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Case Study – John Sisk & Sons (Holdings) Ltd
John Sisk & Son – Building and Civil Engineering Design and Construction services headquartered in Ireland, and have domestic operations in England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland and international operations in Europe and the United Arab Emirates
Project Objectives
- Intention to become certified to the ISO 50001 management system and be the first contractor / builder in Ireland & UK to do so.
- The SISK Energy Forum, (October 2014) led by Building Services Manager Padraic O’Connor, aimed to take advantage of the extensive skills base that exists within the company. Comprises representatives from all 8 of its Irish and UK operational business units, with help and input from support functions such as Procurement, ICT / HR / Fleet and HSEQS working collaboratively to achieve the objective of ISO50001 certification.
- The Energy Forum identified the Significant Energy Users SEU’s as diesel for transport, diesel for site vehicles/equipment, electricity and gas.
Key Challenges
- The most significant challenge encountered was the analysis and comparison of KPI’s for energy usage across all of the construction sites, as many variables such as type of project, duration, method of construction, site working times, site accommodation arrangements, commissioning duration etc. made it difficult to produce comparative data.
- SISK’s focus in the shorter term is to control the inputs to energy use by way of the introduction and planning of energy efficient designs to their temporary electrical installations, combined with procedures and guidelines in the use and selection of plant and equipment to help in the reduction of their energy usage.
- “Zero Energy Waste” is now the SISK energy policy in accordance with the company’s zero philosophy. Challenges:
- Temporary site for each project (all work is project based)
- Fleet / transport identified as largest energy user
- Dispersed nature of sites leading to high fleet mileage
- Access to grid electricity & gas leading to high generator use
- Imperative to meet completion deadlines of pay penalties
Key Changes
- Structured approach to energy management now applied on-sites (50001)
- Single provider for electricity and gas procured, supporting ISO50001 and BRE SmartWaste target attainment.
- Staff engaged at all levels via Toolbox talks and classroom training from Authentic Energy Management Services (AEMS)
- Company wide targets for reduced energy use in kWh/€m of turnover.
Results / Outcomes
- Measured 13% fuel savings in L/100km before vs after from eco-driving training (target was 5%).
- 89,180 kWh x C0.15 = £13,377 per year potential savings from ICT Desktop Power Management (reported result, companywide roll-out to complete 2016).
- Savings from using grid electricity identified and promoted to ensure grid supply used as first choice for new sites.
- Site accommodation tested and business case established for Eco cabin specification delivering 36% energy saving vs 20% uplift in cabin cost – justifying eco-cabin choice for many sites where they would not have been considered.
We are all still learning and challenging our opportunities to maximise our energy saving opportunities, recognising we are at the early stages rather than the end of our Journey.
Savings and opportunities identified to date, have changed how we do business and are helping Sisk to; reduce cost, price future work more accurately and deliver measurable reductions in our environmental impacts