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Pointing out that 70 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. is expended inside buildings, Scott Beckett of Q4 Energy Solutions, told members and guests of the Central Ohio IFMA Chapter it is absolutely essential to develop an energy plan for their facilities.
Beckett presented A Balanced Approach to Energy, Operations, and the Environment during a morning program March 11 at the Confluence Park Restaurant.
He said energy use in buildings will continue to grow, and expressed the need for facility managers to develop conservation programs that will make their businesses better.
Q4 Energy Solutions, 4495 Central College Rd., Westerville, helps companies develop comprehensive and balanced plans that address the need to optimize energy use and drive toward operational excellence.
Beckett said, “If we don’t take the right action as business owners, operators, or managers, somebody is going to help us do it for us. Somebody is going to show up with a lot of help that we may or may not need, and then we are going to be faced with something that looks like stimulated sustainability.
“We have to be sure we are focused on doing the right things. Let us take care of what we need to do in our business so that we can do the right things in moving forward in the future.”
Beckett stated that the basic elements for a solid plan evolve around “energy optimization, operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and environmental stewardship.”
He said that while there isn’t a lot of skyscraper-type building going on in the country at the moment, there is a lot of retrofitting.
“The retrofit market is coming back in a huge way,” he said, “and it is bringing about changes for us. Government mandates also are coming, but if we, as a community or society, can take control of the situation…and develop the right parameters of how we operate, how we manage, and how we maintain, we can keep these mandates away from us.
“This is an important issue. Unless we take charge we are going to see a lot more mandates coming down the pipeline, and some of those in the queue now are not going to be extremely favorable.”
Beckett said facility managers need to realize an energy plan makes good business sense because it should provide a considerable return on investment—a reduction of energy use by 50 percent, reduced maintenance and capital costs, reduced environmental impact, increased occupant comfort and health, and increased employee productivity.
The road to conservation and change starts with the right plan. To accomplish this, Beckett said you need to first determine what you are spending and what you are spending it on. Then, you can decide what, if anything, you want to do differently to affect a savings and/or a favorable return on investment.
Then build a base line to set up the process that establishes where your are and where you want to go. Draw a map that puts in place what you are working toward, making sure it is aligned with the goals and expectations of your organization.
The second step in this three-step process is to execute the plan—to get everyone involved in the right projects to chance the face of your business. The projects undertaken must bring value to the organization, and while “value” means different things to different people, Beckett said:
“Value comes from one of four things. It’s valuable to you if it helps you make more money. It’s valuable to you if it helps you save money. It’s valuable to you if it helps you save time. It’s valuable to you if it helps you eliminate a pain. If it doesn’t do one or all of those things, then you are wasting your time because it isn’t valuable.”
The third step is to continuously monitor and validate the plan to make sure it is delivering what it is supposed to deliver.
“Make sure that what ever you did…is kept in its prime operating condition as long as you want to keep it that way or until you want to make a change, Beckett said. “That’s how you maximize return on investment over a longer period of time.
“Plan it, execute it, and make sure you are paying a lot of attention to it, and from a facilities management perspective that’s the role everybody plays in making sure all those alignments are in place…to allow us to have a comprehensive look across the enterprise”