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Creating Energy Efficiency
Across
Multi –Plant Organizations
Mike Henderson, PE, CEM
Energy and Environmental Engineering Manager
ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston, Inc
Kennewick, Washington.

ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston Scope
• 13 major North American plants
• WA, OR, ID, LA, MN, AB
• Over 15 Utilities
• Primarily frozen potato products
• Over 4.5B lb/yr
• Over 6000 people
• Over 50M$/yr energy spend

ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston Scope
• Typically 24/7 approaching 300 D/yr Op
• In this business, primary cost drivers:
– raw product
– labor
– fuel, power, water
• Around 15% of total
• Significant cost, but not the primary driver
• With Energy Efficiency, we must compete for
“SHARE OF MIND”

Corporate Energy Structure
• Large decentralized technical support
• Facility Engineering technical staff
– Plant Engineering Manager
– Plant industrial Engineer
– Plant Maintenance supervisors
– Typically shared Energy and
Environmental Manager

• Corporate
Corporate Energy Structure
– Energy and Environmental Engineering
Manager
– 2 Corporate Sr. Engineers focused on
energy
– Other engineers as project loads demand
– Energy often integrated into other projects
– Building relationships with plant teams is a
critical function

Corporate Energy Structure
• Goal is to empower and support plants
• Help is defined by the one who
receives it!

Corporate Continuous Improvement
Structure
• CI Corporate support is substantial:
– 2 CI Directors
– 8 Managers
• CI Plant internal teams:
– Led by high level CI Manager with critical
line direct reports

Corporate Continuous Improvement
• CI Teams
– Regular meetings
Structure
– Employee suggestion “T” cards
• All areas of improvement, including energy and
other sustainability
– Systematic follow up
– Up-feed to the Capital Program

Execution
• Capital is a major mechanism of
achieving savings
• Ideas from all inputs
– CI groups
– Facility analysis
– Retro-commissioning
– Replication, where it fits

Execution
• Capital Planning cycles
– Built on CAG LW Fiscal Years (June to
May)
– Long term strategic plan
– 3 year plan (earlier years are the best
developed)
– Current year (highly developed, ready to
execute on final approval)

Measurement
• Corporate Sustainability Goal of 20%
GHG reduction by end of 2015
• Divided to all facilities
• Monitored, tracked
• Depends upon ability to identify and
execute economic projects
• Current low natural gas prices adding
challenge!

What’s Working Well
• Project identification and execution
• Electricity Incentives have focused
capital
• Electricity incentive staff funding has
greatly assisted project identification
and completion
• Over 25,000,000 kwh/yr savings
accomplished

What’s Working Well
• Focused retro-commissioning, aka
“Track and Tune”, “Kaizen Blitz”
• Specifically, the BPA Energy Smart
Industrial (ESI) program is an example
of excellent conservation achievement
• Excellent training resources through our
Utilities, typically with support from
NEAA, BPA, DOE, WSU Energy office

Areas of Opportunity
• Ferret out synergies with the greater
cost impact areas (raw input and labor)
– More process understanding “Know
thyself!”
• Advocate to continue electricity
conservation incentives, with
conservation priced at the utility
marginal resource and cost treated as
new generation

Areas of Opportunity
• More systematic replication of projects
and best practices across all applicable
facilities (overcome facility differences)
• Determine better ways to utilize
available resources and assistance
• Continue to provide senior leadership
with sustainable, economic energy
choices