A productivity loss of over €10 million annually

This company’s R&D staff suffered from a significant productivity reduction as a result of unscheduled power interruptions. With each event they were forced to take a break and much of any unbacked-up work they were involved in was lost. The waste caused by downtime was valued at just over €3 million annually, the work that had to be redone at about €8 million. Moreover, working conditions were adversely affected by “flicker”, a power quality phenomenon resulting in flickering lights. The debate on this is still ongoing, but common sense suggests that flicker makes people feel out of sorts and irritable, which is likely to reduce their productivity. Some sources propose as much as a 10% reduction. The total financial loss due to inadequate power supply for this company mounted up to €10 million annually.

ECI’s PQ Survey demonstrates that the majority of the PQ problems faced by the metals sector could be avoided by a more appropriate design of the factory’s own electrical installations.