Position yourself for potentially huge energy saving ideas and innovations by incentivizing employees. The next big energy saver could be within reach for those willing to consider rewards.
But rewards can be challenging to implement. For example, I know of an organization that had a “10% reward incentive.” However, after an employee went beyond the call of his normal duties to help the company save $100,000 via innovative process improvements/energy reductions, management still had a hard time writing a “reward” check for $10,000. Sometimes, especially in government facilities, there is a distinct difference between operational and capital budgets.
The example was a 1000% return on investment (ROI), yet many government facilities may have no real way to provide that type of incentive due to budgetary process. Unfortunately, with no reward, there often is no action, so who knows how many untapped energy saving ideas are floating around. Perhaps return on investment may not be the best way to think about this problem. Perhaps a new term is appropriate – “Return on Energy.”
Let’s examine a recent energy audit of a very large aircraft maintenance facility. The facility has thousands of employees, working in different departments under one roof operating at a 76 °F setpoint during the summer months. Employees have gotten used to this temperature as the “norm.” Each department has productivity goals and energy consumption is not really monitored. Although there is no accountability for energy, this is fairly common in many facilities. There is a written reward policy that an employee could get 3% of the net savings from an idea brought to the organization; however, the form/rules are complicated and even have what I would call “legal slang.” So the incentive program is underutilized.
Alternative Incentives
Instead of using money as a vehicle for a reward program, we could use (sacrifice) some energy in exchange for a greater savings elsewhere. For example: there could be a reward that gives the employee a more comfortable temperature setpoint, in exchange for a specified level of process energy savings.
As an application, the aircraft maintenance facility could make the following offer to the employees: “Currently, in the summer you are operating in an environment that is 76 °F, but if you reduce your process energy by 20% (while maintaining throughput), you can have 74 °F in your area.”
This idea establishes a transparent dashboard, showing everyone in the plant which departments are doing well in energy. It involves minimal paperwork and everything is oriented towards the operational budget. Sacrifice some energy (via setpoints) in exchange for a greater "return on energy" (in the manufacturing process).
A few caveats. Managers doing this would need to:
- Install and maintain some type of energy submetering for each department to enable measured performance, but that submetering would carry additional benefits to the organization. You could also bill departments for energy consumption — which would motivate departments.
- Establish careful baselines and “targets” for energy consumption to avoid penalizing certain departments that may have already implemented a 20% energy savings.
- Establish production minimums, so that energy saved does not come at the expense of production throughput.
- Make sure the process savings is significantly greater than the energy you would sacrifice by adjusting the setpoints. You could also provide other “comforts” to employees such as portable coolers or other perks like longer breaks, etc. Think creative!)
In contrast, some organizations are creating incentives other ways by incorporating energy use as a key performance indicator and part of an employee’s job performance assessment. Other organizations accomplish a “dashboard” by having the plant kW load broadcast to employees when the load reaches a certain level. In many cases, just having people see the data can be enough for them to naturally want to do better or protect their job
The possibilities are endless. There are schools and universities that throw quarterly parties for groups that use less energy. College students will do just about anything for a free pizza! Some schools have competitions between dorms and the participation level is very high. A good example of a “dashboard” is Arizona State University’s Campus Metabolism website, where you can see in real time the kW, heating and cooling that is occurring at each building. See: http://cm.asu.edu/#
The point is that we don’t always need hard cash to create an incentive to save energy. We might be able to provide some things in exchange for others. Let me know your thoughts. I want to create a list of “101 incentives”!
About the Author
Eric Woodroof
Ph.D., CEM, CRM
Dr. Eric Woodroof shares simplified ways to improve sustainability and profits. His practical ways to save energy and our environment have been successful all over the world. He also shares common "worst practices" to help his clients and audiences avoid penalties.
He is the lead instructor and editor for the Certified Energy Manager Program (CEM), which is the field's most popular training in the world. He has created certifications and training programs which are endorsed by countries on 6 continents.
He has received Department of Energy Awards and is also the youngest member ever inducted into:
- The Energy Manager Hall of Fame (Association of Energy Engineers),
- The College of Engineering's Hall of Fame at Oklahoma State University.
- He also is a recipient of the Lohmann Medal, which is the college's highest merit-based alumni honor for contributions to the field.
Dr. Woodroof has trained thousands of professionals, who are now saving billions in avoided energy expenses and global pollution. He continually learns from working with these professionals, and he brings this collective knowledge back to his clients and students during his seminars and keynotes.
In 2011, Dr. Woodroof served as President of the Association of Energy Engineers, which has over 20,000 members in over 100 countries. He serves on several certification/advisory boards, and is the Chairman of the Energy Management Professional Council.