Implementation of Metal Casting Best Practices - EERE - U.S. ...

Working with the Utility
Iron Foundry-2 is a large energy user. They are on the ITP list of 5,000 top industrial energy
consumers in the United States. Iron Foundry-2 has engaged its utility to examine methods by
which it can reduce its energy consumption. The utility provided the facility with a full-time
employee, who is paid by the utility, to identify and implement projects to reduce the foundry’s
energy intensity. This provides Iron Foundry-2 with an added resource that is able to focus on
such projects, rather than pulling an individual from another job function to perform the energy
conservation task.
Working with the utility has proven to be very useful to Iron Foundry-2. The utility
representative has begun to audit the plant’s energy use and has identified a number of energysaving
projects that are currently underway. The utility has demonstrated to Iron Foundry-2 that
they are equally concerned with reducing energy intensity at the foundry in order to reduce the
utility’s total power load.
2. Areas of Improvement
Business Case Studies
Iron Foundry-2, like many other foundries, requires a maximum payback of 2.5 years when
making changes to their operations. Engineering recommendations need to be backed with a
detailed cost-savings analysis in order to secure purchasing department and senior-level
management support. Yet it appeared to the assessment team that the engineers found performing
business case analyses to be burdensome and not worth their time, resulting in shelving of many
good ideas at this foundry.
The assessment team recommended that Iron Foundry-2 create a standard format for how to
conduct business case analyses. The foundry should provide training to its engineering staff and
department managers on how to develop a business case based on the standard format. This step
would reduce the burden of having to develop a business case analysis for any engineering
improvements, including energy conservation projects. Furthermore, by providing training to
these individuals, they will gain insight into management’s priorities.
Evaluate the Aging of Iron
Iron Foundry-2 personnel had dismissed the results of the work performed by the University of
Missouri – Rolla (UMR) on the age strengthening of iron as invalid, based on their own test
results that deviated from those of the UMR researchers. However, the assessment team
determined that the foundry’s in-house tests were based on the strength of the sample (not
machinability), which flawed its analysis. The work done at UMR shows that machinability can
change by as much as 15%, whereas strength only changes by approximately 10%.
The assessment team recommended that management take a sample of their production and run
their own tests following the steps that UMR took. If Iron Foundry-2 can replicate these findings,
the potential savings will be significant. Implementation of age strengthening has the potential to
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