Working with a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility and their load factor is terrible - only 0.42 on average. They're paying huge demand charges relative to their actual energy usage. Plant runs batch processes that create massive demand spikes but relatively low overall consumption. Any strategies for improving load factor in batch manufacturing environments?
Load Factor Analysis - Pharma Manufacturing
Dan - Pharma is tough because of the batch nature and clean room requirements. Best approach is usually production scheduling optimization - stagger your high-demand processes if possible. Also look at thermal storage for HVAC systems to shift some of that cooling load to off-peak periods. What kind of processes are creating the demand spikes?
Omar, main spikes come from large mixing equipment, tablet presses, and the autoclave sterilization cycles. Plus constant 24/7 clean room air handling. Production scheduling is limited by FDA batch requirements - they can't really split batches across time periods. Thermal storage is interesting though - hadn't considered that approach.