A Modern Factory is a production facility that provides a self-sustaining work area for producing high quality products. It should not harm the environment and use more resources than absolutely necessary.
A Modern Factory should create an image that reflects the quality of the parts produced there. A visitor should be able to tell from the time they are parking their car that the management cares about creating a good working environment. The entire experience of interacting with a Modern Factory should leave a lasting impression of forward thinking long term values.
Employees of a Modern Factory are given a priority that exceeds all minimum requirements of lighting and safety. Wages and benefits are beyond the scope of this article. When the working environment is well lit, temperate and not stressful, this creates a good work experience and promotes longer tenured employees.
Gaining sustainability is attained through conservation first. Landscaping reflects a drought tolerant design, minimizing the water used to keep it vibrant. This also reduces upkeep and costs. Production equipment needs to be chosen with this long term view in mind. Recycling waste products earns back money and reduces landfill waste.
An Energy Audit should be the first step in heading toward the goal of creating a Modern Factory. This will point out areas that need the first attention. An audit should examine all the utility bills, first to determine if the right rate is in place, and second to see if there are other ways to purchase this energy, both gas and electricity. There are decisions to be made about times of operation, since electricity costs a different amount depending on the time of day. Huge energy hogs can be identified and costs of replacement can be analyzed.
LED lighting should be the next upgrade management should make after committing to modernizing their factory. Better, brighter light has been proven to increase productivity, improve jobsite morale and health, and enhance the quality of the parts produced. All of these are good goals to strive to achieve, and it would be worth doing even at a noticeable cost. The real beauty of attaining these heightened light qualities and levels by using LED lighting is that the energy savings, even if replacing the latest fluorescent fixtures, will pay for the fixtures in less than two years in almost all cases.
The energy savings from an LED upgrade begin right away. The minute an LED fixture is put into use, it is using less than half the energy of the fixture it is replacing, even when giving out much more light than the fluorescent fixture. All of the other benefits of better brighter light occur immediately as well, such as higher productivity, safety and quality.
Adding a solar system to this factory after the LED upgrade is a way to instantly catapult an existing factory into the 21st century. The reason you design and engineer a solar system after the general energy audit and LED audit and upgrade is taken into account is that the paybacks on these items is better than solar, so your overall investment is less and your payback is very fast.
A solar system is a large financial investment and the items to take into account are the topic of another article. However, because it is a large investment, with no up-front costs other than loan or lease fees, oftentimes the LED upgrade and other smaller items can be included in this financing. It is easy in PG&E territory to be cash flow positive from day one with these upgrades. Since a solar system can offset all of the remaining electricity bill except a small portion of the monthly fees and the demand charges, an electric bill on a Modern Factory can be from 75% to 97% less than a factory without solar. Paybacks on solar systems in mid-2018 in PG&E territory on a Modern Factory would be from less than 2 years on large systems to 2.5 to 3 years on smaller systems with carports. These are just guidelines, but the savings are real and considerable.
With the savings from your energy bills, you will have money left to update the landscaping, paint the building and add new signage. It would also be a good time to add some shaded outdoor recreation areas so that workers can go stretch their legs, further enhancing their health and productivity.
When you take on a project such as modernizing your factory, you may start with a pre-conceived notion that it will require a large financial outlay, reducing capital needed to grow your business. However, if you proceed in this manner, with an audit first, then an LED upgrade at the same time a solar system is installed, you will have completed the most expensive parts of this updating process with about 1% down on your investment, and the considerable savings on your energy costs can be directed toward the cosmetic upgrades that enhance the working environment for your personnel. If you hire the right type of firm in the first place, they are trained to walk you through this process and deliver a finished product. They will have experience with these products and services, right through to the necessary financing, to be able to quote pricing and deliver expected results on time with no surprises. This is exactly what CitiGreen Inc. specializes in.