Quality improvement of energy management: an analysis of industries in a developing country

Abstract

Energy management is a critical question for the progress in developing countries. In fact, it is one of the most important foundations of sustainable development. Optimizing the use of energy resources is an issue with notable multiplier effects on the social evolution of the people of these regions. Similarly, the civil construction industry is also relevant, since it represents a strong economic and social contribution for these countries. It is important to remark that the demands of the construction material industry in combustible consumption for their productions, frequently with low rate efficiency, require a systematic management activity able to detect improvement alternatives, based on process approaches to contribute to the energy efficiency and the quality of the final production. This paper proposes a set of procedures to implement technological and organizational improvements of the combustible consumption practice in brick production plants in the construction material industry in a developing country (Cuba). Quality improvement opportunities are detected, together with the energetic characterization of the process. Some well-defined parameters and indicators have evidenced the improvement potentialities and its execution. The placement of domes in the furnace defines a new zone of quality control with losses from 0.5 - 1.5%, that at the beginning of the research were 2.4 - 4.5%. This enabled to plan a loss level rate at least 1.6% lower and a variability two times lower. Besides it is achieved a consumption rate average of 0.2739 to 0.2387 liters per brick in the covered furnace, saving 11,000 liters of fuel in the semester. The generalization of the procedure in the entity producing roof tiles and clay pipes in Sancti-Spíritus municipality (Cuba) showed a significant contribution since the reductions in the fuel consumption rate were greater than the achieved in the brick productions. As these industrial processes are similar to those in many other countries, this case study shows some analyses, practical applications and results that can be used abroad.