High standards deliver energy savings

• Three-tiered audit vital to high energy management standards at pioneering Finnish gyproc plant
• Audits coupled with real-time energy monitoring and fully engaged staff keep a close eye on efficiency in the plant 

Saint-Gobain Construction Products’ Gyproc plant in Kirkkonummi was one of the first industrial plants in Finland to have its energy management system certified under the ISO 50001 standard in recognition of the plant’s dedicated energy-saving work.

Energy audits conducted on three levels play a vital role in Saint-Gobain’s energy management system. Every month, the company’s own energy management team audits one of 12 different areas of operations. Then members of Saint-Gobain’s global energy team come once a year to conduct a ‘semi-internal’ audit. Additionally, every five years major external audits are conducted by external certifiers.

To complement regular audits, Saint-Gobain’s plant uses a real-time industrial energy monitoring and control system to keep a close eye on the energy consumption of key calcination and drying processes, and the plant as a whole. Several major energy-saving actions have already been implemented to address losses identified within Saint-Gobain’s energy management system. For instance, investments in newly designed combustion chambers and insulation for the factory’s calcination plant have saved significant amounts of energy.

In January 2013, the plant joined the EU emissions trading scheme, making actions that reduce energy-related carbon dioxide emissions even more worthwhile.

Key impacts

The energy management team from Saint-Gobain Construction Products' Gyproc plant in Kirkkonummi highlights five useful tools for energy-intensive industrial plants to find ways to cut their energy consumption and costs.

• Designate an energy champion with overall responsibility for energy issues, as well as a wider-based energy team that can meet regularly to review progress and plan new projects
• Invest in an automatic online energy monitoring system to get a detailed picture of a plant's energy use in real time, enabling immediate reaction to changes
• Carry out regular energy audits both within the company and externally, taking advantage of TEM's voluntary energy efficiency agreement scheme
• Conduct benchmarking and exchange best practices with other similar production plants
• Engage all personnel in the task of saving energy through in-house communications, such as energy newsletters, and by being open to suggestions from the shop floor