Plant Services - September 2007 - (Page 17) UP AND RUNNING DOE and NAM agree on energy efficiency Alliance to offer resources tailored to industrial concerns U .S. Department of Energy (DOE) secretary Samuel Bodman has expanded DOE’s work to maximize energy efficiency by increasing cooperation among U.S. industry and energy efficiency experts, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The MOU includes a variety of activities that aim to assist manufacturing facilities in implementing an energy management program; adopt clean, efficient technologies; and achieve continual energy efficiency and intensity reduction improvements. Through this partnership, DOE seeks to advance President Bush’s “20 in 10 initiative,” which promotes greater energy security through increased efficiency and diversification of clean energy sources. “Increasing energy efficiency is not only good practice, but it can also be good business,” said Bodman. The agreement “represents a significant commitment between government and the private sector to help curb our nation’s energy use and enhance energy security while also reducing emissions.” The MOU says DOE and NAM agree to share their specific expertise to publish a consolidated catalog of tools and technologies, as well as a Web site for access to tools and services. They seek to provide companies with streamlined access to technical assistance, a consolidated user-friendly library of tools, and a roadmap necessary to implement an effective energy management program that will allow for increased commercial deployment of clean, efficient technologies. “Entering into this partnership with DOE to increase energy efficiency builds on the unique strength of American manufacturers as the world’s leaders in energy efficiency and conservation,” said NAM president John Engler. “Energy efficiency is an important contributor to our future energy security. Building upon manufacturers’ leadership in this area doesn’t just make energy and economic sense, but common sense.” DOE offers a wide range of respected tools, training, and other resources that enable manufacturers to identify opportunities for energy savings. If the U.S. industrial sector reduced energy intensity by 25% in 10 years, the U.S. could save 8.4 quadrillions of energy, an amount equal to heating every U.S. household for one year. As part of DOE’s “Save Energy Now” campaign, energy experts using DOE software identified nearly $500 million in potential energy saving at 200 of the most energy-intensive manufacturing plants in the U.S. in 2006. Building on this success, DOE welcomes the partnership with NAM, which represents 11,000 large and small manufacturers in every industrial sector, representing over 200,000 facilities throughout the U.S. For tips on reducing the energy intensity of manufacturing facilities, visit the Energy Savers website or call DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Hotline at (877) 337-3463. Big plans for Maximo S ignificant developments to the flagship product of recently-acquired MRO Software were announced by IBM at Maximo World, July 22-25, in Orlando, Fla. This year’s event comes at an important time for IBM’s software business, following closely on the heels of the company’s strongest earnings since 2002. IBM Software was a key driver for this success, experiencing growth of 13% in the latest quarter. With acquisitions playing a major role in IBM’s software strategy, integrating MRO Software and the Maximo offering into IBM’s portfolio during the past year has helped fuel the surge. September 2007 IBM allayed concerns that it wouldn’t continue to develop Maximo. “This is not a hollow-out play, it’s an investment play. And it’s an invest-to-win play,” said Al Zollar, general manager, IBM Tivoli software. “Every year, $300 billion is spent on maintaining computers, and $30 billion on software. Saving 10% on maintenance frees up enough money to double the software market.” He announced that IBM has increased the Maximo development budget by 50% to accelerate new and updated offerings. The strategy includes unifying asset and service management capabilities, and interlocking IBM software, services and part17 www.PLANTSERVICES.com http://www.plantservices.com
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