E116: Using Energy Treasure Hunts and Energy SWAPs to Engage Employees and Reduce Costs

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In March of 2024, the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum (ISBF) and Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) were still separate organizations, and they agreed to host a joint webinar to promote Energy Efficiency and Lean. I was fortunate to connect up with Paul Lemar, Jr. from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), who has extensive experience conducting these events. He explains how the process works in great detail, and I wrap up with a video and explanation on the Energy SWAP process between organizations.

The Treasure Hunt method combines Lean’s Gemba Walk approach with sustainability improvements, specifically around reducing energy usage and costs. This webinar will teach you how Energy Treasure Hunts and Energy Swap processes can help your organization find wasted energy in your operations, lead employees to embrace appropriate behavior changes and teach employees how to continue to look for future energy savings opportunities.

Energy can be a large budget item for many organizations, and it can also be the biggest driver of carbon emissions at your facility. Most organizations invest significant money into reducing energy through efficient equipment upgrades and renewable energy, but what if money is limited and the capital projects are going to take too long?

Using Lean methods, you can discover wasted energy that is being consumed on non-value-added activities, such as leaving equipment on during shifts and breaks, heating unused spaces, or letting your processes run longer than necessary. Many of these improvements are tied to employee behaviors or unclear documentation, so engaging them in the process of finding the energy reduction opportunities and explaining the business case is critical. Small process changes can often result in large benefits without the large capital investment.

Listen to the podcast on this page, or watch the video below, or go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti7TolvBJc8

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Have you ordered the book, “Lean Six Sigma for Good: Lessons from the Gemba (Volume 2)?” The book is made up of 8 chapters written about experiences from Lean and Six Sigma practitioners, to give you tips and tricks to help you work with nonprofits in your area. All proceeds donated to charity. Now available in audiobook as of Feb 2024. You can also order Volume 1 released in 2019.

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