“The product scores in terms of the ease of use, adaptability (customizable) and the immediate results that it can deliver for customers,” says one of the Environmental Leader Product and Project Awards judges.
A panel of 20 judges reviewed Environmental Leader’s project and product nominations this year. One judge asserted that the competition was high and there were some tough choices to make. In spite of the stiff competition, SENSEI™ won in the product category.
SENSEI is Cascade Energy’s advanced energy software solution designed to drive continuous, cost-effective savings for industrial facilities worldwide. The platform does much more than merely monitor energy consumption. The only solution on the market that’s designed by industrial energy efficiency experts, SENSEI changes behavior by connecting people to energy information, actions to results, and energy-efficiency projects to measurable returns.
According to Environmental Leader’s review of SENSEI, another judge “complimented the product on its web-based capabilities, energy analytics, focus on industrial operations, and focus on the human factors, adding that it is especially good in its integration with existing MES software in manufacturing.”
SENSEI helps manage workflows by allowing users to tag, open, and close events, assign tasks to individuals and allow all stakeholders to communicate about events and issues. Unlike many tools on the market today, SENSEI is easy to use and can be up and running in a matter of weeks—not months. When compared to other energy software solutions, SENSEI is unique because it:
1. Accommodates all data streams: interval, monthly, utility bill, water/sewer, production, etc.
2. Displays energy performance data and events in a meaningful way so users can easily create and save the views they need.
3. Tracks true energy savings so end users can understand and communicate ROI.
4. Provides push reports and alarms that notify end-users when energy anomalies occur, so that immediate action can be taken.
SENSEI creates an energy intensity baseline based on sophisticated normalization equations (regression analysis) to account for changes in weather, production, operating schedules, etc. This baseline gives an industrial facility the power to accurately track all of their energy efficiency initiatives and render their energy stories visually.
The platform’s reporting options allow engineers to quickly view their facility’s baseline vs. actual performance, enter the maintenance actions taken, track current projects, as well as energy and cost savings to-date.
When industrial companies curb their energy spend and reduce operating expenses they free up capital to invest back into the company and its employees—thus increasing competitive edge and the ability to more quickly adapt to an ever-changing marketplace. SENSEI gives companies and their employees’ visibility to the direct effect their actions have on energy performance and dollars saved.
Case Study
In 2009 a Cascade Energy client, running a large food and beverage distribution enterprise, launched an initiative to reduce their energy costs and consumption. After working with Cascade the company reduced energy use overall, by more than 28%. Cascade introduced SENSEI and suggested that the new, cloud-based platform could help them be more effective at monitoring and understanding the impact of their energy improvements. The company was immediately interested, particularly so, because monitoring solutions they’d used in the past weren’t fully meeting their needs. With SENSEI, all of the clients’ sites can see and share data logs. Their operations staff has instant access to real-time information about energy-saving actions taken, and all stakeholders can view rich information revealing whether a change helps or hurts energy efficiency.
