Automation eBrief: April 2010 - Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A topic of discussion in many companies today centers on the importance of balancing environmental and operational metrics to help manufacturers delve deeper into the underlying forces of energy and resource consumption. Such an integrated approach can yield insights that increase operational savings and reduce environmental impact at a structural level, proving that "Green is Green." In this issue, we've assembled a panel of our Industry experts, Sean Robinson, Linda Onnen and Marcel Van Helten, to discuss the topic of sustainability and how delivering on the promise of "green" can work in your business.

How do you balance environmental savings with product quality and profitability?

The key is to measure environmental factors such as energy, fuel and water usage in a way that enables that consumption to be analyzed in relation to traditional operating metrics such as yield and throughput. Spikes in consumption or unusual usage patterns can become triggers to look for root causes in the operation, allowing the producer to determine if things such as downtime, or excessive cleaning cycles underlay the unusual sustainability data. This approach also provides immediate visibility into any unintended ripple effects from green initiatives: As changes are made to things such as heat or steam delivery to a process, the quality and safety factors that are measured can be closely monitored to ensure no compromises occur in those areas.

To read the full GE article, please click here.