Energy and utility management is the key to improve business profit and production planning, since the cost of energy is the highest among all the other cost components in textile processing. Currently, there is a lack of a low cost, flexible, efficient and continuous development system to obtain energy utilization data and to analyze and control the relevant cost.
The aims of the project are (i) to design and develop an Innovative Energy and Utility Management System (IEUMS) using advanced sensor technology to obtain and monitor real-time energy utilization data (e.g. steam, water, electricity, etc.) and production information for cost analysis and energy consumption control to achieve energy saving in textile processing eventually, and (ii) to effectively promote the adoption of the system and technologies in the textile industry in both Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland through the following ways:
1.
Provision of a customized hardware and software for energy saving and production performance management
2.
Provision of decision support applications for energy analysis and real time supervision of textile manufacturing process, and interfaces to current textile systems for easy adoption
3.
Provision of showcases through scalable prototype system implementation and pilot study
Project background
Textile manufacturing is an extremely competitive industry. There is a great need to improve the energy utilization in the manufacturing process and to take remedial measures for cost saving, achieving better quality by minimizing wastages, good production scheduling and manage of energy allocation.
An integrated sensor and communication technology (using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee technology) is an emerging technology that has been increasingly used in industry automation in recent years, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. Advanced sensor technology has assumed an important role in supporting the manufacturing processes to facilitate instant access to energy consumption information along the textile manufacturing process. Advanced sensor technology can identify, categorize, and monitor the cost of production and information throughout the textile manufacturing process. In this study, we will focus on textile manufacturing processes including but not limited to Dyeing, Printing, and Finishing.
Here are some issues identified in textile manufacturing:
1.
No accurate tool to collect and present the cost of energy per textile manufacturing processing, per machine or per batch of fabric
2.
No effective and low cost system for reporting real-time information of the energy consumption and pilot status during the manufacturing process to senior management
3.
No integrative way to analyze and calculate the cost of energy involved in the manufacturing process
