Managing Automation - October 2008 - (Page 33)

means cost-effective, and with energy prices buckling the knees of industry worldwide, some of Ford’s plant and energy managers made a beeline to that cost center, hoping improvements would bolster their cause. DRIVING A NEW AGENDA It is against this backdrop that Bill Allemon spends his days steering the energy efficiency efforts of Ford Land, the subsidiary Ford created in 1971 to manage its North American facilities, from corporate towers to factory floors. It wasn’t always like this, of course. In the late 1980s, during the heady days of brisk sales and oversized profits, Ford had other things on its mind. “Like most companies, there was not an efficiency focus, just because energy was so cheap and we were selling a lot of cars and trucks,” Allemon says. When priorities changed in the 1990s, the company created an Energy Efficiency unit within Ford Land and challenged its members to shrink the company’s energy footprint. In conversation, Allemon comes across as somewhat world-weary, perhaps a bit deflated by the straits he and his employer find themselves in. But he also seems determined to improve the piece of the pie that he can control. His task: Drive a technology and business intelligence initiative that results in 3% yearly improvements in Ford’s North American energy efficiency. The automaker measures that efficiency on a BTU-per-vehicle-produced basis, normalized for seasonal variations and plant shutdowns, and pegs its performance to the baseline year 2000. The fact that Ford’s top brass are behind the effort makes Allemon’s job that much easier. In fact, CEO Alan Mulally recently sat in on a monthly meeting to check on the company’s performance against its environmental goals, Allemon says. That C-level support, combined with an engaged plant workforce, is a secret to success in energy-savings efforts, according to Ted Klee, vice president of services and power management at Schneider Electric, whose technology plays a central role in Ford’s initiatives. “Without both things, it’s not going to happen,” Klee says, “because the plant guys are still generally a lot more interested in getting production out the door, and if they’re not bought in and really believe they can control and save money, they’re going to look away from it.” And top-level support usually translates into funding. In this age of green hoopla, corporate citizenship may be a desirable byproduct of Ford’s ini- tiative — the company has won the EPA’s Energy Star award three years running — but make no mistake, Ford 20 WAYS TO SAVE ENERGY NOW has every intention of The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy earning a payback from Efficiency and Renewable Energy is determined to its efforts. “It [is] driven help manufacturers minimize energy costs. Below are 20 quick tips that the EERE Office says can be accomby a business case to plished by in-house staff: get the return on inAll-Combustion Systems: vestment,” Allemon says simply. 1. Operate furnaces and boilers at or close to design capacity. “There’s an external marketing piece, there’s 2. Reduce excess air used for combustion. an internal marketing 3. Clean heat transfer surfaces. piece, and there’s a 4. Reduce radiation losses from openings. cost justification piece,” 5. Use proper furnace or boiler insulation to reduce Klee offers, “and when wall heat losses. those three lines cross, 6. Adequately insulate air or water-cooled surfaces companies get a lot exposed to the furnace environment and steam lines more interested in doleaving the boiler. ing things.” 7. Install air preheat or other heat recovery equipment. In Ford’s manufacSteam Generation Systems: turing realm, despite 1. Improve water treatment to minimize boiler the competitive scrum blowdown. created as plants vie to 2. Optimize de-aerator vent rate. appease corporate cost3. Repair steam leaks. cutters, not all facilities fall in line with energy 4. Minimize vented steam. efficiency efforts. 5. Implement effective steam trap maintenance program. Allemon describes 6. Use high-pressure condensate to make low-presthe process of rolling sure steam. out new energy-cor7. Utilize backpressure turbine instead of pressureralling technologies and reducing or release valves. techniques as stilted. 8. Optimize condensate recovery. “Some plants would be Process Heating Systems: interested; others would 1. Minimize air leakage into the furnace by sealing be a little more hesiopenings. tant,” he says. “It’s al2. Maintain proper, slightly positive furnace pressure. ways been a challenge.” 3. Reduce weight of or eliminate material handling And that’s true not only fixtures. at Ford; in recent con4. Modify the furnace system or use a separate heating versations with his system to recover furnace exhaust gas heat. counterparts at Toyota, 5. Recover part of the furnace exhaust heat for use in Allemon heard similar lower-temperature processes. stories of pushback. Nor, despite the executive support, is the funding that is needed to fuel energy-savings programs a given. Ford prefers to green-light projects case by case instead of allocating a capital budget to Ford Land’s Energy Efficiency unit. Thus, Allemon and his team must ply the trade of professional grant writers, cost-justifying every proposed initiative and hoping for funding. Despite the occasional grumbling in the ranks, Ford has inspired enough cooperation at the plant action plan 33 October 2008

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Managing Automation - October 2008 Contents Take 1 Systems Integration Market Braces for a Wave of Consolidation Kinaxis Launches Program to Lure i2 Customers Patent May Give Mobility a Needed Shot in the Arm New Group Aims at More Efficient Smart Devices Solar, Life Sciences Will Be the Next Frontier For Robots Notes Cover Story:�2009 Companies to Watch Special Report:�Siemens plus UGS: Is the Merger Working? Transformation:�Driving Energy Efficiency Integration: How Clean is Your Data Industries:�Fed Raises Red Flag on Chemicals Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - October 2008

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