annesnelgrove.co.uk

THE CLIENT
Kautex manufactures and supplies screen wash and headlamp cleaning systems for the automotive industry. Based in Hengoed, South Wales, the company operates a 13,500 square meter manufacturing and warehouse facility.

THE BRIEF
Already familiar with the benefits of an energy management solution having undertaken various energy reduction measures such as energy awareness training for all staff and implementation of lighting control systems, Kautex were keen to maintain its current plans for energy reduction and gain a better understanding of its energy consumption.

It employed RUMM to install a sub-metering (aM&T) network  and its proprietary Pulse (data collection unit) and IBASS (Internet Based Analytical Software Suite) energy management software.

The ultimate aim for Kautex was to create an intelligent energy management system that helped control consumption, minimise production costs, and provided them with a solution that controlled energy rather than relying on individuals to reduce costs.

THE PLAN
In April 2009, RUMM installed a total of 13 sub-meters across the site. Data from the meters was then fed into the Pulse unit, giving Kautex not only the ability to see data from each individual meter but also create a virtual meter which showed where consumption took place on the remainder of the site.

Individual targets were then set to each machine so that the alarm system element of IBASS could notify relevant personnel of any spikes in consumption, or unexplained weekend usage.

As the laboratory facility at Kautex was also in use 24/7, the RUMM system was configured to allow for this in order to set a truer baseload that could be targeted for reduction.

THE RESULTS
Since installing the RUMM energy management solution, Kautex is en route to sustaining the 34% and 56% reduction in electricity and gas targeted for the year.

With the internet based system now in place, the Manufacturing Engineering Manager has also been able to delegate responsibility for energy reduction to plant managers. With a greater understanding of efficiency and production costs, it is now possible for the company to compare the costs of each kilogramme of product produced against each kilowatt of energy used.

Such is the success to date, the company is now in discussion with RUMM regarding expanding the system to install meters on compression units across the site.

RUMM can assist with energy management throughout all industries for more information click here  Energy savings hospital, Energy savings airports, Energy savings universities, Energy savings retail sector