Grays Harbor Paper has been able to save an estimated 281,000 kW/yr by adopting a Continuous Energy Improvement program
November 2007
By Mike Roberts
A recent survey of US manufacturing organizations, conducted by Industry Week magazine, shows that across the country there is a rise in the number of industrial facilities that are adopting cost reduction strategies. The publication reports that more companies today are focusing on low cost strategies (up almost 2% compared with last year) and on delivering high quality products.
Interestingly enough, survey participants say that continuous improvement programs are growing in importance as a strategic practice (according to nearly 77% of the respondents).
Energy management is also on the rise as a strategy for sustaining global competitiveness – with nearly 10% of respondents citing an increase in energy practices, second only to environmental initiatives.
The realization that continuous improvement and strategic energy management are effective tools for gaining economic ground is particularly important to energy intensive industries, such as pulp and paper. However, it is important to note that the greatest potential comes when companies correlate continuous improvement with a strategic approach to energy management to create a deliberate process focused on increasing profitability, and achieving greater productivity and reliability. At the Industrial Efficiency Alliance (IEA), this process is called Continuous Energy Improvement.
In 2005, IEA initiated Continuous Energy Improvement to help Northwest pulp and paper mills permanently integrate strategic energy management into their business operations to control costs, enhance business performance and reduce environmental impact. IEA selected the Northwest pulp and paper industry for Continuous Energy Improvement because the industry represents the largest consumer of industrial power in the region, accounting for approximately 1,300 average MW. Regional mills use a combination of biomass and fossil fuels to generate energy to help run their manufacturing operations. However, approximately 40% of the industry's overall energy expense can be directly attributed to costs associated with electric use.
IEA has determined that the program is one of the most effective ways to manage energy expenses – especially when it comes to electricity use. A Continuous Energy Improvement program can save pulp and paper mills as much as 5% in energy costs without the benefit of capital improvements. However, it's not unusual for companies to realize as much as 15-20% in total savings when it is combined with an effective "capital plan." Added benefits include reduced operating and maintenance costs, and improved equipment reliability and performance.
Implementing Continuous Energy Improvement
To help pulp and paper mills effectively implement a Continuous Energy Improvement program, IEA stresses four key areas: organizational structure, people, manufacturing systems and measurement. Each one of these areas is important to helping mills achieve their full energy productivity potential, and all four areas should be combined for maximum sustainable results.
Organizational Structure: A feature of every successful management program is commitment and engagement from the top of the organization on down. Securing a commitment from senior management is just as important to strategic energy management as appointing and engaging an energy team.
People: Every employee has the potential to be accountable for energy use. Providing employees with the skills and motivation to drive energy efficiency and supply improvements throughout an organization can lead to dramatic improvements – particularly if employees are aware of the benefits of energy efficiency and if they are trained to manage energy for maximum productivity and effectiveness.
Manufacturing Systems: Understanding system efficiencies can improve electric consumption with motors, pumps, compressed air equipment and refrigeration units. Energy efficiency is as much about improving an industrial system's reliability as it is about reducing energy costs. Why? Because greater efficiency reduces wear and tear from heat and vibration – lengthening the lifespan of equipment and reducing the down time required for maintenance and repairs. Continuous Energy Improvement helps avoid "lost" energy that might otherwise create system inefficiencies and destroy equipment.
Measurement: Measurement is a critical for tracking energy consumption and measuring success. With help from Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), companies can measure energy savings at the plant, product line and systems levels to support the progress of a strategic energy management plan. In addition, KPIs provide employees – including corporate, operations, maintenance and production teams – with a way to gauge individual performance against company and industry performance.
Energy Efficiency Means Greater Reliability
In 2006, a Northwest company, Grays Harbor Paper LP, adopted Continuous Energy Improvement and began implementing a number of projects designed to improve operations and equipment reliability. Located in Hoquiam, WA, Grays Harbor Paper is a non-integrated producer of uncoated freesheet, specialty grade and 100% post-consumer recycled office paper.
To address its priorities on achieving greater energy savings, Grays Harbor Paper worked with its local utility, Grays Harbor Public Utility District, as well as the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and IEA, to assign a seasoned energy engineer to manage the company's energy issues as part of a long-term demonstration project. An energy champion plays an important role by ensuring a company's energy management program stays on course and achieves the desired objectives. In the case of Grays Harbor Paper, that person is Henry Bisner, a 30-year energy efficiency engineer.
Working with Grays Harbor Paper's management team and floor staff, Bisner's ultimate goal is to help the company realize a total of 10% energy savings through Continuous Energy Improvement.
This includes finding opportunities to address equipment reliability. In this case, Bisner evaluated the company's pump systems and determined that the mill could achieve greater efficiency and reliability through control valve adjustments and by using variable speed drives to control the speed of motors in several pump applications. These simple solutions have produced multiple benefits, including less wear and tear on many of the company's pump systems, and a new application on the company's No. 1 paper machine, which uses a couch pit pump to process the trim from the machine.
Out of necessity, this pump must be large enough to take in the whole sheet to accommodate startups, shutdowns and mechanical problems. But, in fact, 98% of the time, the pump works at partial capacity to process the trim. In this case, the machine's valve closes to maintain the appropriate levels of trim in the couch pit and the pump is forced to work harder than necessary to apply force against the valve – resulting in equipment wear and tear and subsequent excess energy use.
According to Bisner, "In this particular case, we decided that there was an even better option than a variable speed drive to solve the problem. We added an additional small pump to the system. That way, if an employee puts all of the sheets into the couch, the large pump could run at maximum effectiveness, but if the team is working with less material, the small pump could be employed."
Bisner notes that the company's maintenance crew is enthusiastic about this project because the original large pump is older and it is difficult to find replacement parts. Less wear and tear on this pump equates to improved reliability.
More Energy Efficiency
To ensure additional energy and non-energy benefits are achieved at Grays Harbor Paper, the company is identifying KPIs and measuring success against pre-established energy consumption goals. KPIs measure energy savings at the plant, product line and systems levels in support of the progress of Grays Harbor Paper's strategic energy management plan.
For example, to set KPIs in the case of its No. 1 paper machine and couch trim pump, Bisner used the US Department of Energy's Pumping System Assessment Tool (PSAT) to evaluate the amount of energy required to run the new couch pump system. Estimated energy savings for this project are now set at 281,000 kW/yr.
Grays Harbor Paper's focus on continuous improvement and strategic energy management starts at the top of the organization and is integral to the company's business practices.
"We set up a formal energy policy, which has helped us communicate our energy savings plan to all of our employees and to think very strategically about every decision we make from purchasing to capital improvements," says Bob Brennand, manager of Gray Harbor Paper. "It also got us started in tracking our energy consumption on a regular basis."
Today, Grays Harbor Paper has a list of more than 50 energy savings projects planned for the remainder of 2007 and for 2008, ranging from lighting to vacuum and compressed air systems and from pumping and mechanical systems to thermal energy projects. The total estimated savings for all of these projects combined is nearly 8 million kW/yr.
According to Brennand, "Every new project will help us become even more efficient and reliable, and in the process we will save wear and tear on our motors, reducing vibrations and, in some cases, save substantial power through system redesigns. I expect we will see a lot of unexpected advantages, too. And all of that is going to help with increased efficiency and with our continued business success."
Mike Roberts is director of pulp and paper for the Industrial Energy Alliance, Portland, OR.
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