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Rockwell Automation publishes Energy-Management white paper

November 9, 2009 - Rockwell Automation issued a white paper outlining a methodology for industrial energy management that allows manufacturers to strategically and holistically improve energy use. The “greenprint” helps companies view energy as a resource to be managed versus simply an overhead cost of doing business and offers advice on how to leverage existing automation and information technology for more effective energy management.

“Faced with volatile energy prices, resource scarcities, and increased regulatory and reporting concerns, forward-thinking manufacturers need an ‘inside-out’ approach to energy management,” said Sujeet Chand, Rockwell Automation chief technical officer. “This new methodology treats energy as an input to production, similar to a raw material, tracking precisely where and how it is used. By managing this information in real time, manufacturers can reap major rewards in higher profitability and productivity, and less environmental impact.”

The white paper outlines each of the seven pillars that comprise the greenprint and explains how a program designed around these protocols helps manufacturers save energy more effectively and invest it more strategically. The pillars can be applied independently or simultaneously by manufacturers regardless of the stage of existing energy-management programs. The seven pillars include:

Facility Monitoring to understand facility-level energy consumption to make better equipment run-time decisions

Production Monitoring to understand machine-level energy consumption of the plant floor in real time

Capturing Energy on the Production Bill of Materials and viewing it as a manageable input

Modeling using simulation solutions that factor in energy as a variable for optimizing profitability

Controlling to allow configurable automated optimization of production with energy as a variable

Responding to external market factors in order to optimize production according to real-time supply

Scorecarding to extend the infrastructure in order to provide energy ”scorecards” and optimize the supply chain with energy as a consideration

“The Rockwell Automation ‘greenprint’ methodology extends the company’s sustainable production portfolio by helping manufacturers approach energy in a proactive fashion rather than in an uncontrolled and reactive fashion,” according to Craig Resnick, research director, ARC Advisory Group. “Energy is now being viewed as one of a manufacturer’s biggest strategic resources, and not just as one of their necessary overhead expenses. Incorporating energy as a cost of goods sold versus just a cost of doing business is a revolutionary approach for manufacturers to manage their bottom line.”

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and information, makes its customers more productive and the world more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., Rockwell Automation employs about 19,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.

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