Reduce Energy Use in Manufacturing: Proven Strategies for Cost Savings and Sustainability

Energy. How much are your machines using, and where is it being wasted? These are fundamental questions in achieving sustainable manufacturing.

No matter what is being produced, manufacturing is about material transformation – almost universally a very energy-intensive process.

In some businesses up to a third of the overhead cost is energy.

So, how can manufacturing firms cut their impact on the environment and their energy bills simultaneously? How can a win-win situation be created?

One way is to use smart industrial analytics, fed from connected Industry 4.0 capable machinery to understand your energy use much better. We can't reduce energy use without measuring it effectively first. And what gets measured gets done.

Industry 4.0 gives firms the means to understand energy use, not just on a factory or asset basis, but (with smart enough analytics) at a component level. With a precise, granular view of energy use, firms can identify significant opportunities to optimize it.

This is just one insight from our new report exploring sustainability challenges in manufacturing, a significant component of which is how to cut energy use.

 The report suggests that leading firms see net-zero carbon targets as an opportunity to cut energy costs significantly. The time when sustainability initiatives were seen as a cost-center is over.

Read the report or watch the video for more on:

• A two-pronged approach to energy - using less and sourcing it more sustainably
• Optimizing machine efficiency
• Measuring use to reduce
• Predictive maintenance to cut energy and component waste
• In-house power generation

For the full report, click here. For a video on cutting energy use, click here.