Lehigh Hanson has found that in addition to Energy Star awards, cost savings are another result of smart energy use.
Over the past 18 months, one of the largest construction materials companies in North America, Lehigh Hanson Inc., has captured two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards for energy efficiency at two of its aggregate production sites.
The first award was given to the company’s Mission Valley Rock Plant in Sunol, Calif., in April 2013 when the plant site reduced their energy intensity by 12.2 percent over the course of one year. The second award, presented in June, went to the company’s Harding Street Plant in Indianapolis. Both plants were enrolled in the EPA Energy Star Challenge for Industry program, which was initiated in 2006. The EPA program was a good fit with Lehigh Hanson’s own 2010 initiative to evaluate energy consumption efficiency at its 600-plus operations located in the U.S. and Canada.
Leroy Goree, Lehigh Hanson senior electrical engineering manager with the company’s aggregates technical support group, says the fact that construction materials companies such as Lehigh Hanson utilize some of the largest amounts of the nation’s energy has always prompted his company’s leaders to monitor energy efficiency.
“In 2010 we organized a formal process to evaluate all our plants to identify which ones were using the greatest amount of energy,” Goree says. “From that initial step, we selected 15 sites to participate in an energy action plan. The Energy Star Challenge for Industry program fit so well with our sustainability objectives that we completed an application to take part in the challenge.”
At the beginning of the evaluation project, members of Mission Valley Rock Plant’s management, with support from personnel at the company’s technical competency center in Irving, Texas, completed a comprehensive review of the major systems at the plant, including crushers, conveyors, pumps, screens, feeders, fans, heating, air compressors, etc.
To qualify for the EPA program, the Mission Valley Rock plant had to agree to a baseline energy consumption related to multi-year use of energy sources such as gasoline, oil and propane. The program required the plant to demonstrate improved energy efficiency by 10 percent or more over a period of five years or less.
“We maintained detailed records of energy usage at the plant throughout 2012 in order to verify our energy achievement,” says Jeff Sieg, director of corporate communications.
Team effort
Gathering facts about energy usage required the involvement of all the Sunol plant employees. Plant Manager Tom Jackson notes that every employee at the plant participated in efforts to review work processes and consider ways to improve efficiency of every aspect of the plant, including how lighting was used during evening production shifts. Goree says their cooperation and feedback was invaluable.
“We were impressed by the thorough and helpful input of employees who were so diligent in recording their activities during a work day so we could monitor energy use at every step of the plant’s production process,” Goree says. “The evening shift had to record the times they turned pumps on and off. We also asked that crew to provide input on how much lighting was required at night and at what times they needed the most light. It was important to us to balance energy usage with security. The plant’s workforce was very helpful throughout the project.”
Goree and his team spent a lot of time at the plant meeting with everyone involved in each phase of the evaluation project and each step of production. They found that employees had many good ideas about reducing energy usage and were willing to take ownership of the idea of improving energy efficiency.
One of the unique features uncovered at the Sunol plant is the high number of energy meters there. On average, a similar site would have between one and five utility meters. The energy evaluation identified 17 meters at Sunol.
“The site was first developed in the 1950s,” Goree says. “The large number of meters is something that evolved over the years as the plant grew. That did pose some challenges during upgrades. Since there was no economic payback in reducing the number of meters, we left them as they were.”
Another unique aspect of revamping Sunol’s energy plan included integrating the off-peak and weekend energy restrictions unique to the Sunol community.
“It took some coordination with the community to work out the energy use plan,” Goree says. “But everyone was on board with what we were trying to do.”
Based on their evaluation findings, a number of energy-related projects were planned and implemented at the Sunol plant. The projects included a mix of equipment installations, such as hot oil economizers and variable speed drives, as well as process improvements and energy optimization strategies. The plant shifted certain production tasks to reduce loads at peak demand times and set monthly demand control targets.
Full production review
While they were at it, the evaluation team reviewed every aspect of production at the Sunol site.
“We wanted to approach all our site evaluations as a holistic process,” Goree says. “In addition to evaluating energy use at the Sunol plant, we also reviewed the plant’s entire production process to ensure we were getting the most tons-per-hour for the energy we utilized.”
Jackson’s staff approached the evaluation of work processes as a team.
“Along with our vice president of sales, the Sunol sales team looked at everything we were doing to make products available to customers in the Bay Area,” Jackson says. “Through that process, we decided to take production of some products at the Sunol plant to another quarry in the area because we could see that we could produce and deliver those products more efficiently at the other site. Through that change, our quarry took on a new customer from the other site because they needed a product we could produce more efficiently at Sunol. The process was a win-win for all of us.”
Jackson’s plant also reviewed each step of the material delivery process, evaluating delivery routes and other aspects of delivery activity.
“We were able to refine that process, too,” Jackson says. “We found some things such as an extra step we eliminated, aiding overall production. By taking a good look at how and where we were consuming the energy, we were able to develop and implement a comprehensive energy reduction plan that was realistic and attainable.”
The Mission Valley Rock Plant’s one-year energy-saving accomplishment is equivalent to 28,987 MMBtu of annual source energy avoided and 817 MT of annual C02e avoided.
Although it required some time to initiate and complete the evaluation and subsequent upgrades, Lehigh Hanson officials believe the process was valuable to their operations, the community surrounding their plants and to the environmental sustainability of their industry.
“In some of the upgrades and improvements made at the plant, we cooperated with utility companies and their consultants to finalize our plans,” Goree says. “When you have that many people involved, a project can easily take six to nine months.”
In all, it took about two years from the time plant managers applied through the corporate office for the necessary capital required to evaluate their site until all evaluation and upgrades were completed.
More to do
While Lehigh Hanson officials are very pleased with the outcome of their plant evaluations and the EPA recognition, their work in reducing energy consumption is far from over.
“Once we complete evaluation and upgrade of these first 11 sites, we’ll initiate the same type of process with the next tier of sites,” Goree says. “We’ve learned some important and interesting facts about our sites. At our Harding Street plant in Indianapolis, the plant is located close to the river. Our evaluation revealed that 40 percent of the electricity at the plant is used to pump water out of the quarry. We’ve found that each site has unique opportunities for reducing energy usage and improving efficiency.”
“We began looking at our energy use long before we started the EPA’s program,” Sieg adds. “We believed it was important to use all our resources efficiently. The EPA challenge gave us the opportunity to formalize our efforts and gain recognition for our plants’ achievements.”
Sieg also notes that Lehigh Hanson’s plants are the first aggregate plants in the construction materials industry to achieve the EPA awards.
“Two of our cement plants are Energy Star certified and across the company there are numerous sites taking part in EPA programs,” Sieg says. “We are initiating similar energy-savings programs in all the business lines throughout our company.”
Goree explains that advancing technology played a key role in the plants’ energy reduction.
“We upgraded some equipment to variable speed drives and added economizers (heat recyclers) on Sunol’s asphalt plant,” Goree says. “Our evaluation included a review of all current equipment and consideration of the value of upgrades.”
Community pride
The history of the Mission Valley Rock Plant includes deliberate efforts to be an asset to the community, both economically and environmentally.
“Most of our employees reside in the Sunol community. They take pride in how we conduct ourselves in terms of environmental sustainability,” Jackson says. “Our efforts to be a good neighbor include setting up mining belts that run under the local freeway and using paint colors at the plant that reflect the colors of the area’s native grasses and landscape.”
Mike Roth, vice president and general manager for Lehigh Hanson operations in the San Francisco/Bay Area, says his company is very sensitive to the need for acting as good stewards at each of their mining and construction materials sites.
“We have a great respect for the land we mine and the communities we operate in,” Roth says. “We’re very proud that two of our facilities have been so successful in this EPA challenge. Although this certainly helps our bottom line, it’s equally important that we operate in a way that’s good for our environment.
“As a leader in our industry, we encourage our employees and suppliers to focus on the things they can do to reduce environmental impacts. These types of accomplishments demonstrate that Lehigh Hanson is serious about sustainability at both a corporate and plant level.”
Lehigh Hanson currently has nine additional aggregate facilities participating in the Energy Star Challenge for Industry program and expects more of its plants to join the program in the near future.
Global company
Lehigh Hanson Inc. and its affiliated companies are part of the HeidelbergCement Group, one of the largest building materials manufacturers worldwide. HeidelbergCement is the global market leader in aggregates, with leading positions in cement, concrete and other downstream activities.
Lehigh Hanson has more than 600 total active operations in the United States and Canada. For aggregates specifically, the company operates more than 200 aggregates sites (including crushed stone, sand and gravel, and aggregates distribution terminals).
Take note
Lehigh Hanson Inc. learned that employees had many good ideas about reducing energy usage and were willing to take ownership of the idea of improving energy efficiency.
Loretta Sorensen is a freelance writer in Yankton, S.D. She produces material on a variety of topics, serves as a ghostwriter, and has authored her own books.
