Catering to the Needs of the Army
PRI worked closely with the catering division of the Royal Logistic Corp (which incorporated the former Army Catering Corps) and provided a complete multi-utility energy management system. After just two months the trials yielded a startling reduction in energy usage of up to 45%.
In line with both MOD and Government policy, Head Quarters Land Command (based in Wilton, Wiltshire) actively promotes the efficient management of energy in its 700 international military catering establishments. Success has been achieved via a two-pronged attack - firstly by undertaking effective energy management training for all caterers and secondly by installing Kitchen Energy Management Systems (KEMS) at sites throughout the world.
The Senior Catering Warrant Officer, Colin Slade, who is co-ordinating the project says, "To reduce energy usage in the kitchens, I was looking for a system that simply and quickly gives our caterers the information they need. I want them to be able to see the usage, act quickly to reduce it (if they can) and then get back to their cooking, because at the end of the day, they are chefs not computer programmers!"
Having supplied 250 army kitchens with electricity metering equipment since 1989, PRI was in a unique position to develop an energy management solution that would dovetail into the KEMS programme. A single CALMU 3 electricity meter, gathering pulse inputs from gas/water meters, was installed at test sites. The data gathered by the CALMU meter then fed into the PRINCIPAL Utility Manager spreadsheet system designed specifically by PRI.
A further development of PRI's PRINCIPAL Profile energy information system, the PRINCIPAL Utility Manager package provides graphical information for both the short and long term. On a daily basis, the catering manager can access accurate half hourly consumption data over a 24 hour period. Practically, this allows him to quickly pinpoint times of the day when energy has been used outside of cooking times and track down the cause of the extra consumption. For more of an overview, the software can provide statistical data for any given period of time - a useful feature for generating monthly reports which have significance for budgetary tracking.
The success of the KEMS programme has been impressive. The most recent trial conducted at Rheindhalen, Germany has demonstrated a 45% reduction in gas and a 21% reduction in electricity usage. Based on these figures, the payback period is predicted to be less than a year.
PRI's Director of Sales, Richard St Clair, is pleased that the partnership has proved so productive. "We were set the challenge of developing a bespoke system for international use, and it really is satisfying to see such positive results. But this is no time to rest on our laurels as 200 more MOD sites have been identified which can benefit from PRINCIPAL Utility Manager. And, of course, there are thousands of private sector catering establishments who will also find this application useful."
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