Overview
A food manufacturer was evaluating how to integrate biogas into its manufacturing process while also improving natural gas efficiency. The client needed more than just raw interval data, it needed analysis that could identify the true impact of operational changes, compare performance against a predicted baseline, and determine which operating scenarios delivered the strongest economic outcome.
Rodan’s energy management platform and analyst support helped the client isolate savings periods, validate the effect of specific experiments, and identify best practices worth replicating.
The Challenge
The manufacturer needed to understand whether biogas could be incorporated cost-effectively into its operation. At the same time, the organization wanted to identify hidden operational savings and understand how process changes were affecting fuel consumption.
Without a strong analytical framework, it would have been difficult to separate normal usage fluctuations from true savings events or compare test periods against a reliable target baseline.
Our Solution
Rodan used its energy management platform and energy analyst support to compare actual gas use against a modeled baseline and interpret results through CUSUM analysis. This allowed the client to evaluate specific operating periods, understand where consumption was below target, and determine whether biogas-related process changes were financially advantageous.
The solution provided both technical analysis and practical insight, turning monitoring into decision support.
Implementation
- During two experimental periods, Rodan analyzed consumption patterns and compared them to predicted baseline use. The analysis showed that actual use was well below target during the intervals June 23 to July 16 and August 16 to September 16. The latter period produced estimated savings of approximately 13,000,000 SCF of gas, or about $130,000 assuming $0.01 per SCF.
- Rodan also identified a separate period of best practice between July 17 to August 15 and September 17 to October 31, during which the client saved an additional 400,000 SCF, representing approximately $40,000 in savings. The identified event suggested a payback period of just 2.5 months if those practices could be repeated consistently.
Key Takeaways
- This case shows the value of pairing an energy management platform with expert analysis. The largest value was not simply identifying a one-time savings event, but translating that event into operational knowledge the client could use repeatedly.
- Rodan helped the manufacturer do two things at once: evaluate the business case for alternative fuels and identify operational best practices that reduced fuel consumption. That dual value proposition is especially important in manufacturing environments where process changes affect both energy economics and production performance.
