Berlin, CT – Eversource was recently recognized as a 2015 Connecticut Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) Innovation Prize recipient. The company received a “Gold” Innovation Prize for its PRIME program, which helps Connecticut’s manufacturers combine lean training with energy efficiency enhancements.
The CQIA Innovation Prize is presented to organizations that have introduced a new product, service or process within the state of Connecticut in the past five years that is innovative in the marketplace or its industry. It must also have proved to be beneficial to both the organization and its customers.
Over the last two years, the Process Reengineering for Improved Manufacturing Efficiency, or PRIME program has soared as customers look to lower energy costs and compete on the global scale. The program is unique because it looks at everything within the four walls of a customer to help them identify inefficiencies, beyond just equipment upgrades. The program delivers lean training to manufacturers while also incorporating energy-saving improvements. The overall goal is to help customers reduce electric consumption per unit manufactured through process improvements
“PRIME is proof that what is good for the environment is typically also good for business,” said Eversource Director of Energy Efficiency Matt Gibbs. “Through PRIME, our energy experts work with customers of all sizes to identify waste in their process and thereby improve productivity, reduce costs, and improve their sustainability.”
In 2013 and 2014, 129 Eversource customers participated in PRIME and combined saved a total of more than 3.6 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, which resulted in approximately 1,700 tons of avoided CO2 emissions. However, beyond the energy savings, PRIME delivered these customers non-energy savings of approximately $12 million in 2013 and more than $4 million in 2014 as a result of the productivity gains from the lean training events.
One example is Eversource’s work with United Steel, a structural steel fabricator located in East Hartford. Since its founding in 1974, United Steel has grown to become the largest fabricator and erector of structural steel in New England. Through PRIME, United Steel was able to improve its work flow stream by rearranging the physical layout of the facility. The new layout included energy-efficient equipment and system upgrades, resulting in estimated annual electricity savings of approximately 256,000 kWh. The new physical layout and the behavioral opportunities identified through PRIME also supported United Steel’s growth, reflected in its hiring of 20 new employees and the construction of an additional energy-efficient work space.
In order to qualify for PRIME, potential energy-savings and process improvements are first determined through a no-cost survey of the customer’s entire manufacturing process. Once approved, lean manufacturing training events are conducted at the customer’s facility. Eversource facilitates the survey and training events, and provides customers with incentives for training events and energy-efficient equipment upgrades.
The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership Inc. is the nation’s first state-level quality award. It was founded in 1987 utilizing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Excellence in an effort to advance innovative programs that improve quality performance and marketplace competitiveness. CL&P, now Eversource, has been previously recognized five times by CQIA.
