Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

Using energy efficiently is a basic prerequisite for the sustainable development of our economy. This means that it is not just about imple- menting political objectives concerning environmental and climate protection but rather about a company’s economic competitiveness. It is all the more surprising then that energy losses in manufacturing processes are accepted as a necessary evil with a high-quality production line. In general terms, “efficiency” is understood as the relationship between yield and performance. The energy efficiency of a production line is thus the relationship between the production output (yield) and the energy utilised to attain this result (performance). In order to increase energy efficiency without having an effect on production output, energy input has to be minimised. The first basic step in this direc- tion is to record current energy consumption and subsequently find out what energy losses are avoidable and the potential for optimisation. The following fundamental idea is important in this process. Only the company protagonists themselves are able to facilitate the implemen- tation of suitable measures for improving energy efficiency in production. Three factors are crucial in this respect: motivation, expertise and a proficient organisational framework.