Management Control System
Designing Management Control System (MCS)
In the contemporary world, most companies apply the use of energy to plan, manage, and execute their operations in accordance with the demands of the market and the industry. This makes energy the most vital aspect of production in business entities. Energy is crucial in running machines, recording of information, execution of communication activities, and provision of lighting within the context of the company. Since energy is essential to plan, managing, and execution of roles within the company, it is ideal for the company to decide on how to minimize consumption of energy footprint in the process of production. This is important because the company needs to cut down the overall cost of production to enhance the profit and revenue levels at the end of the financial year. This makes it critical for UTS to develop management control system with the aim of reducing its energy footprint in Building 3. This Management Control System (MCS) would enable UTS to cut down the cost of production by adopting effective and efficient application of energy system.
Objective
The main aim of this management control system (MCS) is to reduce the cost of energy footprint of UTS in Building 3. The Management Control System would also allow the entity to adopt cost-effective energy application in execution of roles and responsibilities in accordance with the demands of the market and the industry. The new design of MCS would be friendly to the environment thus conservation to the scarce natural resources. This represents development of a planet that would foster survival of the human race of the next generation. It is ideal for the company to adopt cheaper energy measures thus reducing the overall cost of production. In the long-run, the entity would be able to maximize its profits and revenues thus growth and development of the organization. This management control system would focus on educating employees of the UTS and other close partners of the organization on how to minimize consumption of energy and the consequential benefits.
Management Control System to enable UTS Reduce the Energy Footprint in Building 3
Establishing Energy Baseline
UTS must first develop the energy baseline in order to determine what to change in relation to future efficiency measure. The energy baseline of the entity reflects the current level of energy under consumption during the process of production (Australian Government, 2012). It is critical to develop the energy baseline of the company (UTS) in order to offer accurate comparison when implementing energy saving method. Energy baseline draws from reliable and valid data that can undergo critical analysis. UTS can adopt Regression Analysis or Modeling methodologies in the process of designing the energy baseline. In relation to this context, the company needs to develop energy baseline of building 3 in order to adopt effective and efficient energy saving approach. The development of energy baseline would occur in the form of energy efficiency opportunities program. UTS should capture all the two years of energy data for all the energy sources in relation to building 3. The company needs to identify processes that contribute to the baseline and their relative boundaries. UTS would use the historical data of energy consumption in order to determine independent variables influencing energy footprint (Kitamura et al., 2009).
This is appropriate for utilization of the regression analysis methodology of developing energy baseline (Australian Government, 2012). In the development of energy baseline, the entity (UTS) should include both variable and fixed factors affecting the development of energy baseline. One of the factors that affect development of energy baseline is the ambient conditions. This is the reflection of temperature in the course of production. The other crucial factors that might influence the composition of energy baseline include energy consumption rates, raw materials, product mix, production rates, and occupancy. Identification of factors affecting energy baseline at UTS in the building 3 would allow the entity to come up with appropriate measures at the operational level to improve efficiency while reducing the cost. The first attempt of reducing the cost of energy footprint is to increase production levels. This would allow UTS to spread the energy costs across numerous activities thus reducing the cost of production within this sector. The company needs to identify fixed and variable factors or energy applications. For instance, the energy that goes into lighting classifies as the fixed cost or fixed usage of energy (Kitamura et al., 2009).
Energy that goes into running of production and other activities within the building is variable energy usage. Since energy application within the building depends on fixed and variable factors, it is necessary to increase production levels in order to minimize both usage of energy. The other operational approach that might allow the company to reduce the rate of energy footprint is the production of commodities from lower energy intensity materials. The organization need to convince the market and industry to adopt the products from lower intensity energy materials. The third attempt to minimize energy footprint at the operational level is the development of efficiency within the building.
The organization needs to make appropriate changes such as adoption of efficient approaches within the building, reduction of stoppages, enhancement of insulation, and minimization of waste. The other way to improve the efficiency of energy footprint in relation to energy baseline is minimization of fixed energy component within the organization. This would involve the capacity of the organization to be able to reduce the energy in use or maintenance of adequate temperature. The organization should also ensure that these components must be in standby mode when they are not in use. The organization can minimize the use of fixed energy components by the use of efficiency bulbs for lighting.
The building should also utilize daylight to the optimum. It is also critical for the organization to reduce the footprint of energy in switching equipment on and off in the course of production. The organization also needs to minimize the use reject or scrap materials and facilities. The temperature of the building should be appropriate in order to manage the rate of energy consumption in the process of production. Development of energy baseline is the essential first step towards management of energy footprint in any organization hence significant in the attempts by UTS.
Completion of Energy Mass Balance
The main aim of this second step towards management of energy in UTS is to enable the organization to quantify energy flows within the building. This is crucial in illustration of comprehensive energy consumption. Energy Mass Balance represents an analysis of energy flows in accordance with mass flows within a business or a system (Australian Government, 2012). Development of effective and efficient EMB would allow the organization towards understanding the nature of essential services delivered within an area. This would enable the organization to determine the significance and amount of services in the given area. Development of EMB is also crucial towards facilitation of the innovation process (Kitamura et al., 2009). This is through analysis of the current situation and examining ways on how to improve. EMB is also significant towards capturing of the holistic costs and benefits of the energy footprint thus enabling the organization to decide whether to change the current system.
Extensive EMB has the capacity of opening processes thus promoting new ways of thinking and operating. EMB also allows the organization to measure energy savings in relation to the system, equipment, building, and key sectors of the plant. This is because EMB acts as the base for extensive analysis of energy footprint. This is an indication that for the organization to come up with most valuable energy efficiency opportunities, it is essential to conduct accurate EMB for the system or equipment. In order to complete an EMB, UTS would need to develop a plan. This represents the first step of extensive analysis of energy footprint.
The second step would involve determination of boundaries that can define the inflows and outflows in relation to building 3 in UTS. The organization would need to draft crucial processes in the form of a flow chart. The organization would then evaluate necessary sets of data to consider in the development of the draft. The fifth step requires the formal leadership of the organization to implement relevant strategies in order to capture necessary sets of data. This would allow the organization to estimate energy and mass flows. Calculation of energy and mass flows facilitates analysis of the results with the aim of adopting relevant efficiency measures. The last step of the plan involves documentation of EMB.
Estimation of Energy Saving Opportunities
The organization needs to develop essential strategies that can accurately estimate energy savings for the achievement of energy efficiency opportunities. This involves forecasting or estimating the future energy consumption of building 3 in relation to the energy baseline (Australian Government, 2012). The organization should evaluate three types of : , , and investment-based energy savings opportunities. People-based energy savings represent the easiest energy saving opportunity to implement since it comes because of changing human practices. In order to facilitate people-based energy savings, the organization need to determine energy usage profile. This information would supplement ideas in relation to employees and understanding of the use of energy within the organization.
This is critical in enabling the entity determine effective and efficient energy savings opportunities. Implementation of advanced metering data would allow the organization to identify and estimate effects of adopting the energy savings opportunities and their relevant impacts in accordance with the time. One of the common examples of people-based energy savings opportunities is encouragement of employees to turn off production equipment when, not in use. The organization should also find it critical to provide extensive feedback to relevant employees in relation to energy savings opportunities. The employees should know that their activities and production actions affect the energy baseline. This awareness allows the organization to save energy thus driving energy efficiency culture within the entity. The organization needs to adopt extensive energy reporting methods to enable easy identification and implementation of people-based energy savings. This is possible through enhancement in the awareness of employees on their roles and responsibilities in relation to saving reducing energy footprint. The second category (process-based energy savings opportunities) involves alteration of production methods and systems.
For instance, it is ideal to alter power usage and temperature settings within the building 3. are easy to identify and implement because of little cost and minimal capital expenditure. It is critical to evaluate energy data in accordance with information from the meter in order to identify optimization options within the production system. Advanced systems of metering provide the opportunity to the organization to determine the consumption levels within the building 3. UTS has the capacity to change operational practices in order to achieve effects of practice-based energy savings opportunities. Some of the activities that might enable the organization to minimize its energy footprint include reduction in water use, minimal chemical consumption, and discouraging effluent generation (Australian Government, 2012). The third category represents investment-based energy savings opportunities at the disposal of the organization. This category involves the application of capital costs with the aim of reducing consumptions in relation to energy. The third category highlights higher value of persistence in comparison to process and people-based energy savings opportunities. For implementation within the organization, investment-based savings opportunities come into two categories: operational expenditure and capital expenditure. Operational expenditure represents the group of pre-approved finance for little projects like the building 3 in the context of UTS. The formal leadership of the organization must approve implementation of the energy savings opportunities within the application of operational expenditure.
Capital expenditure requires relevant personnel to present crucial business case or opportunity to the formal leadership for approval and implementation. It is crucial for the organization to evaluate and analyze which energy savings opportunity to adopt in order to address the targets and objectives of the entity. The process of evaluation can prove to be very time consuming thus requires adoption of table system to offer accurate comparison between the three available categories of energy savings opportunities. It is essential to analyze how the energy savings opportunity would influence the energy consumption within the building. This involves adoption of accurate and valid assumptions in relation to future changes in the consumption of energy. The organization should also have the capacity to measure and monitor energy savings opportunities. In order to forecast the energy savings within the UTS building, the organization might decide to apply any of the three crucial methodologies: calculated savings, pilot study, and modeling or simulation. These methodologies would enable the organization to predict impacts of the energy savings opportunities accurately.
Opportunities to reduce energy consumption in UTS Building 3
The organization might decide to evaluate consumption and wastes of energy within the building as the first step towards the elimination of the problem. This would involve determination of equipment within the building and the performance level of the systems. Critical evaluation of the situation would enable the organization to identify areas that contribute towards wasting energy resources hence the ability to prioritize how to improve on the footprint conditions (Eger, 2006). The formal leadership at UTS might also decide to adopt the use of more energy efficient facilities such as energy saving bulbs and other equipment with the capacity to be on standby mode whenever not in use. The organization should seek to implement programs that allow systems to provide heat, lighting, and cooling to the building when occupied. It is also critical to ensure that facilities and systems of the organization are in the best form.
This is through constant maintenance and servicing activities thus achievement of maximum efficiency in relation to energy consumption. The organization should also seek measures of upgrading lighting system within the building with the aim of cutting down energy consumption and cost. This would involve the adoption of energy saving bulbs and efficient fixtures. Energy saving bulbs have the capacity to consume minimal energy while generating little amount of heat thus reducing the level of energy consumption. This would allow the organization to address its main objective of reducing the energy footprint in the building 3. The organization should execute accurate and valid examination of water usage and waste within the building. This would allow the organization to determine water wastage and adopt ways of reducing the trend. Adoption of measures that reduce wastage of water has the capacity to reduce energy footprint within the context of UTS. The other approach involves increasing the awareness of employees in relation to the need and importance of saving energy within the entity. This would allow employees to participate fully in the implementation of energy savings opportunities. The last attempt to reduce energy consumption involves thorough insulation. The organization needs to insulate exterior walls, pipes, outlets, and radiators to minimize loss of heat and cooling process (Eger, 2006).
References
Kitamura, S., Mori, K., Ozaki, Y., Shindo, S., & Izui, Y. (2009). A method of estimating energy saving effect and its application to factory energy supply systems. Electrical Engineering
In Japan, 168(4), 14-20. doi:10.1002/eej.20880
Ekmanis, J., Zebergs, V., & Zeltins, N. (2010). Adaption of the general policy assessment methodology for managing the energy saving process. Energetika, (1), 1-7.
Eger III, C. (2006). Integrating methods of statistical analysis to . Environmental Quality Management, 15(3), 87-108.
doi:10.1002/tqem.20096
Australian Government (2012): Energy Savings Measurement Guide: How to estimate, measure, evaluate, and track energy efficiency opportunities. Retrieved from, http://www.ret.gov.au/energy/efficiency/eeo/resmaterial/esmg/Pages/default.aspx
