Compressed Air Assessment - Tier II Automotive Company

Goals

• Validate and quantify walkthrough observations with high-resolution flow, pressure, and true kW measurements.
• Establish a credible baseline for production vs. non-production compressed air demand.
• Confirm whether the installed supply was right-sized and stable for current operations.
• Identify where efficiency actions could be taken without creating reliability risk (avoid unintended consequences).

Challenges

• A hidden demand event: a dust collector poppet valve failure created a major leak path.
• High non-productive baseline during downtime (persistent demand even when not producing).
• Supply/control mismatch: the VSD compressor frequently operated below stable controllable flow, amplifying inefficiency and instability risk.
• Unregulated end uses / artificial demand, causing consumption to shift with pressure swings and masking true system needs.

Discovered Potentials

• Idle flow increased from ~100 cfm to ~180–200 cfm during the failure — a clear, measurable waste event.
• Compressor power jumped from ~30–35 kW baseline to ~88 kW, showing how one fault can drive near full-load energy use.
• Significant savings opportunity in non-production hours by reducing baseline demand and improving shutdown strategy.
• A strong business case for continuous monitoring + alerts to catch faults fast and lock in savings.