SENSATA TECHNOLOGIES
Pilot Project
"Introduction to Energy Efficiency and Energy Management Systems in SMEs in Mexico"
Example of energy efficiency improvement Sensata Technologies de México S. de R.L. de C.V.: Zero-cost operational optimization
Background information
The implementation of the pilot project began with the introductory workshop to ISO 50001:2011 in October 2015. The companies then conducted energy audits to identify and prioritize various opportunities for improvement, under the guidance of Mexican consultants with expertise in energy efficiency.
The company Sensata Technologies de México S. de R.L. de C.V. based in Aguascalientes assembles and tests products ranging from automotive sensors and aeronautical protection to white goods control, air conditioning protection and other applications, with more than 150 different lines or businesses and a varied list of clients worldwide.
Site Services Facilities is the group within the company that transforms, controls and distributes the various energy sources used at Sensata Technologies, the main one being electricity.
Site Services Facilities, which operates under the SME concept, is the department that promotes improved energy performance. Thanks to the implementation of ISO 50001: 2011, it manages energy for the different customers, calculating the cost incurred by the plant, in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the benefits of participation in the pilot program. It is worth highlighting that Site Services Facilities was previously considered only as a distributor of electric power, compressed air, air conditioning, and hydraulic cooling systems.
Description of the improvement
As part of the responsibilities and work of Site Services Facilities, whose staff makes up 2% of Sensata’s total staff, the following actions have been taken to help improve the energy performance by over 7%:
1. Encouragement for senior management to improve operational performance by optimizing operations and reducing scrap and / or rejected parts.
2. Optimization of the compressed air system according to the desired pressure. During a system analysis, it was observed that there were two separate systems; 6 low efficiency 20HP compressors were therefore removed to leave a single high pressure system. The unification into a single system makes it possible to deliver air at 2500 psi and 4100 psi with a single source and regulators.
3. Implementation of a program to check for compressed air leaks.
Savings achieved, results and additional benefits
Additional benefits
The facilities included the scope of the project (Site Services Facilities) have a high degree of influence on the energy performance of the entire company. With regard to compressed air, prior to the project, the excess air pressure delivered by the various pieces of equipment was not considered important. The same went for the distances from the distributors to the points of use, so the common practice was to use very long hoses, which were coiled up, creating a drop in pressure. In the case of a single coiled hose, the loss of pressure can be considered negligible, but a large number of "negligible drops" when added together affect the energy performance of the entire organization.
It should also be mentioned that the project has contributed toward a greater level of awareness with respect to the old habit of keeping furnaces operating even though there was no production scheduled. An evaluation is now being made of the feasibility of maintaining this machinery at lower temperatures when there is no production scheduled.
Significant aspect of this success story
Sensata is a ‘maquiladora’ company (in-bond processing plant) whose activities include the assembly of electronic components. Continuous changes are made to the processes depending on customer demand. In a traditional management system, which would have been implemented throughout the company using control variables, the time needed to develop staff competencies and strengthen awareness regarding energy performance would have been problematic. By narrowing the scope of the energy management system to the core area related to energy supply (Site Services Facilities, whose staff corresponds to 2% of Sensata's total staff), the variables related to production become influence variables, meaning responsibility for use and consumption in the production process is dependent on awareness, which facilitates involvement.
It can be concluded that the pilot model implemented in this company may be replicated by organizations with high energy consumption and high variation in production.
This case highlights the fact that implementing a management system at the core of the organization involved in energy distribution has an expansive impact within the entire organization, regardless of its size.
The Mexican National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE) and the German Metrology Institute (PTB) make the aforementioned project available to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order for them to implement an energy management system (EnMS) according to ISO 50001, by strengthening the skills of technical staff within each company. For more information on the pilot project, contact Lissette Mendoza Barrón, Tel. 3000 1000 ext. 1318, lissette.mendoza@conuee.gob.mx or Susanne Wendt, susanne.wendt@ptb.de
