10. Nov 2014
Experience Report of Brigl & Bergmeister on the ISO 50001 certification
Ultimately, the motivation for implementing ISO 50001 standards was the insecurity about what consequences the implementation of the new Energy Efficiency Law would have for Brigl & Bergmeister (B&B). What we wanted to avoid in any event was to be dictated energy savings projects by an external auditor. We wanted to make sure that also in future we would be in a position to freely decide about our projects and the best possible time to carry them out. Continuously looking for potentials of saving energy and consequently costs becomes imperative especially under difficult economic conditions.
It was not necessary for us to develop anything substantially new for the implementation of ISO 50001 into our existing integrated management system. All necessary data and key figures have been available in various documents for years. The challenge was much more to filter out the relevant data and to identify those factors which had an influence on them. It is this analytical process, which needs to continuously be developed further, which ultimately, creates transparency.
Prior to the introduction of ISO 50001, a master plan for energy efficiency was designed with the help of an external consulter. In the process of this analysis we found several savings potentials, which have already been put into practice to a certain extent or will be in the years to come. Furthermore, we are hoping to find additional saving potentials through specific trainings for our production staff and by raising our staff’s awareness of conserving energy.
The ISO 50001 certification calls for a well-structured approach as far as energy is concerned. Apart from pointing out the various potentials for saving energy, we have to analyse and evaluate what effects the measures taken actually have on energy consumption. Before the introduction of ISO 50001, the energy savings effects of many technical or technological projects were presented as yielding profit; but this statement was never really verified after these projects had been carried out.
Being awarded ISO 50001certification demonstrates our business partners, clients and our own staff B&B’s positive basic attitude towards energy saving and environmental topics. Therefore, implementing an energy management system in order to operate on a sustainable basis and consequently save energy is on all accounts highly recommendable.
