Do You care about Sustainability ?

Today an opinion piece guest post by : Evelyn Robinson

I hope you enjoy this rather more than my usual posts, and if so don't forget to comment at the bottom of the page !


Let the World Know that you Care about Sustainability

To remain green should always be done primarily for altruistic reasons rather than to increase profitability but that is not to say that there is anything wrong with a business spreading the news of its concern for sustainability in order to boost its public image. The problem is that some companies lack the know-how to do this effectively, meaning that their good work can often go unrecognised. Communicating sustainability credentials can often be fraught with pitfalls so here is a quick guide to doing it as successfully as possible.

Preventing overtly flappy action !

So we've been invited to DevFest courtesy of Google  this weekend

Doubtless fun will be had at the Googleplex even if this video is a couple of years old now (but still cool)




This means that Andreas  ( Andreas on kWIQly Team Page ) and I get to drink coffee, learn stuff https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gdg.devfest.ch

Green Deal vs ISO 50001 Slapdown

Hi all

This one is fun if you are more into UK dominance of the world than international  standards bodies - do share it with anyone you know involved with The Green Deal.

Yesterday I posted on  ISO 50001 Where do I start ?  and today I wondered if the Green Deal is penetrating the "noggins" of people who search on Google.

It appears it is - Below is an embedded image and this is a World Search context - You can click to enlarge , and on on the face of my energy blog (at the top - I will move it later :) you will see a live widget - so it will be fun to see how this develops ;

DON'T forget to bookmark and share this if you think its fun.

DO make any comments you like below this post - How do you interpret that exponential hockey-stick?

and if you would like me to look up trends for some other energy related interest - just let me know.

BTW - I put "kWIQly" in and I'm afraid we don't register much on this scale
 - YET !

ISO-50001 - Where do I start ?

Do you need to :   "Win the energy challenge with ISO-50001" ?

Before we offer any help - you may want to familiarise yourself - so why not read what ISO have to say about it ! 

Free introduction direct from ISO.org website

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How you can I achieve ISO 50001 compliance ?

We can help ! 

But first we should help you understand your priorities - we will then match your needs however you define them !

This article gives you a five-minute starter on the subject and may lead you to some resources that can significantly help you in your goal.

- We hope so !

How hard is it ?

ISO 50001 is drafted to be as inclusive as possible, which means that organisations can approach compliance in at least three ways:

1. Audit by accreditation or registration body for certification.
2. Internal verification of compliance (self-certification)
3. Client assessment - usually as a trade condition.

It is very important to understand that whichever of these methods is chosen, the key benefit is from conformance ! 

And, just as you would not expect to pass an exam without preparation and learning, you will not be found to comply to ISO-50001 by chance.

You may wish to purchase the standard directly :

ISO-50001 - can be purchased direct from ISO

However we will provide an introductory view here...it may be that you are already doing much of what is required - and that you can adapt only as necessary.

What is ISO 50001 all about ?

ISO 50001 is a specification created by the International Organization for Standardization for an energy management system, which specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy security, energy use and consumption.

(courtesy  ISO Catalogue description ) 

The process of compliance is based on four inter-related exercises:

Which form a :

 "continual improvement framework and incorporates energy management into everyday organizational practices"

• Plan
• Do
• Check
• Act

These are listed in order, but necessarily in any organisation there is a work flow that means that while planning take place in one area, action may be required elsewhere. This aspect of time and organisational management is we believe the major issue faced by energy managers world-wide. We go as far as to say that if you do not have the means to track the above, in different places and at different times, then much of your energy management effort and time is likely to be wasted.

This is not just our opinion - it is so much the case that a schematic indicating this is used by ISO to represent the management process in this context.

Energy management system model for this International Standard (Courtesy ISO)

• — Plan: conduct the energy review and establish the baseline, energy performance indicators (EnPIs), objectives, targets and action plans necessary to deliver results that will improve energy performance in accordance with the organization's energy policy;
• — Do: implement the energy management action plans;
• — Check: monitor and measure processes and the key characteristics of operations that determine energy performance against the energy policy and objectives, and report the results;
• — Act: take actions to continually improve energy performance and the EnMS.

Now - How can we help ?

To be clear we will be delighted if you wish to drop us a line, but to save you time, it may be worth understanding how we approach the subject.

Plan

is essential, but can involve a huge amount of paperwork, spreadsheets and similar. Alternatively, a huge amount can be automated if you have your main utilities monitored by smart-meter.

This means the "bottom-line" numbers in terms of energy are available in high resolution accessible formats. Not only does that mean your data is organised and secure (a requirement), but it also means that your reporting aspects are covered, without any need for manual intervention.

So you can produce charts like this at the drop of a hat : 

Weekly performance assessment - automated by kWIQly (Click to Enlarge)

Naturally planning is essential - but we have come up with a way to automate the planning process as we can now measure waste directly from smart-meter data (we use pattern-recognition techniques that are proven but remain proprietary). This means that given a portfolio of buildings, we can not only automate the planning process to target provably achievable objectives, we can roll-the plan forward on a continual basis, tightening conformance parameters automatically as progress is made. Note - your preferences are required based in planning process)

DO

Even the entry level version of kWIQly incorporates automated anomaly identification that considers your available time-resources so that you are not overwhelmed and prioritizes tasks so the time you have available is best applied. Reminders can be scheduled, a ticketing system tracks open items, and a complete audit trail is available for every metered point.

CHECK

The system is integrated - As soon as a target is set (automatically to define continual achievable progress) or manually if desired (for reasons the system cannot automatically interpret - e.g. budgetary considerations, or imminent organisational change). Tracking commences immediately. When the  pre-set tolerances are exceeded notifications are added to the tracking system, that can be forwarded to the relevant party. A dashboard of EnPIs - (  ISO term for KPI's ) is available on a continual basis, that supports rouine or ad-hoc monitoring and report generation

ACT

The difference between DO and ACT can be unclear in a continual management system for energy.  The reason is that in the process of addressing problems, (implementing the plan) a continual stream of awareness should be feeding into better practice.

We think it important that any energy management team can state unequivocally five things:

1. We know the targets and tolerances within which we manage, and how they are set.
2. When we outperform targets, we have the means to find why and repeat it, where possible.
3. When something goes wrong we can track; the occurrence, duration, impact and probably causes, together with communications between responsible parties.
4. We have criteria relating to cost of inaction that are used to justify innovative energy savings measures.
5. We have access to expert support when we need it.

If you think being able to demonstrate these would help you achieve ISO-50001 compliance please contact us

We hope can be of further help!

Endnote on Accreditation:

You will not be "ISO certified" by ISO even if you succeed. You may be certified by a certification body to ISO-50001 , but none carry the imprimatur of ISO.

ISO spell this out in no uncertain terms... 

ISO does not perform certification
ISO develops International Standards, including management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 31000. However, it is not involved in the certification to any of the standards it develops. Certification is performed by external certification bodies, which are largely private. Therefore a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO. - for more details:

Internation Accreditation Forum http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/certification.htm

If considering accreditation - you should ensure the certification body implements "ISO/IEC 17021:2011, Conformity assessment –Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification management systems" 

A patronising post on energy savings

So today a rewarding look at a couple of charts to look at ( not as immensely boring as it sounds) ...

But first  - Imagine if you will, that you had previously been in contact with us - the upshot being that for a very reasonable price you would be well served in the whole saving energy effectively department. Aren't you lucky - you (being wiser than most) can save time by not reading the rest of this post.

BACK TO REALITY

However, for the rest of you, it is only fair we tell a little about the things in energy management that excite us most.

A "pie and pint"  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Consider for a moment a pub, not just any pub, but a "better" pub. If you have been paying attention you will also know that boiler energy saving is like running a bar !

BTW - a word to the wise ! -  If you have not been there do have a look - firstly for the *ahem* brilliance of the analogy it offers, and secondly for the wonderful picture at the top of the post.

You have to love a disaster it - clearly he does ! 

And what is better than running a better pub I hear you ask (rhetorically) ? -

"Why - drinking in a better pub of course ! "

So, the problem today is as ever how to address the problem

- How do I get to be sitting in a better pub ?

The answer naturally is that as an energy manager - you need one of three things :

a) A better job
b) If a) is not available - more respect in the job you have
c) Failing a) and b) - you need to gain respect.

And that is why we are here ...

CLICK TO ENLARGE

If you did so (that is - click to enlarge) you will have seen that the chart above is of a pub. The energy use to be precise - if you are smart you will be able to figure out when they are open. (And this is why you should know it's a pub!)

The faint line at the top is the most this pub spends (by hour of week).  The green is what it should be using if all is well under the current conditions - and the red - Well the red is the current weeks level of "spillage". That which is to be avoided!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

OK - I was just kidding ! - naturally the chart doesn't show you when they are open. It does show you when they are using energy, and that is not the same thing !

If you are observant you will see that the energy use is "even better than ideal" on Tuesday evening - In other words - a mistake !

Since nobody changed the time-clocks for Daylight Savings Time.

The mice are cosy before the pub opens, and the punters are cold when they leave in the evening.

What is that ugly red spike at 9.am.  ?

The ugly red-spike is a boiler boosting hot water to above its necessary temperature.  We know this because it then switches on and off all day.  This is known as slow dry cycling - the load does not warrant the activity - so the boiler overheats the system, then slowly cools down before doing the same again.

If it just did a little when it was needed - it would cost less, the room temperature would be more stable (more comfortable - and less likely that someone opens the door for a bit of fresh air - as often happens in autumn).

Now there are lots more things I could tell you - like the implications of the high load line over-night (maybe I'll post on that another day)...

So you reward for having got this far is that you are better informed (maybe) - or perhaps more likely - you disagree with drinking beer  - in which case please feel free to express yourself elsewhere !