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Proactive Motor Management Can Help Reduce

Operating Costs in the Pulp & Paper Industry

Ilene MasonConsortium or Energy Efficiency98North Washington Street, Suite 101

Boston, MA 02 14 USA

imason Qcee .org. 6 7-589-3949

Abstract - With the current economic climate putting a

squeeze on capital budgets, now is the time to improve the

efficiency and productivity of existing motor systems.According to a study by DOE, focusing on the efficiency ofmotor-driven equipment could add 5 percent to theoperating margins of many pulp and paper mills. This paperprovides both rationale and methods for realizing potentialsavings through sound motor management. It promotes the

use of life cycle costing as a basis for making proactiverepairheplace decisions. Results of a motor managementproject carried out at Crown Pacific Lumber are provided asan example.

Index Terms - motor management, premium-efficiency

motors, best practice repair, life cycle costing, MotorDecisions Matter, Crown Pacific Lumber

I. INTRODUCTION

Most motor decisions are made at the time of motor

failure when the clock is ticking and downtime costs aremounting. There is little time for analyzing options orinterviewing service centers. As a result, the quickestoption is often chosen without regard to long-term costs

and lifetime reliability. The additional costs of these hastydecisions continue for years to come.

Luckily, there is an alternative. Managers have the

opportunity o make a real differenceto their company’soperations- and their profits- by proactively managing

their motor inventory.

Motor Failure

I

Figure 1. Motor D ecision Tree

0-7803-8282-X/04/$20.0002004 IEEE 70

Ted JonesConsortiumfor Energy Efficiency98 North Washington Street, Suite 101

Boston,MA 021 14 USA

tjones Qcee1 org61 -589-3949

The first step in reducing motor operating costs andincreasing reliability is to establish a motor management

plan. The planning process gives facility managers theopportunity to think through what is required when motorfailure occurs. It provides an opportunity to consider the

life-cycle cost of a motor and to make a proactive decisionabout the cost effectiveness of repair and replacement (seefigure 1). It provides the time to work with suppliers o

ensure that the right motors are available when failure doesoccur. It allows the time to work with your motor serviceprovider to make certain that best practice repair

procedures are followed and to develop a spare motorinventory for critical applications. It provides time tocommunicate your new policies and commitment

throughout your organization. In short, because a motorplan provides the time to make and implement soundeconomic judgments, operating and downtime costs are

greatly reduced.

11 . WHAT IS MOTOR MANAGEMENT?

Motor management is a variety of practices thatcapitalize on the benefits of premium-efficiency motors,best practice motor repair and other proactive strategies. It

includes: A decision-making protocol based on life cycle

costing for making purchase and repairheplacedecisions.

Guidelines to ensure quality repair services.

Practical advice on making sure that the optimalmotor for your critical applications will beavailable when you need it.

Motor Decisions Matter, a national educationalcampaign, is working to spread the word about the benefits

of motor management and premium-efficiency motors andto empower companiesto adopt these practices. Campaignsponsors include motor manufacturers, utilities, energyefficiency program administrators, trade associations andgovernment agencies. For more information, visit

www.m0torsmatter.org.

Identifying appropriate applications for premium-efficiency motors is an important component of every motormanagement plan. As a result of working closely with the

National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), alsoa campaign sponsor, a premium-efficiency specificationand brand, called NEMA PremiumTM,was established that

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motor manufacturers, distributors, repair shops and energy

efficiency program administrators, now embrace. For more

information, see www.nema.ora/Dremiummotors.

111. WH Y IS MOTOR MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?

Over a motor’s lifetime, electricity accounts for over 95percent of its total cost. Less than 5.percent of the lifetimecost goes toward its purchase, installation, and repair. For

example, consider a typical 75 horsepower motor running

at full load for 6,000 hours per year. A typical purchaseprice would be about $4,000. Over its IO-year life,

however, that same motor will cost $220,000 to run (based

on 7.52 per kilowatt-hour). Obviously, small increases inefficiency translate into big savings. In this example, a one

percent increase in motor efficiency translates into $2,800

in energy savings over that time - well beyond theincremental cost of buying a premium-efficiencymotor.

The first step to implementing a plan step is tounderstand and catalogue your motor fleet. One of the

benefits of this review process is that it quickly identifies

equipment with older, inefficient motors and improperlysized motors that should be replaced based on their

economic performance. The economic analysis will also

indicate whether these motors should be replaced

immediately or upon failure. Plants that have large motors,

motors with long run hours and motors running critical

processes have the most to gain from the review in terms

of economic return.

Motor management often results in reduced downtime.Premium-efficiency motors are typically constructed with

superior materials and have more copper, tighter

tolerances and longer warranties. Creating a spares

inventory for critical motors can also help to minimize

downtime by ensuring that the most cost effective motor

will be on-hand when motor failure occurs.

Motor management also promotes quality motor repair.

Motor repair quality is an important consideration whenanalyzing the costs associated with motor

repairheplacement decisions. Proper evaluation requires

comparing the energy use of a repaired motor to theenergy use of a NEMA Premium replacement motor. In

general, the benefits of repairing an existing motor can be

realized only if the repair achieves little or no reductionfrom its original efficiency. For more information, see the

Electrical Apparatus Service Association (EASA) guidelines

on best practice repair www.easa.com under IndustryResources.

Finally, motor management is about planning. Toooften, repairheplace decisions are based on motor

availability or short-term economics, not long-rangeplanning. Motor management provides the financialanalysis tools on which to make good motor decisions andoffers direction for developing cost-effective purchasing

and repairheplace policies. The Motor Decisions Matterwebsite (www.motorsmatter.orq) offers a motor planning

toolkit to help you get started in the developmentof a plan

for your mill.

Iv. WHERE ARE THE SAVINGS?

Leading pulp and paper companies around the world

are realizing that motor-related savings are not a one-time

opportunity, but a continuous one with potential savings

waiting behind every motor-related decision. To capture

this opportunity, senior managers are supporting thecreation of motor management systems and motor repair-replacement policies for all their plants. Many facilitieshave learned that the investment required is modest and

quickly recouped in the form of enhanced productivity,reduced operating costs, lower maintenance costs. The

following case study, developed by the Northwest Energy

Efficiency Alliance, provides one example.

V. CROWN ACIFIC UMBER

In late 2000 and 2001, Crown Pacific was involved in

an extensive upgrade of its Gilchrist Mill. At the same time,

electricity prices were expected to increase about 20percent in the area.

In an effort to help lessen the cost of the rate hike, themill electrical superintendent, Todd Hester, completed an

inventory of the mill’s 300 motors ranging in size from 3 hp

to 600 hp. The data collected included motor ID numberand location, amps and volts, nameplate data, original cost,

vendor, number of rewinds and repairs, date put into

service, bearing numbers and type, lubrication data, annualoperating hours and annual operating costs. Later this

information was downloaded into a computer for future

analysis to determine whether it was more cost-effective orepair or replace a failed motor and to track maintenanceinformation.

After inventorying about 10 motors, it was discovered

that two motors were each costing Crown Pacific about

$49,000 per year in electrical costs. The annual cost to run

each motor was eight times the cost to buy a new one.

Both motors were used to operate the mill’s two main air

compressors. The inventory triggered further analysis.

The company learned that with the addition of a new

control system they could substantially reduce the run time

for one of the air compressor motors, reducing the number

of motors needed from two down to one, without sacrificingperformance. Preliminary calculations indicated savings of

about 2 million kWh per year, or about $60,000-$102,000 nenergy costs, providing a payback period on the control

system of less than two years.

Before Crown Pacific’s introduction of a motor

management system, motors were automatically sent outfor repair when they failed, regardless of performance.

Now the company routinely performs a more thorough

analysis of repairheplace options.

“We didn’t have the tools to see what to do with themotor,” says Todd Hester, Crown Pacific’s electrical

superintendent. “Now we can look as the database andknow whether or not to rewind the motor or to purchase anew or energy-efficient motor.”

Crown Pacific is now in the process of establishing a

formal policy on conducting this type of analysis on each

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failed motor. For more information on Crown Pacific and

motor management, see the case study on the MDM

website (www.motorsmatter.org).

VI. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

This case study highlights the importance ofunderstanding your motor population and the benefits that

come from implementing sound motor management

strategies. Crown Pacific began by completing a motor

inventory. By understanding the operating conditions and

costs of each motor, they were able to identify specificsavings opportunities. These opportunities included

installing premium-efficiency motors, reducing run-times

through the use of process controls, including operatingcosts in their repairheplace decision-making policy, and

right-sizing of motors. The benefits were substantial and

compelling enough to convince Crown Pacific to performmotor inventories of other motor systems within their plant.

VII. HOW CAN MY COMPANY GET STARTED?

Developing a motor plan puts managers in the driver’sseat to make the most cost-effective decisions whenmotors fail. And by embracing electric motors as a cost of

production, the same way American industry looks at labor

costs and material costs, managers can improve theirfacility’s overall efficiency and its bottom line. Motor

Decisions Matter is a national educational campaign

sponsored by a diverse group of industrial stakeholders

including motor manufacturers, trade associations (NEMA,

EASA, and CDA), energy efficiency program administrators

and the U.S. EPA and DOE. The campaign promotes theuse of premium-efficiency motors, best practice repair, and

other pro-active motor management strategies. For more

information, please visit www.motorsmatter.org or contact

the DOE’S Office of Industrial Technologies Clearinghouseat 800-862-2086.

In the northwest region, the Northwest Energy

Efficiency Alliance (an MDM campaign sponsor) is workingwith the Electric League of the Pacific Northwest to

increase the overall efficiency of in-service electric motors

by helping to establish effective practices among

companies that have substantial motor loads. ElectricMotor Management (EMM) focuses on motor-management

practices for industry, which offer the benefits of lowered

operating costs, greater reliability and reduced productiondowntime. For more information, please visitwww.nwal1iance.org. 

VIII. REFERENCES

11 Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, “Crown PacificLumber Saves Money with Motor Management Tools” April

2002[2] Office of Industrial Technologies, “United States

Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities

Assessment” December 1998

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