Many companies have launched initiatives to make their operations more efficient. They will name a leader and a steering committee, build task forces, assemble project plans, set targets—and make the initiative top priority.

But the odds are, before long, the initiative will fizzle out. Senior executives will move on to other priorities, task-force members will focus more and more on their day jobs, and the energy surrounding a once-promising efficiency effort will fade.

Companies that have managed to break the cycle of recurring initiatives have one major thing in common: they take a long-term approach. Here are the five most important steps to consider in planting this efficiency mindset.

Step 1: Define the Why?

The first step in any plan is to isolate the ‘why’. Successful companies talk about efficiency as a big part of “who we are,” and make it a key element of their corporate strategy, focusing on the growth that efficiency can unlock and how it will make their profits more sustainable.

Step 2: Identify the Metrics

With respect to a chiller plant, common metrics may include:

• kW per ton for each individual chiller or system
• Overall condenser plant efficiency
• Overall chiller plant COP (coefficient of performance)

Step 3: Get your Baseline

To use metrics effectively, it’s critical to establish a credible baseline performance and set realistic improvement targets while making sure you are comparing apples to apples. In a chilled water system, there are many components that impact baseline kW/ton including chilled water production, chilled water consumption, heat rejection and AHU utilization to name a few.

Step 4: Focus on Balance

It’s critical to balance measures of cost efficiency with measures of improved effectiveness. It might be easy to decide on the various metric to follow, but if it isn’t part of a balanced scorecard, a performance benchmark could be detrimental.

Step 5: Make it Visible

Recognizing individuals or teams that move the needle helps encourage change and reinforce commitment. The most effective companies make the metrics visible to all and create forums to stimulate productive discussion about them.

Work with a proven energy savings partner – tekWorx

tekWorx Approachable Experts^® can support your efficiency efforts. Our team of expert engineers establish your energy baseline and provide innovative, cost-saving solutions to optimize central energy plant performance and reduce costs without any implementation downtime.