June 30, 1999

KU'S ASSESSMENT CENTER HELPS COMPANIES SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

LAWRENCE-- By helping them work more efficiently, teams of educators and students from the University of Kansas have assisted manufacturing plants in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska in identifying more than $25 million in potential energy, production and waste savings.

As part of the Industrial Assessment Center program, a national program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, KU's charge is to develop recommendations for small to medium-sized manufacturing plants to maximize energy efficiency, reduce waste and improve productivity. KU's program has performed more than 520 audits since it began in Lawrence nearly 18 years ago, resulting in implemented annual cost savings that have averaged about $20,000 per plant.

"This is a DOE-sponsored program that was started in the late 1970s," said Jerry D. Swearingen, director of the Industrial Assessment Center at KU. "Let's face it, the industrial sector is the major energy user in our economy. We help manufacturers that don't have the expertise to recognize where they might save some money.

"Tracking energy costs is not usually a priority for manufacturers, but it's fairly easy to do," he said. "It's a good habit for companies to start."

Assessments are provided at no charge to participating companies and client proprietary information is protected. Also, a company is under no obligation to act on any recommendations.

"Nobody else knows the name of the client," Swearingen said. "Our field manager gets a sanitized copy of the report--the name of the company is removed. That copy is for the manager to make sure that the KU assessment team is doing its job."

The Industrial Assessment Center serves manufacturing plants located within 150 miles of a host campus and that meet the following criteria:

The assessment team conducts a one-day site visit to perform the assessment and issues a report within 60 days detailing its analysis, findings and recommendations. "The assessment is not disruptive," Swearingen said. "We are very cognizant of safety more and we don't stop the operation. We might talk with some of the employees and management, but that is a minor interruption."

According to Swearingen, the assessment program began in 1976, with KU's program one of the early teams. The program has become so popular that Congress has voted to continue to fund it since its inception.

"This is an extremely good education track for training students," Swearingen said. "They learn how manufacturers do business. And the students see firsthand how a good energy, production and waste usage policy can help a manufacturer save money."

The Industrial Assessment program includes 30 participating universities across the country. KU's assessment team works with companies in the eastern half of Kansas (including Salina, Manhattan, Kansas City, Kan., Emporia, Pittsburg and Topeka), extreme western Missouri (including Kansas City, Mo., St. Joseph and Barton and Dade counties north of Joplin) and the southeast tip of Nebraska (including Lincoln).

For more information on the program, call Jerry D. Swearingen, director, at (785) 864-2980 or Peter W. TenPas, assistant director, (785) 864-2986.

Contact: Dann Hayes, University Relations, (785) 864-8855, dhayes@ukans.edu

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