"Learning is not compulsory... But neither is survival."

Thank W. Edwards Deming for the brilliant quote that serves as the title to this post. Deming essentially taught Japanese industry how to develop efficient industrial production techniques after World War II. The rest, as they say, is history. In the spirit of Deming, I am pleased to debut on September 23, 2011 a new webinar for the Association of Energy Engineers, entitled "Designing and

Checklist for Considering an Energy Performance Contractor

UNDERSTAND WHAT AN ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACT (EPC) IS… and what it can and cannot do. An EPC allows you to obtain capital and expertise to install and operate energy-saving measures. In return, you share the savings with the vendor under specified contract terms. Energy savings depend on more than “new equipment.” Expertise and services are at least as important. A successful outcome is

Energy Efficiency's Role in Business Investment

Here's a two-part video on YouTube that challenges the conventional wisdom for measuring the investment performance of energy improvements. This presentation is intended for corporate decision-makers. Rates of return can be measured whether accepting or rejecting those improvements. in either case, this approach yields far more information than a simple payback measure. Click on the video's

Point, Counterpoint: Industrial Energy Consumption

A very succinct evaluation of today's energy policy comes from the Council of Industrial Boiler Owners. While some good points are made here, there's also a gap in the logic. My comments are below this quote:"One of the goals/objectives of the Obama Administration has been to delink fossil energy from Gross Domestic Product (GDP). So far it looks like they have been pretty good at it. The only

DOE Announces Over $30 Million to Help Universities Train the Next Generation of Industrial Energy Efficiency Experts

[Ed. note: The implementation of industrial energy efficiency depends as much on organizational dynamics as it does on technical acumen. The "next generation of industrial energy efficiency experts" must become adept at creating consensus across departmental lines. They must also demonstrate a compelling linkage between energy and business performance. These are skill sets that can and should

Funding Cuts for the Energy Information Administration?

Despite our economy's ever-increasing reliance on information as a means for creating value, federal budgeteering has resulted in a sizeable reduction of funding for the Energy Information Administration. A 14 percent cut to the EIA's budget is to be extracted now, not by spreading the cut over a full year, but instead squeezing it from the remaining FY 2011 budget, which runs through September

General Eisenhower's Thoughts on Master Planning (and Sustainability)

Driven by the best of intentions, a growing number of public and private organizations aspire to “sustainability.” These are operating principles that minimize environmental impacts and waste while reducing operating costs. This pursuit, however, is not without impacts on other elements of facility asset management. Like sustainability, these other elements also require resources and are subject