How Live Electricity Readouts Allow Berry to Operate More Efficiently and Reduce Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Because data-driven decisions help improve energy performance, a robust, real-time energy monitoring system is key to a company’s ability to track energy use, lower electricity bills, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This data also supports environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting by backing up claims and shows how sustainability can be economically viable by driving cost reductions and operational efficiency improvements.

Real-time energy monitoring provides up-to-date data that allows businesses to spot potential issues and make informed decisions to respond quickly. Berry works with multiple energy management solutions providers, including Guidewheel, Factbird, SensorFact, and SiteWatch. By getting real-time visibility into where exactly the business is at, Guidewheel’s real-time FactoryOps software, for example, is an effective way for manufacturers like Berry to drive down costs and improve productivity of their existing assets. 

"It's an honor to work with Berry Global and see the innovative, impactful ways the company is using Guidewheel to achieve huge operational savings across energy, production, and maintenance—plus even more energy and cost savings through data-driven facility improvements. The Berry team’s continuous dedication to sustainability, improvement mindset, and focus on driving positive results is truly inspiring!" said Lauren Dunford, Guidewheel’s CEO.

Guidewheel strategically starts with sensors that clip on the power source of any machine to provide a foundation of runtime, cycle time, and energy data—tracked second by second and sent to the cloud—alongside alerts to operators when machines are not running optimally. The company’s software easily connects into other systems and gets smarter over time to pinpoint and even predict opportunities for improvement.

Using Guidewheel’s real-time energy management software, Berry’s plant in Fremont, Indiana experienced a 10% improvement in operational efficiency over a 1-year period of time by: 

• Visibly tracking energy consumption and monitoring spikes or drops in electricity, so slower times use less power and more power is used during times when the plant is producing more.
• Preventing equipment downtime by automatically shutting off machines that will be turned off for four or more hours.
• Assessing the efficiency of current equipment to guide investments in newer, more efficient machinery that maximizes productivity.

For example, the Fremont plant has been monitoring the cooling system for machines that are hooked up to chillers, presses, and pumps. Using Guidewheel’s software, the plant was able to discover and quantify how over time, this cooling system has become less efficient, using significantly more electricity than when it was first installed in the 1980s. By replacing the older cooling system, Berry can reduce the amount of scrap produced at the plant and save around $500,000 per year in electricity costs due to increased overall efficiencies, including less parts and labor needed.

“The monitoring Guidewheel provides is helping create a culture of accountability at our plant and motivating team members to continue doing better. The electricity, and therefore cost, savings also allow us to grow and create more jobs,” said Dennis Carroll, Berry’s Production Manager and Rod Chupp, Berry’s Fremont Plant Manager.