What is ECM (Energy centered maintenance)?

Published 2024-03-01 by Alvaro Oberon (a 4.1 minute read) | Back to the main page

What is energy centered maintenance?

Energy Centered Maintenance (ECM) is a continuous improvement maintenance approach that integrates preventive and predictive maintenance tasks with energy-focused maintenance goals. The ECM definition can be summarized by this question: "Always maintaining the designed or desired operational efficiency of a system, what are the time intervals and maintenance tasks required to keep the system running with the absolute least amount of wasted energy consumption"? Let's look at all this with a little more detail.

The benefits of ECM

Consider the following practical example (source): "[…]a typical pump that had an impeller caused imbalance, which was detected within two weeks of installing a wireless monitoring system, but did not have high enough vibration to cause a concern, ran for two and a half years without any signs of catastrophic failure. As soon as the imbalance, which was a manufacturing defect, was removed, it decreased energy consumption by seven percent on a 250 horsepower pump. If this excessive power consumption was detected two and a half years ago, it could have saved over $100,000 in lost energy[…]".

This example is extremely impactful because it puts an actual number on the savings that would have been achieved if ECM had been in place for that particular motor/ pump assembly - what a waste of money! Most times these savings are overlooked for somewhat understandable reasons. For example, it is not very hard to see that often production schedules are way more important than energy optimization at any given moment in time. The production manager couldn't care less about energy efficiency: that important order must be out the door today!

Energy losses are like a mains water leak that drips away in cheap individual drops that are easy to dismiss but eventually accumulate to an ocean of cost over time.

The need for ECM depends on the type of company and the stage of maintenance management development. The general benefits of ECM are summarized on the following points:

• Cost savings (this is probably the defining factor with all the other points coming is as a bonus).
• Environmental impact (Reduce carbon footprint and conserve resources).
• Regulatory compliance.
• Equipment longevity (ECM is still a maintenance framework).
• Competitive advantage (Customers, investors, and partners increasingly value environmentally responsible practices).
• ISO 50001 certification (ECM aligns with ISO 50001).

Practical steps for the application of ECM

In general terms the implementation of ECM will consider the following steps:

• Energy-related equipment identification: Identify equipment for which small deviations in efficiency may create large energy waste over time.
• Data collection and baseline prediction: Gather data related to energy consumption, performance, and efficiency. Establish a baseline for comparison. This step helps identify deviations from expected energy usage and informs subsequent actions.
• Development of an ECM inspection plan: Identify tasks and create a systematic plan for regular focused inspections. Regular inspections help detect anomalies, inefficiencies, or malfunctions that impact energy consumption.
• Equipment performance monitoring and baseline comparison: Continuously monitor equipment performance against the established baseline. Any deviations should trigger a root cause analysis to identify improvement opportunities.
• Selection of required maintenance action: Based on the analysis, choose appropriate maintenance actions to restore equipment efficiency. These actions may include repairs, adjustments, or replacements.
• Improvement of maintenance plans: Update preventive maintenance plans to align with ECM goals. Ensure that energy-saving measures are integrated into routine maintenance practices.

Final words

Energy consumption in industrial settings has always been a concern and it has always been considered for maintenance planning, yet, for reasons described above it is easier to dismiss and is often put aside to second plan even though the direct savings are very important. If the maintenance department is overworked keeping the production lines running (yes, extremely important) it may be worth it to employ a dedicated person or consultant to assist on some level of ECM implementation - it may very well be worth it.

This article is not designed to be a deep dive into the concepts of ECM but rather an introduction that may awaken your interest and start you off on the path of ECM considerations when you are designing/ optimizing your maintenance actions.

The article that steered us into these concepts was this one but there's a lot more information available including some pretty deep studies. There's plenty to get lost on, good luck!