Online software helps manufacturers reduce energy use

Rockwell Automation Energy Evaluator tool allows manufacturers to identify and compare current energy management behavior, and identify opportunities for improvements, the company said. It's free with registration.

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Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) offers online software tool that analyzes a manufacturer's water, air, gas, electric and steam (WAGES) management performance, and provides understanding of how its operating strategies compare with peers in the same industry and across other sectors. While the software is free, login and registration are required. The tool uses a 20-minute online assessment to generate a real-time report outlining a facility’s competitive WAGES management baseline, the company said. Results allow employees at all levels of the business to identify and implement strategic changes, and to set improvement goals for single or multiple facilities.

“Many manufacturers are not aware of how much energy their machines and facilities are consuming at a given time, and how that behavior compares to peers in their industry,” said Randy Selesky, vice president of Power and Energy, Rockwell Automation. “The Energy Evaluator tool offers insight intocurrent WAGES management strategies and allows users to identify meaningful changes to help lower their overall energy costs and make them more competitive."

“Due to variability in demand, availability and costs, manufacturers are recognizing the need to manage natural resources like electricity, water and gas more effectively,” said Tom Fiske, senior analyst, ARC Advisory Group. “Unfortunately, most companies don’t have a detailed perspective on usage of these scarce resources and where opportunities exist to improve operations and their bottom line. Tools like the Energy Evaluator can provide a first step toward a continuous improvement process that optimizes WAGES resource utilization throughout the enterprise.”

The tool is based on the Rockwell Automation Industrial GreenPrint methodology, designed to provide manufacturers with a customized, strategic roadmap for industrial WAGES resource management. The Rockwell Automation Industrial GreenPrint methodology consists of four stages – “Awareness,” “Efficiency,” “Optimization” and “Aggregation” – which help companies transform their practices and production, improving profitability and enabling supply chain optimization.

http://www.rockwellenergyevaluator.com/The report generated by the tool can be exported into Excel, PDF or printable HTML formats to allow for easy internal sharing and manipulation of data to visualize the impact of operational and behavioral improvements. Users also can continuously access their report and update information to track progress.

Rockwell Automation Industrial GreenPrint consultants are available to help analyze results and identify customized, holistic strategies for implementing improvements.

The technology is being discussed at the ARC World Industry Forum on Monday, Feb. 7.

www.rockwellenergyevaluator.com

The company also offers a white paper titled “The Rockwell Automation Industrial GreenPrint Methodology: Leveraging Industrial Energy Optimization For Higher Profitability.”

Rockwell Automation Inc. says it is the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs about 19,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.