cleaning rota? Maybe coordinating a maintenance schedule? The reality is, all of the above, and the average ‘to-do list’ is growing rapidly.
“The role is becoming ever broader, with those responsible for facilities management having to become experts on a range of issues, some of which can be technically challenging,” says Ashley Phillips, director at DONG Energy. Across the manufacturing industry and beyond, technology is having an impact on everything we do. “The ability to analyse a plethora of data from across an organisation means that facilities management can make more of a contribution than ever to optimising the sites they look after, which ultimately improves efficiency and reduces costs,” he explains.
An energy focus
It’s energy saving, though, where Phillips sees the biggest advances happening. “Energy certainly falls into the ‘technically challenging’ camp, and we see many of the energy and environmental managers within our clients’ organisations working more closely with the facilities management teams to look to save energy for the company,” he continues. ”As the energy industry evolves, the opportunity for facilities management professionals to make a difference is increasing. Energy reduction initiatives are commonplace these days, be it rationalising print fleet to fewer, more efficient, machines or introducing occupancy sensors within meeting rooms to reduce overall energy consumption.”
One major factor for the energy-conscious facilities manager to consider is Demand Side Response (DSR). DSR enables customers to turn up, turn down or shift their energy use in real-time. This, he says, has had an impact on the way companies – and facilities managers in particular – work. “DSR schemes provide new income streams to organisations for taking a flexible approach to when they consume energy. Time of use makes a big difference to overall energy bills, so where organisations can avoid peak consumption periods, or switch down during those times when the energy system is most stressed, they stand to reduce their costs.
“For some organisations, this means connecting their building management system to a control that can switch usage down for just a couple of minutes to support the overall energy system. For others, it might be that they switch to on-site generation, such as a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, during those times when electricity is more expensive.”
Reduce your footprint
The benefits aren’t just financial either. Companies are now looking beyond the bottom line and at their environmental footprint. This is something DSR can help with as well. “Reducing overall consumption means lower carbon emissions, which can mean a big tick when it comes to supply chain credentials or environmental reporting,” continues Phillips. “An easy next step is to source electricity from renewable sources, further reducing the carbon footprint. This doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in costs – DONG Energy, for instance, provides premium-free green energy, enabling businesses to act responsibly without commercial disadvantage.”
As energy becomes a bigger focus, investment in environmentally-friendly machinery is increasing accordingly. Cost-conscious facilities managers may be put off by some of the high initial outlay or complexity of the process, but Phillips is adamant that it’s worth it – in fact, “many energy reduction initiatives can pay back within twelve months”.
This is only the first step, though, he continues. If managed carefully, energy reduction can look after itself. “With so many more variables to consider within today’s energy market, I would recommend going for a system that takes as many feeds – and has as much automation – as possible.”
As with so many aspects of manufacturing today, the answer boils down to one word: data. Real-time monitoring of equipment and processes is commonplace, but how many site managers keep an eye on energy usage? If you’re not, he says, you should be. “Gathering insight in usage really helps facilities managers to pinpoint the times and departments that are using the most energy,
and there are plenty of systems on the market that can provide that insight.”
It’s clear, then, that facilities managers have a lot on their plate – and it’s only going to get bigger. Energy is becoming increasingly important and it’s only through the smart use of technology, such as DSR, that manufacturing sites can keep on top of their energy costs.