A complete EnergAir compressed air management system installed at a GlaxoSmithKline manufacturing site is ensuring optimum system efficiency and providing detailed running data.

A complete EnergAir compressed air management system installed at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) manufacturing site in Ware, Hertfordshire, is ensuring optimum system efficiency while providing detailed running data and precise efficiency reports. In addition, the EnergAir 'Alert Service' also reports any problems or anomalies in the system to a service provider. The message is transmitted and acknowledged in a matter of seconds, giving the user total peace of mind by avoiding dips in system efficiency and preventing failures.

The GSK site includes research units and a manufacturing facility producing over one billion tablets or capsules and in excess of 30 million inhalers each year.

Supplying compressed air to the site are three 132kW and one 90kW oil free compressors, all of which are now controlled by an EnergAir Enercon SX controller.

The controller unit matches compressed air supply to demand from the system, balancing all four compressors to give the most efficient generation combination.

The complete EnergAir package supplied to GSK Ware consists of an SX 5 System Controller, an I/O box, communications box with modem, system monitoring devices, EnerSoft software and Alert services.

GSK were provided with an on-site PC to run the software, but the system can also be accessed via a laptop from any phone line, giving total flexibility.

Although the EnergAir system is intended to show energy savings, the driving force behind its installation at GSK was the precise system monitoring and data logging capabilities on offer.

Dave Wall, Engineering Manager at GSK Ware puts the system in context, 'In our industry, we are under continual pressure to reduce costs.

As a result, monitoring and targeting is becoming an increasingly important part of our business.

The production of compressed air accounts for a large proportion of our expenditure on electricity at this site and without accurate data is has been impossible to measure the efficiency of the system and quantify the effect of any improvements we have made.

'The EnergAir system addresses this situation by accurately monitoring the volume of air we are using and that which we are generating, it then controls the compressors and calculates exactly how efficiently that compressed air has been produced.

We have our own systems for leak detection and prevention across the site, but were not previously able to monitor the effectiveness of this activity without an accurate comparison of generated and used air'.

'An additional benefit has been dealing with sales calls offering energy audits and air supply reviews that inevitably end with the conclusion that our site is inefficient and we need to buy a new compressor.

Now we have the answers to all these questions and can avoid any unnecessary spend on new equipment with confidence.

Trending performance also works both ways; we are able to quantify the improvements in running efficiency we expect to see from using the EnergAir compressor control system and ensure that our expectation is achieved'.

'We now have exactly what we envisaged from the system when we first embarked on the project, which is very satisfying.

The Ware site produces compressed air at a cost of 0.39 pence per m3 compared to the industry average of 0.5 ppm3 for this type and size of installation.

EnergAir have done a lot to get the system to where we wanted it today, that commitment and technical support is much appreciated.

We can now to show the system to other GSK manufacturing sites with confidence and ensure organization benefits as a whole'.

To ensure efficiency targets are met and production downtime avoided at GSK Ware, the site is also connected to the EnergAir 'Alert Service'.

The system dials-out automatically if there is any change from tightly set parameters, hence a problem can be identified and solved before it affects production or working efficiency.

Any trips that occur are reported to the service support supplier, Motivair in this case, via a modem in an on-site communications box.

The message is routed through a server at EnergAir, which has a sequence of destinations for the message, depending on the nature of the message and it's importance.

Some are sent as e-mails to be logged, other more serious messages such as a compressor failing are sent to mobile phones as text massages as well as faxing any relevant parties.

The system will automatically keep sending sequenced messages until one is acknowledged.

The whole process only takes between 60 and 90 seconds to complete, ensuring a prompt response.

On receipt of the trip message, the service provider can interrogate the system remotely and make a recommendation to GSK on the best course of action to take.

There are monitors on: energy usage, system efficiency, compressor status, compressor bearing condition, compressor water coolant temperature, dew point analysis, room temperature, air filter status and air discharge pressure to the system.

According to Marc Saunders EnergAir Technical Director, 'the Alert package is an essential tool for production critical environments, because of the speed of response and the detail available without an on-site visit being required.

The user now has total peace of mind with 24hr unbroken monitoring and support'.

Commenting on the project as a whole, Marc Saunders states: 'EnergAir equipment and services are normally installed to optimise control and make energy savings in the generation of compressed air.

The data monitoring aspect is something that we do in order to identify and effectively calculate the potential savings in a system.

We then use these results to demonstrate the improvements that are made to the customer.

The GSK Ware application shows how this information can also be a valuable asset to an already efficient and well-run compressor house'.

GSK was one of a number of key sites and users of compressed air that were targeted when the EnergAir Company was originally formed.

In this case, their success proves that the EnergAir system can bring significant benefits to a site with a large, up-to-date and already efficiently run compressor house.

The benefits for sites that have several different types of air compressor and large disparate air supply systems can be dramatic, particularly in terms of overall energy savings and prevention of down time where savings running into tens of thousands over a twelve-month period are common.