Share
Buy a bunch of timers, energy saving gadgets and other current devices to cut lights and usage when no one is present. How about lights that turn on when someone enters the room and then turns off 30 seconds after everyone leaves (no motion unless overridden)? This is just a thought to consider for wide open spaces of an industrial plant that has a drastically reduced headcount on 2nd and 3rd shifts. Look into new devices to install to cut usage automatically.
- What area or devices have heated water that is no longer, not necessary or appropriate?
- Do you have to flush toilets more than once when used? If so they may need to be reset for liters or gallons per flush. Hire the right plumber to do this and test all toilets.
Buy lights that automatically go out when no one is in the room; set them up to come on when one claps. Regardless of the bother, how much does this save over a year? It may be equal to your salary increase or more.
Hire an engineering student to get all of these ideas installed. Hire an engineering student during a three-month summer internship to install as many utility saving ideas as possible. Hire a bright and energetic engineering student for his summer break. Have him accumulate all of the electricity saving ideas he can get internally and externally from contractors on a summary document. Detail out the types of energy saving items that are available and see that all of the best ones appropriate for the plant are all installed by the end of the student’s three month stay. At the end of his assignment, reward him on the percentage of what has been done. Pay him accordingly.
Pay him a bonus if he gets the majority of the cost saving ideas installed. If he gets 90% or more of the planned improvement items installed, pay him a hefty flat bonus at the end of the summer. If he gets 75% of the items completed, cut the bonus in half. Your mission is to accomplish valuable cost reductions to the company. You would do this yourself but your people are busy with internal jobs for customers and the projects get stalled or delayed.
Benefits of hiring a college engineering intern for three months to evaluate and install energy saving devices throughout your facility:
- You could hire an outside firm but this can be a very good learning experience for the kid.
- This is a good learning experience for your firm; inform employees that this project will save the company money on the electric bill and involve everyone by asking where the waste lies in the utility bill.
- You can also get this project at your company featured in the university newspaper. They all like ‘green’ projects and especially those with which the university is involved.
- You get great coverage in the local city newspaper about this ‘green’ project installed at your firm especially with environmental groups.
- You might get favorable television coverage if you sell these projects on energy savings tied into the university.
- Your firm will get good exposure at the university for this expenditure and hiring an intern. Most likely you will get great public relations coverage because you are using the resources of the university and saving energy. You cannot go wrong pulling the local university into the project.
- Your firm should save on its utility bill forever so your profits will grow. The investors will regard this as a great idea.
