ABSTRACT
Productivity has a major impact on energy use and conservation in manufacturing plants—an impact often more significant than optimization of the equipment energy efficiency. This entry describes Lean Manufacturing, which represents the current state-of-art in plant productivity. A significant opportunity for energy savings by transforming production into single-piece Lean Flow is demonstrated. The impact of major individual productivity elements on energy is discussed. Simple metrics and models are presented as tools for relating productivity to energy. Simple models are preferred because productivity is strongly influenced by intangible human factors such as work organization and management, learning and training, communications, culture, and motivation, which are difficult to quantify in factories.
