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Sustaining Performance Improvements in Energy Intensive Industries
Abstract
Experience has shown that significant
opportunity for performance improvements exists in
energy intensive operations. Often, efforts to
improve efficiency focus on vendor-led initiatives to
improve operations of particular equipment. This
approach assumes the overall efficiency of the system
is simply a function of the individual units.
However, many more factors contribute to overall
performance improvement. These external factors
contribute greater weight to poor performance than
do equipment efficiency issues. It is common to have
a very efficient process that runs very ineffectively.
Despite efforts to improve efficiency of specific
processes, subtly complex operations defy lasting
improvement due to increased reliance on the
judgment of human operators. Below the surface,
process operators and managers have very different
goals for when operating the process. These
differences cause significant barriers to sustained
performance improvements. The magnitude of
performance losses can be orders larger than simple
equipment efficiency losses.
Rule-based Energy Management and Reporting
Systems (EMRS) have proven themselves capable of
overcoming the human factors that limit overall
system performance. The EMRS is capable of
applying the process managers judgment at all times,
capturing transient opportunities as they arise.
Reporting systems change the process performance
reporting paradigm from “How did we do?” to “What
prevented us from doing better?” Changing the
reporting perspective is key for maximizing
performance over time as well as forming an
operating culture that is focused on continuous
improvement.
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Citation
Moore, D. A. (2005). Sustaining Performance Improvements in Energy Intensive Industries. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /5591.