Plant operators worldwide are striving to reduce energy consumption, but where to start? Getting to know all the energy and resource flows within a plant and all related production processes is the essential first step. To reduce energy and resource consumption in industrial processes, it's important to move beyond traditional monitoring techniques.

This requires an intelligent system that can automatically track operational events and analyze the performance of multiple pieces of equipment distributed across one or more sites. This system must be able to learn how each piece of equipment behaves under different conditions and suggest appropriate countermeasures and best practices to ensure real-time energy efficiency. Actions must be taken as soon as they are detected by a digital system in a standardized way, assuring the capability of the process and reduce deviations in specific consumption.

Real-time monitoring across multiple sites

Tracking multiple energy and resource flows for one process or piece of equipment is hard enough, tracking dozens becomes a challenge. Therefore, it is virtually impossible to reach reasonable results without a proper tool to automatically track operational events and analyze the performance of hundreds of pieces of equipment scattered across one or multiple sites. Another departure from traditional consumption monitoring is understanding the influence of changing conditions over expected energy and resource consumption. Process variables, equipment setup, raw materials analyses, product properties, and many others all change the way that each production asset behaves. Therefore, for energy efficiency to be effectively asserted in real-time, an intelligent system must learn how each asset behaves under different conditions and adapt accordingly.

Dashboard of Viridis Performance

Intelligent analyses – from operator to executive level

Viridis Performance is a tool, which interprets process signals and triggers actionable recommendations for operators, right as inefficiencies are detected. It is useful from the operator level to the executive level, capable of covering various aspects of energy management and optimization simultaneously for hundreds of assets, in real-time. This application provides integrated energy and resource tracking, collecting vast amounts of low-level data and providing performance management capabilities with KPIs, analyses, targets, events, alarms, efficiency initiatives, as well as embedded best-available techniques and operational procedures. It promotes the standardization and enforcement of operational know-how, quantifies money losses, and delivers a single source of truth for information about equipment performance and all energy & resources flows.

It automatically generates dashboards, analyses, and send reports to its users. Further, the software calculates financial losses related with operational problems, as well as financial gains related with efficiency initiatives. In conclusion, Viridis Performance, as part of the Viridis Energy & Sustainability Suite, offers a comprehensive and innovative solution for steelmakers looking to improve their efficiency, reduce their environmental impact, and maintain profitability.

Tracking energy and resource flows along the whole value chain is challenging but an essential step for efficient energy management and reducing waste. The implementation is estimated to take three to nine months, and the investment is expected to pay off after six to twelve months. However, this may differ depending on the country. Energy reductions are estimated between 2% to 7%.

The experience of Gerdau Ouro Branco in digitalizing energy and resources management

The Ouro Branco plant of the Brazilian steel company Gerdau is one of Gerdau’s major capacity units with a wide diversity of production processes, comprised of hundreds of machines which, in turn, use dozens of types of energy sources and utilities.

Read this article to learn about the experience of Gerdau Ouro Branco in implementing an integrated energy management digital solution and capturing value from consistent energy efficiency improvements, operational stability, and improved governance.