Glanbia Meats was formed from an amalgamation of Avonmore and Waterford Co-Ops. The Glanbia plant in Roscrea specialises in pig processing, providing pork and bacon products for the Irish and international markets.
The overall aims of the project were to reduce energy and water resource consumption per pig processed through the use of a combined Monitoring and Targeting (M&T) and Building Management System (BMS). Monitoring equipment was installed throughout the plant in order to accurately measure both electricity and water consumption figures for various areas. These provided a new insight into actual operations. Through the use of customised automated report formats based on user requirements, areas of high and irregular energy use were identified. Water and electricity figures were compared with similar figures from plants in Denmark and the Netherlands. Production management staff were trained in the use of the system, and given specific targets to achieve. Performance against the targets was monitored continuously with dedicated reporting both real time and periodically. Variances were detected at an early stage and best operating practices derived and implemented. Senior management monitored the overall performance at management team meetings through customised reports.
The project has achieved a reduction in water consumption per pig processed of over 21% (exceeding the target of 14% reduction) and almost 5% reduction in electricity consumption per pig (matching the energy reduction target). Irish values for benchmark performance have now been derived and may be used in the sector.
The payback for the project was less than two years.
