Improving energy effeciency in a manufacturing plant: a case of Kotkamills

1. Kotkamills: background information

In the business setting, increment cost is a very serious issue when it comes to determining the right approach to adopt. Incremental cost entails the additional cost that companies will have to bear if production increases or the cost they will have to bear if they switch a production process (Hanson and Laitner, 2006). For instance, if a company decides to utilize solar energy (for environmental reasons) instead of electricity, they will have to bear the incremental cost associated with solar energy in cases where the cost of using solar energy is higher than the cost of using electricity. As such, while companies are expected to be responsible in the sense that they should adopt environmentally friendly operation processes (such as using more environmentally friendly sources of energy), they also need to understand the consequences of such decisions.

In light of the above discussion, this research aims to analyze the energy efficiency program at Kotkamills, a finished forest products organization. Over the years, Kotkamills has come to establish itself as a reliable global brand by specializing in laminating paper, matte-coated bulky paper, and sawdust products. The company uses a tremendous amount of energy in the course of their manufacturing process in order to carry out all activities.Additionally, it employs 1570 staff, which means that energy usage is not only from production, as such a figure represents huge energy consumption in the administrative process. On that accord, this research aims to understand how the company can improve on its energy efficiency in order to ensure that it effectively reduces energy waste and waste costs and makes their whole production process more environmentally friendly.

2. Energy monitoring programs for facilities in Kotkamills

Energy management programs (EnMPs) are initiatives and programs that are used to encourage companies to adopt efficient energy management. It does involve systematically tracing, analyzing, and planning how energy is to be used for production (Hanson and Laitner, 2006). There are a number of energy management programs, but in the case of Kotkamills, the best approach will be an energy-saving agreement. This involves adopting a number of policies (such as working hours, usage levels, etc.) to reduce overall consumption and effectively ensure that the company reduces its energy costs (Hanson and Laitner, 2006; IEA, 2006; ICC, 2009). In order to deliver such, a number of support systems are needed, including:

1. Networking: all the energy units in the company need to be networked and regulated from a specific section so that all units not being utilized can easily be switched off.
2. Workshops: The staff also need to undergo workshops on efficiency in energy management in order to ensure that they contribute positively towards such an outcome.
3. Direct technical assistance: a good technical team is also required to effectively deliver the planned outcome. The importance of the technical assistance is to ensure that all units are functioning perfectly.
4. Training: Just like worship for the staff, training is required for the technical assistant to provide them with necessary skills on efficient energy management.
5. Potential for benchmarking energy-conserving measures in Kotkamills

Basically, the company’s whole process can be grouped into two categories: production, which is the process of transforming raw materials into finished goods; and administration, which is the process of affecting the whole business's activities. As a result, there are opportunities to benchmark energy-saving measures in both areas, as follows:

1. Production: The company can offset excessive usage of energy by monitoring its energy units in order to ensure that only plants are on when in production and off whenever they are not in use. Additionally, production can be performed in shithouses. For example, it can halt production when demand is low in order to benefit from efficient energy usage when demand is high.
2. Administration: just like the production process, energy efficiency can also be enhanced in the administration. This can be made possible by using equipment that brings about such efficiency,

Several companies have used this approach in the past to reduce overall energy consumption, reduce energy costs, and improve energy management efficiency.The case of Statoil Hydro and ABB is a good example. Statoil Hydro is a Norwegian petroleum corporation that won a new project. Due to the depth of its extraction process, the company sought an energy-efficient approach and partnered with ABB, a Norwegian IT and telecommunications company that developed a system for automatically switching off energy supply to units that are not in use. Through this means, Statoil Hydro was able to effectively manage its energy supply and reduce costs in the process.

4. Objectives of research

Overall, this research aims at analyzing the energy supply system in Kotkamills in order to identify ways that the company can efficiently manage its energy supply and usage. By so doing, the research aims to enhance existing approaches to efficient energy management programs.

5. Research methodology

This will be a qualitative secondary research project, which means that the data will be based solely on existing materials and research conducted by individual companies. 

1.      References

Hanson, D.A. & Laitner, J.A. (2006). The amiga modelling system, version 4.2: disaggregated capital and physical flows of energy within a general equilibrium framework. Argonne national laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA.

ICC Commissions on Environment and Energy (2009). Energy efficiency with case studies. Available at: file:///C:/Users/Hp-User/Downloads/Energy-efficiency-with-case-studies.pdf [Accessed on: 12^th-11-2014].

International Energy Agency (IEA). (2006). World energy outlook, ISBN: 92-64-10989-7. Paris, France.