A new approach to energy management
Lincolnshire Police Authority continues to lead the way amongst police authorities with its innovative approach to energy management by becoming the first Police Authority in the UK to use TEAM's Flexible Energy Management Service.
Background
Lincolnshire Police Authority covers all areas of the county with exception of the North and North east of Lincolnshire, which is policed by the Humberside authority. The force consists of over 1200 officers based at its headquarters in Nettleham, Lincoln and at 11 other police stations covering the constabulary area. The Authority has used TEAM Sigma energy monitoring and targeting software for over 12 years. The Facilities Management department use Sigma to analyse the utility cost and consumption data from the force's sites.
A more comprehensive approach
A dramatic increase in contract fuel prices and statutory requirements to produce energy performance data prompted the force to consider a more comprehensive approach to energy management aside from using TEAM Sigma software. Estates Manager Chris Hitchens is responsible for Lincolnshire Police Authority's energy spend. Chris strongly believed the organisation need to sharpen its focus on energy management. He called on TEAM's Consultancy services to find an appropriate solution. Chris explains, "It was important first of all to find out where we were making substantial cost savings and the areas where we had an excessive energy spend. We were aware that TEAM offer a range of Consultancy services and so we approached them to initially carry out some free Carbon Trust survey work”.
TEAM Consultancy services
The survey assessed three key buildings that were typical of those belonging to the organisation and made a number of recommendations that highlighted some low-cost and no-cost savings opportunities. The survey report identified total potential savings of 3.5 million kWh (26%) in the overall energy consumption, worth £156,162 at prevailing prices. It further suggested that the cost of implementing the recommended measures (£261,500) could be recovered in approximately 1.7 years.
One of the key recommendations was the development of a corporate Energy Policy and Strategy. Chris saw this item as a priority and maintained it was essential to adopt a formal action plan in order to progress forward and achieve the targets set out in the survey. It was at this point that TEAM's services were commissioned under the pre-tendered Buying Solutions contract. The arrangement with Buying Solutions meant that the organisation did not need to undertake a time consuming tendering process in order to progress with the recommendations from the Carbon Trust survey.
Chris said, "The new policy is based on the action plan provided by the survey. Draft versions were prepared by TEAM Consultancy and presented at our Energy Group meetings to enable both administrative and operational staff to contribute to this process".
Flexible Energy Management Services
The Carbon Trust suggests that organisations should aim to employ one full-time member of staff to manage each £1m of energy expenditure. As Lincolnshire Police has an energy spend of around £500k, they chose to use TEAM's Flexible Energy Management Service, which provides an on-site Energy Manager on a basis that suits the organisation.
Chris explains, "The Flexible Energy Management Service means that we could contract a TEAM Energy Consultant to work with us for a number of days and not on a full time basis. In our case it was for 45 days work. We stipulated that this would mostly involve TEAM's Consultant undertaking work on site.
"Our flexible Energy Manager has been involved with numerous energy management activities including staff awareness training, carrying out feasibility studies and even rummaging around boiler houses and reading meters!
"Having an Energy Manager on site is a real advantage as they can access internal systems and are able to communicate with staff face-to-face. This flexibility of the TEAM service is great. We can enjoy all the benefits of having an Energy Manager around, but we're spared the overhead costs of employing a full-time member of staff."
Current and future work
TEAM Consultancy is currently working with key members of the force's personnel to ensure they can use Sigma software to its full potential. Their TEAM Energy Manager is responsible for carrying out this training, which included demonstrating Sigma's extensive reporting functionality.
The reports that are generated are posted to the Authority's intranet to make staff more aware of the energy used in their buildings. Future work includes TEAM undertaking water surveys for the organisation and a full audit of the savings that have been achieved since the exercise began.
As a result of the working partnership between Lincolnshire Police and TEAM other police authorities in the country have shown considerable interest in carrying out similar work. Chris sees TEAM's Flexible Energy Management Service as a dynamic way forward. He is extremely keen for forces within the East Midlands region to look at the whole picture when dealing with energy management. He concludes, "I think it's important to realise that good energy management involves looking at a number of aspects from carrying out surveys, to using M&T software effectively and training all levels of staff. The Flexible Energy Manager role enables this to happen and we are hopeful that the positive effects of this approach will show in our annual audit next year."
