Bengal Fine Ceramics Ltd (Ceramic, Bangladesh)

• Bengal Fine Ceramics’ production of ceramic products is very labor-intensive with 650 staff working for the company in three shifts. Many of the energy losses are influenced by the people working in the plant (several staff were interviewed about the way they work and to identify where energy is lost) and for this reason staff were informed at the beginning about the upcoming energy assessment.
  Lesson learnt: In labor-intensive companies with many employees it is even more important to inform staff when an energy assessment is planned.

TK Chemical Complex Ltd (Chemicals, Bangladesh)

• Staff at this plant received training during several stages of the project:
  • Three production staff attended a 1-week technical training on Cleaner Production, energy efficiency and the draft methodology that was to be tested at their plant.
  • An international consultant accompanied the external facilitators from Bangladesh during the energy assessment and many more staff were informally trained during the walkthrough of the plant, with data analysis and the brainstorm sessions to identify options.
  • Three production staff attended a three-day workshop organized for all participating Bangladeshi Plants to receive additional training on establishing a baseline and monitoring results of options.
  • An international consultant revisited the plant as a demonstration plant to further train the company’s Team on the application of the methodology.
  • Staff gave the feedback that most of their knowledge about the production process and equipment was learnt on the job. They, therefore welcomed training from outsiders and showed that they were very eager to learn more on how to run the plant more efficiently. The training paid off: it was found that in addition to the nine options selected for feasibility analysis during the energy assessment, the plant’s Team independently identified and implemented many more options.
  Lesson learnt: Staff training not only helps staff to carry out the energy assessment the first time, but also increases the chance that they independently will continue to identify and implement energy efficiency options in the future.

Coromandel Cements Ltd (Cement, India)

• At the start of the assessment there was a big meeting between the management of the company, the external facilitators and more than 100 of the company staff. During the meeting it appeared that employees are extremely loyal to the management and the company, and over 90percent of the staff have been with the company since 1986. The relationship with Union is extremely good, and the Union representatives present at this meeting emphasized that it was "one big family" and the management as "parents to staff & their families".
  Lesson learnt: Informing many staff at the start of the energy assessment combined with loyalty and commitment from staff is important for the Team to carry out a successful energy assessment.

Pindo Deli PP (Pulp and paper, Indonesia)

• Several meetings, reviews and communication channels were identified through which staff could be informed and trained about energy efficiency
  • Management discusses environmental and energy issues at their weekly meeting
  • The Efficiency Department conducts monthly reviews of KPIs (key performance indicators) for each production unit, including for productions, energy and water “Energy Intensity Reports” and a quality ISO Newsletter is published and disseminated to staff
  Lesson learnt: Find out what meetings, reviews and reports exist for the company as these can be useful to inform and train staff about energy efficiency.

Puyat Vinyl (Chemicals, Philippines)

• Before the energy assessment started, the external facilitators gave a one-day in-house training to the staff of this company on the Cleaner Production concept and methodology and how to apply this to improve energy efficiency. After the assessment (step 2), external facilitators met again with the Team to facilitate the identification of causes of energy and material losses and the identification of possible options. The “Fish Bone Diagram” was used successfully as a tool, and this was a useful learning process for the Team. (see diagram with example of a scalepit pump)
  Lesson learnt: An external facilitator can be useful at different steps in the methodology. He or she can provide training of staff as well as to assist the team in how to do the cause analysis and how to use the fish bone diagram.

CHICO (Iron and steel, Sri Lanka)

• Staff at this plant received training during various stages of the project:
  • Three technical staff attended a 5-day training programme delivered by SMED, who are the external facilitators for the GERIAP project in Sri Lanka.
  • A larger group of employees was selected, including three trainees, receiving thorough training on Cleaner Production and energy efficiency.
  • Many staff participated in the one-day walkthrough of the plant, which was also attended by an international consultant who described typical energy losses and efficiency opportunities for the various equipments and departments.
  • A three-day training programme was given to the Team on the draft Company Energy Efficiency Methodology.
  • A Roundtable with the other four Sri Lanka plants was held half-way during the implementation phase of options to exchange experiences and discuss successes and difficulties.
  Lesson learnt: A variety of training to a large group of company staff will increase the ownership of energy efficiency by staff and therefore increase the chance of successful energy efficiency options.

Holcim Lanka Cement (Cement, Sri Lanka)

• The company sent one process engineer, one accounts person and one administration person to a five-day technical training programme, given by the external facilitating organization, to learn about energy efficiency (technical knowledge) and Cleaner Production (the methodology). Especially the non-technical staff members benefited from this training and were now better prepared to work with the technical staff on the energy assessment (e.g. the accounts person now knew what the production, energy/resource and cost data that she would need to give would be used for).
  Lesson learnt: It is useful to also include non-technical staff in the training programme so that they better understand how to assist the technical staff in the energy assessment.

Lanka Tiles Ltd (Ceramics, Sri Lanka)

• Two technical staff and one accounts person attended a five-day technical training course at the beginning of the energy assessment. Although a consultant from India gave some training sessions in English, most training sessions were given in Sinhala, which made it easier for participants to understand the information
  Lesson learnt: If staff are trained in their own language then they will learn more from the training course.

Lime Master Ltd (Cement, Thailand)

• A one-week technical training course was delivered by TISTR, the facilitating agency for the GERIAP project in Thailand. This company decided to send the Deputy Production Manager, the Chief of Production Process and the Chief of Quality Control to this course so that the entire production process was covered. This made it possible to easily extend the energy assessments to other focus areas after the methodology was applied once. In addition, top management is adopting the bottom-up energy and environmental management policy to the company production process.
  Lesson learnt: When the company selects which staff should follow training it is important not only to consider the selected focus areas, but also what areas may need to be covered in future assessments.

Other lessons learnt:

• All staff should be made aware that energy can be saved during their daily tasks. To make them aware of this, ask staff before or during the training to write down three suggestions for energy savings for their work areas. There can be presented and discussed at the training session
• This Guide includes several training materials that can be used for training sessions for company staff
• Staff training sessions should also include case study examples and a plant walkthrough to apply the learnt information into practice
• Some companies send staff to external training but they are not allowed to share certain company information and data with other students for confidentiality reasons. Therefore is it important for those who deliver the training to have fictive case study examples and exercises
• In-house capacities to carry out an energy assessment are sometimes overestimated and a consultant or external facilitator should be aware of this and be flexible in relying on the support from company staff
• Special management training should be offered to internal technical staff to increase their ability to convince top management to implement options and continue with improving energy efficiency
• Regular staff meetings are important to ensure that staff’s interest in energy efficiency and their cooperation during the assessment stays high
• The presence of top management at (the start of) a meeting where the assessment is introduced to staff can help in getting staff’s support for the assessment

Back to step 2 task 2a