Heavy industry is responsible for nearly one-third of carbon emissions. Companies in this segment have a vital role to play in reducing global warming. For some sub-sectors such as aluminium, cement chemicals steel and aviation it is more difficult to reduce greenhouse gas emissions mainly due to the huge amount of power needed to move to renewable energy. For some sectors like aviation, fossil fuels is still the only option although this is changing quickly with advances in technology.
Switching to renewable energy sources, improving energy efficiency and reducing demand through increased recycling rates and sustainable product design are all key levers to achieve environmental goals. A combination of measures are required to achieve targets.
Focus at every level is needed. A series of energy-efficiency measures across the board both small and large in nature can lead to dramatic Co2 reduction results for large enterprises. Using the right solution can have a positive impact on improving industrial facilities operational understanding, planning and energy efficiency. By improving operational efficiency and optimising logistics, significant energy savings are achieved, reducing the carbon footprint a business leaves behind.
Situational awareness for everyone
Having a full picture of the organisations operations, visualised and interactive gives eyes on operations 24 hours a day. Having the full insight facilitates situational awareness for everyone which in turn leads to increased safety and improved HSSE by increasing safety and operational efficiency. This reduces the likelihood of minor or major accidents occurring, such as oil spills, chemical leaks, fires or other events that can have a serious environmental impact.
Having a better overview will optimize re-planning which in itself will limit the number of stops, as each stop is being used optimally, leading to less energy consumption.
Similarly by having a full picture of operations in your hand with instant live updates wherever you are reduces the amount of travelling required or needing to wait for colleagues to give you critical information.
Optimising resources
Optimising resources in terms of personnel, machinery and logistics will also significantly reduce the amount of energy spent.
In terms of personnel, optimisation of your workforce will lead to a lower resource requirements and subsequently less travelling.
By optimising machinery in the workplace there is for example less need to keep a large number of spare parts in the local warehouse, some of which will never be used which preserves money and resources.
Optismising your logistics or transport such as helicopters, trucks and boats will also lead to significant energy savings. For example, in the oil and gas industry it is common for helicopters to ferry personnel, goods and equipment to and from offshore platforms. Helicopters require a large amount of energy to perform and leave a heavy carbon footprint. They also have schedules to follow so often travel when planned despite not being optimally loaded. Detailed planning is required so that the correct people, equipment, and resources are available at the correct time. By having a clear line-of-sight of what is planned, all types of waste can be minimized or avoided. Examples of this include the express delivery by courier for spare parts urgently needed due to poor planning or sub-contractors required to visit the site twice as they can not get access to the machine in need of service due to another team being in the same spot.
A particular task or project often has many steps involved which have to be undertaken in a particular order before completion. An example of this could be maintenance work of a relief valve on an oil platform. This could involve steps such as Erecting scaffold, Rigg, Isolate, carry out work as per MNT-0231, De-isolate, De-Rigg and Dismantle the scaffold. If the incorrect people, equipment, and resources are not available at the right time this holds up the job and can mean that extra helicopter flights or machinery or personnel are required to ensure the relevant tasks are completed.
Optimising deployment and ensuring transport such as helicopters are running at capacity in terms of people and equipment for multiple tasks reduces the number of flights or travel required. It is estimated that that through accurate planning one can reduce the use and cost of helicopters by up to $500,000 per annum just for one offshore platform.
Take manufacturing as another example. Manufacturing companies rely on the distribution and delivery of goods, equipment and personnel to ensure they can operate. Having a system that optimises machinery and transport be it, forklifts, trucks, lorries or boats will ensure that less transport is required hence significantly reducing the carbon footprint. Efficient manufacturing processes and supply chains don’t just cost less to run: they also consume less energy, use fewer resources, and produce less waste.
Visavi ensures that tasks and necessary sub-tasks can be efficiently coordinated, completed as scheduled and logistics resources are minimised. By having a clear line-of-sight of what is planned, all types of waste can be minimized or avoided. A company who runs their operations efficiently will benefit from increased production, better safety and reduced costs. An efficient operation will also reduce the carbon footprint that company produces.
The same principals apply to any industry. Having an efficient and visible operations system that ensures production plans and schedules are not delayed and ensures efficient logistics will reduce the carbon footprint at any company.
Maximizing the ROI
Having one system which give you the full picture of your operational and planning requirements will undoubtedly maximise the ROI from your existing systems and lead to improved plant performance, reduce operating cost and improve production. Efficient operations, logistics and improved safety all free up time and money and reduce energy consumption.
Sustainability is a core element of our values at Visavi. We are proud to assist companies reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions through the use of our solutions.
Want to learn more about the qualities of Visavi? Then this webinar might be of interest to you.
