The MALT Industrial Assessment Center (MALT-IAC) performs free energy assessments for qualifying small and medium facilities in the Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas Piney Woods Region. The MALT-IAC performs these assessments for businesses within 150 miles of Louisiana Tech University, Grambling State University, or the University of Louisiana – Lafayette.
Members of the MALT-IAC will conduct on-site assessments and — within 60 days of the assessments — provide recommendations for:
- Energy and Water Savings,
- Wastewater Treatment and Management,
- Smart Manufacturing/PHM,
- Cybersecurity,
- Predictive Maintenance,
- Resiliency Planning, and
- Decarbonization/Electrification.
In addition to the free energy assessments, the MALT-IAC will support undergraduate and graduate students, providing them with hands-on experience and professional training using energy assessment tools, technology, and techniques. Students who work with the MALT Center will learn industrial processes, energy assessment procedures, and energy management systems.
Step 1: Pre-Assessment Information Gathering
The client is sent a Pre-Assessment Form that includes:
- The size of the plant and plant layout,
- Industry type (SIC/ NAICS code) and process description,
- Production levels in units and dollars, operating hours,
- A one-year history of utility bills, and
- A list of major energy-consuming equipment.
Step 2: Involve Key Plant Personnel
The Louisiana Tech team will reach out to key plant personnel, including:
- The plant manager,
- Energy manager,
- Environmental personnel, and
- Maintenance personnel.
Step 3: Pre-Assessment Analysis
To prepare for the on-site energy assessment, our team will take the information that you provide us and create a pre-assessment analysis. This process includes:
- Analyzing the manufacturing process,
- Charting and graphing utility bills,
- Analyzing utility bills for trends and errors and establishing the unit cost of energy at the plant,
- Identifying key energy systems,
- Reviewing design and other technical documentation,
- Identifying possible energy saving potential recommendations using the IAC database, and
- Developing an assessment day strategy.
Step 4: Day of the Assessment
After introductions on the day of the on-site assessment, your team will provide us with a:
- Description of the manufacturing process and operations and Plant tour.
After the tour, our team will then provide you with:
- A meeting room debriefing and brainstorming session,
- Review of notes,
- A refined list of opportunities to be investigated, and
- An exit interview.
If warranted, our team will also install temporary devices to gather more data.
Step 5: Post-Assessment Activities
After the assessment, our team will complete the following:
- Conduct an engineering and financial analysis;
- Create an industrial assessment center report that includes:
- An executive summary,
- A plant description,
- A process description,
- Resource charts and tables,
- A list of major energy-consuming equipment,
- A list of recommendations for best practices to save money, and
- A description of each individual energy-saving recommendation;
- Follow-up on the report with:
- A call to the client in two weeks to ensure the report was delivered and answer questions,
- A call to the client in six to nine months for implementation data,
- An upload of the data to the IAC database, and
- An inquiry about the potential for a case study of the project(s).