Month: December 2012

by Shawn Crawford, M.F.

shawn88@vt.edu 

Energy savings as a result of lean implementation is significantly overlooked (EPA 2007).  By eliminating non-valued added activities lean production processes are missing important opportunities to improve performance and reduce costs. The Lean Energy Tool Kit ( EPA 2007) suggests a number of methods for assessing lean opportunities and reducing energy use with lean methods. An A3 will be used to format the assessment of the lean opportunities and reduce energy use by implementing lean principles.

An A3 is a common tool used in lean manufacturing to solve process problems and implement solutions (Sobek and Smalley 2008). A3s are commonly used by the Toyota Production System (TPS) to implement improvements on the process (Sobek and Smalley 2008).  TPS uses A3’s to solve problems, resulting in effective planning, decision-making, and execution (Shook 2008).  An A3 helps a company identify, frame, and then act on a problem. The following is the format for a basic A3 provided by Sobek and Smalley (2008):

Continue reading “Using an A3 to Implement Lean and Energy Saving Recommendations”

 Blacksburg, VA. December  10, 2012. The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials (SBIO) at the College of Natural Resources and Environment (CNRE) recently acquired a biomass power plant to support the SBIO Department’s academic and outreach goals. The unit is capable of generating 10 KW (Kilo-Watts) by using biomass feedstocks such as wood chips, nut shells, coconut shells, corn cobs, and manure. The unit is capable of producing 1KWh for every 1.2 kg of biomass.

The unit’s generator is powered by a 3-cylinder combustion engine that uses syngas as fuel. Syngas is produced from carbonaceous materials, such biomass, that reacts with steam or a limited amount of oxygen at temperatures above 750 C to produce mainly nitrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The gasification process dates back to 1800s where it was used to produce town gas for lighting and cooking. Wood gasifiers were also used to power motor vehicles during World War II fuel shortages. In general the gases produced from the gasification process can be used in other applications such as gas turbines for electrical production, burned for heat generation, or as a source for hydrogen source cells.

The biomass power plant is a great addition to the current and future academic efforts in sustainability at the SBIO Department. There is an increasing interest in the community to learn more about renewable materials and their potential use in energy production and how technology can be integrated in a small-scale system. Also, the SBIO Department’s research efforts will benefit from using the unit to test, characterize, and optimize many of the different type of biomass feedstocks available in the state and beyond. Finally, the undergraduate program at the SBIO Department strives in acquiring and developing systems and technology to support teaching efforts in order to form the best specialists in Sustainable Biomaterials.

If you have questions, or like to see the power plant performing, please contact Dr. Henry Quesada at quesada@vt.edu or 540 231 0978.

By Dr. Henry Quesada and Dr. Brian Bond

This article was published in the November 2012 issue of Pallet Enterprise.

Cutting energy costs remains a way that many wood products firms can trim operating expenses while continuing to develop new business prospects and serve existing customers. This article reviews the most commonly implemented energy recommendations for both the U.S. manufacturing sector and the wooden pallet sector. This comparison will then help in determining how lean principles can be implemented into your energy management practices and will provide a self-assessment to guide your energy audit process.

Although the majority of wood products manufacturing businesses continue to use multiple sources of energy such as wood waste, natural gas, coal, diesel, and waste oil; electricity represents the highest energy cost (62.5%). There are many resources available to the industry to assist in identifying energy saving opportunities. One of the most helpful energy saving resources is the database of energy recommendations created by the Industrial Assessment Centers at the Department of Energy (DOE), which are research centers tasked with spreading ideas relating to industrial energy conservation.

The full article can be downloaded by following this link.