3 minutes
Efficient use of energy and low energy costs are often required for the ISO 50001 certification. With the right tool, these goals can be quickly reached. The automotive supplier WITTE Automotive from Velbert has been using Quentic, the online software for Health & Safety, Environmental management (HSE) and Sustainability, since the beginning of 2014 and has thus set up its complete energy management system in short order.
With more than 3,000 employees, WITTE Automotive develops lock, bolt and security systems of all kinds for numerous automotive companies. Since its founding in 1899 in Velbert, North Rhine-Westphalia, the family-run business has striven for maximum quality across the entire production chain. The present day result being that the company’s quality management system has been certified in accordance with ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949.
Protection of the environment is an integral part of the automotive supplier’s corporate policy. Entirely in line with sustainable development, the responsible handling of resources, such as land, air, water and raw materials, is inseparable from the company’s corporate and social competencies. The certification according to the international standard ISO 14001 confirms that the globally recognized requirements for the environmental management system are fully complied with.
At the beginning of 2014, the issue of energy management became a topic of increasing concern for the WITTE Group. It was quickly determined that the existing isolated solutions did not meet the high requirements of the international standard ISO 50001, because up until this point the company used to compile the environmental and energy indicators in chaotic Excel lists. Furthermore, internal audits were recorded using different tools that were not mutually compatible. This resulted in an enormous amount of work where data maintenance, evaluations and audit reports were concerned. The supplier needed a solution to avoid redundancies in its resource management as well as to be able to generate regulation-compliant safety instructions and risk assessments. Furthermore, it was imperative that directing and evaluating internal and external audits became easier. “One of our most important requirements was the mapping of our entire energy management system across all sites in one central system. With Quentic we are finally able to generate meaningful indicators”, says Thomas Wenning, Safety, Environment & Energy Manager at WITTE Automotive.
“The quick visualization of indicators saves us a lot of time. Moreover, Quentic facilitates the decision-making process, especially in terms of energy-saving actions.”
Thomas Wenning, Energy Manager and HSE Coordinator, WITTE Automotive
With the implementation of Quentic, the energy consumption of each facility and each meter began to be recorded. Regular monitoring and recording in the Environmental Management module helped to quickly identify energy guzzlers and to initiate energy efficiency actions. Whether it is overall energy use of a production line, energy consumption per unit produced or the amount of emissions generated by the fleet of vehicles – all indicators are easily generated and evaluated. Thanks to the continuous target-actual comparison, deficits and potential improvements are detected at an early stage. In addition, the results from the site inspections and audits are recorded in the software, which facilitates the consistent monitoring of the energy objectives.
With the help of the online software, the company has set up its energy management system within a few months and had it certified in accordance with ISO 50001. The employees work with Quentic every day at all German sites of the WITTE Group. Energy consumption is regularly assessed and energy efficiency measures are reviewed in periodic audits, which are evaluated on the basis of individually adjustable assessment scales. This makes it easy for the supervisors to track the results as well as generate standardized reports for the Management Board. Last but not least, optimized processes in energy management reduce costs and contribute to protecting the environment.
