Employees play a large role in improving building management efficiency and reducing energy costs. Whether it be education and spreading the word via bulletin boards and e-mails, or participating in organized facility management improvement programs such as 20 Keys, there are many ways for employees to get involved and make a difference!
Some manufacturing companies use the 20 Keys program created by a Japanese manufacturer to improve a company’s efficiency. The book “20 Keys to Workplace Improvement (Manufacturing and Production)” by Iwao Kobayashi, describes the 20 keys to workplace improvement. For example, one element is Conserving Energy and Materials. Groups of employees work together on a committee to create goals and objectives to improve energy conservation and monitor water usage, electricity, and energy usage on a quarterly basis to work on improvements over time. This program goes hand in hand with the International Standard Organization (ISO) 14000 family, an environmental standard where companies also create goals and objectives towards improving energy.
There are even of ways to incentivize employees to get involved in energy conservation: launch a competition, create a green team, spread the word, and promote employee efforts. ENERGY STAR has a benchmarking competition workbook to get you started, guiding you to plan and lead an energy or water efficiency competition.
Our conservation analyses and solutions can supplement a 20 Keys or ISO 14000 program by monitoring and evaluating energy usage and training staff on methods to achieve building operation goals and reduce expenditures. Please contact us to learn how we can help your employees work on improving energy conservation in your company!
