Industrial Refrigeration Consortium Strategic Plan October 2000 Innovation Knowledge Progress Advancing Industrial Refrigeration Industrial Refrigeration Consortium The College of Engineering -Madison 949 East Washington Ave. Suite 2 Madison, WI 53703-2937 Phone: 608-262-8220 Fax: 608-262-6209 http://www.irc.wisc.edu
Industrial Refrigeration Consortium Strategic Plan October 2000 Forward This document outlines a planning and decision-making framework for the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium (IRC) 1 at the. The plan was developed by UW staff with input from the IRC Steering Committee and other industry representatives. About the IRC The IRC is a program of the College of Engineering at the at Madison. Consistent with its commitment to advancing industrial refrigeration, the IRC offers a comprehensive package of research, knowledge transfer, education, and technical assistance services. to refrigeration) and other organizations The IRC serves a broad range of refrigeration industry stakeholders who seek to improve the safety, efficiency, and productivity of industrial refrigeration systems. A primary target group is refrigeration end-users such as food processors, cold storage warehouses, and ammonia storage terminals. Other stakeholders include equipment manufacturers, insurance companies, consultants, contractors, utilities, energy service companies, and government agencies. Most industrial refrigeration systems use anhydrous ammonia refrigerants, and the majority of the IRC s efforts will focus on these systems. However, we recognize that other types of systems and other refrigerants provide superior solutions in some situations. These include alternative (natural) refrigerants, cryogenic fluids, and halocarbons. The efforts of the IRC are not limited to anhydrous ammonia, but emphasize progressing toward refrigeration solutions. The IRC offers a unique combination of complementary resources that include academic qualifications, technical expertise, and practical experience. The center is committed to providing objective information that is not biased by an affiliation with any particular organization. Our primary product is knowledge. We create knowledge through research and technical assistance, and we transfer knowledge to the industry through a combination of our training, technology transfer, and outreach activities. These services provide substantial benefits to our members and to the entire refrigeration industry. The knowledge that we create and distribute helps to improve the capabilities of individuals at all levels, which can lead to improved safety, reduced operating costs, increased productivity, and a more competitive organization. 1 On an interim basis, the IRC will be identified as the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium until approval processes internal to the are complete. At that time, the IRC will be known as the Industrial Refrigeration Center. Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 1 Strategic Plan: October 2000
Mission The mission of the IRC is to advance the science of providing refrigeration for controlled environments and processes, to facilitate the safe and efficient production and storage of goods. Vision Our vision is to make continuous progress toward improving the safety, productivity, and efficiency of the systems and technologies that form the foundation of the industrial refrigeration industry. We believe these improvements can best be accomplished through a balanced and coordinated effort that includes research to advance the state-of-the-art and improve the application of industrial refrigeration technology; knowledge transfer to educate those in our industry to better understand, operate, apply, and advance industrial refrigeration; and technical assistance, applying our own resources and expertise as well as the resources of others throughout the industry to solve specific problems. We believe that this balance between research, knowledge transfer (education), and technical assistance is the key to accomplishing our mission. Strategic Goals We believe that our mission and vision can best be accomplished by achieving the following strategic goals: Establish a technically and financially sound organization with support and participation by industry stakeholders. Continually seek to identify industry needs and develop a plan of attack to address these needs. Implement a coordinated program of research, knowledge transfer, and technical assistance activities to meet industry needs; thereby, providing short-term, intermediate-term, and longterm benefits to IRC supporters and the industry at-large. Develop contacts and alliances with other groups and organizations to cooperatively address and solve industry needs. Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 2 Strategic Plan: October 2000
Market for the IRC The following sections discuss the market to be addressed by the IRC, including industry needs, clientele, competition, and member benefits. Industry Needs On May 22, 2000, UW staff convened an industry stakeholders meeting in Madison, Wisconsin to discuss: Status of the refrigeration industry Needs of industrial refrigeration users Industry organizations and their activities Gaps between the current organizations' offerings and refrigeration users needs During roundtable discussions, meeting attendees discussed the status of the industry. Several participants noted that changes in the regulatory environment, such as Process Safety Management and Risk Management Planning requirements, have forced end-users to pay closer attention to refrigeration. Many felt that, although regulatory compliance has been painful, the regulations have served as an effective touchstone to pursue improvement in their internal operations. Many stakeholders also put a high priority on training and improving the capabilities of their plant personnel. Most agreed that strategies to improve system safety are worthwhile and cost-effective. An extensive list of specific needs was developed and rank-ordered during the workshop. This list serves as the starting point to guide the initial efforts for the IRC. There are a number of organizations in existence today that serve the industrial refrigeration industry. However, the consensus of the group was that that no single organization is in a position to fulfill all the needs of industry stakeholders as articulated during the meeting. Additional discussion of these organizations and their roles in the industry can be found in the section titled Competition. IRC Clientele The core clientele of the IRC are refrigeration end-users. This group consists of companies who use refrigeration in manufacturing and storing food and other products, including those whose product is a refrigerant, such as ammonia storage facilities. We see our core customer as an end-user company whose management recognizes that there is a synergy between improvements in safety, efficiency, and productivity, and that improvements in one area typically lead to improvements in the others. Within end-user companies, the individuals or groups that will be consumers of IRC deliverables include: operators of industrial refrigeration systems plant engineers managers with responsibility for safety, utility costs, production Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 3 Strategic Plan: October 2000
executives seeking strategic insights into the role of refrigeration in their companies' competitiveness These end-users are expected to directly benefit from many of the proposed IRC activities. In addition to end-users, the IRC will also serve other clientele including equipment manufacturers insurance companies regulatory agencies (OSHA, EPA, ) and other government agencies (DOE) engineering firms contractors consultants electric utilities, gas utilities, and energy service companies non-profit organizations professional and technical societies Competition We are not aware of any single organization that directly competes with the entire package of services offered by the IRC. However, there are a number of potential direct and indirect competitors in some areas. Participants in the May 22, 2000 stakeholders meeting raised the issue of competition with other organizations. We are sensitive to the need to avoid duplicating the efforts of other groups. We are committed to understanding the resources that exist in the industry and how they can complement or contribute to the mission of the IRC. To that end, we strive to foster a cooperative spirit with key industry organizations including IIAR, ASHRAE, ARI, RETA, IIR, and IARW. While we may find some overlap between our efforts and others', our goal will be to minimize duplication of efforts and to maximize cooperation for the benefit of IRC members and the advancement of the industry. We are also aware of the issue of competition for IRC funding within potential member organizations. An individual in a potential member organization who wishes to support the IRC must compete with many other budget priorities. We will work in partnership with these interested individuals to articulate the benefits of membership to decision makers within their companies. Indirect competition for some IRC services may include contractors and in-house personnel. End-users often rely on contractors to provide analysis and recommendations for system design, operation, and modifications. The level of analysis provided by contractors is typically not as technically rigorous as that provided by the IRC. The contractor s service is often provided at little or no cost to the end-user, with the cost made up by the contractor's profit on subsequent installation work and equipment sales. Since the IRC cannot provide the follow-on services, Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 4 Strategic Plan: October 2000
our pricing for projects such as feasibility studies may be considerably higher than that quoted by a contractor. The challenge for IRC staff in such situations is to make the end-user aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each proposed project. Some end-users may use in-house personnel for engineering services. Many in-house engineering personnel don't have adequate time or background to do sophisticated analysis of the type offered by the IRC. We expect the services of the IRC to complement the efforts of inhouse engineering services. Benefits of the IRC We believe that the value of the IRC can best be conveyed by considering the breadth and depth of the benefits it provides in light of the cost to achieve these benefits. Although activities of the IRC will benefit the entire refrigeration industry through advances in technology, training of personnel, and increased availability of authoritative technical information, the most important benefits are those that IRC member companies accrue. Some benefits of IRC participation include: Upgrade the skills and qualifications of staff Identify and avoid unsafe practices Reduce liability and decrease insurance costs Reduce operating costs by improving refrigeration system efficiency Eliminate refrigeration-related production bottlenecks Support research & demonstration projects that improve the safety, productivity, reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of industrial refrigeration systems Supporting members of the IRC obtain additional benefits well beyond those available to the industry in general. For example, supporting members gain preferred access to IRC resources, staff and technical information, including: Telephone hotline and internet-based information clearinghouse Immediate access to technical advances as they are developed Technical bulletins, safety updates, and other publications On-site technical assistance providing targeted information Access to proprietary research projects to address specific needs Close association with Center experts and with other IRC members A competitive advantage in recruiting highly qualified graduates Supporting members have the opportunity to direct the activities of the IRC to meet the needs of members and the industry at-large. These members will be publicly acknowledged for taking leadership roles in the refrigeration industry. Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 5 Strategic Plan: October 2000
We believe that the value of these benefits far exceeds the financial commitment for IRC membership. This increased return on investment comes about because each member's resources are pooled with and leveraged against those of the other members. We expect this collaboration to increase the value of each member's contribution by 20 times or more. IRC Administration Structure and Governance The IRC is structured as a collaborative of interested industry stakeholders. In this consortium arrangement, members pool their resources for common benefits. Consortium members also have the opportunity to pursue customized projects and training on a cost-recovery basis, separate from the pooled consortium funds. A steering committee made up of representatives from member companies guides the overall scope of activities, monitors IRC operations, and provides feedback to the IRC director for quality improvement. Dues Structure The benefits of participating in the IRC are somewhat dependent on the size of the member organization. To match the membership fees to the benefits received, and to encourage smaller companies to participate, membership dues are scaled to company size. For end-users, the size of the organization is measured by the total pounds of refrigerant contained in the user's refrigeration system(s). For equipment manufacturers and service providers, the size of the organization is measured by annual refrigeration-related revenues. For insurance companies, regulatory officials and institutional members, the benefits of Center membership are less dependent on size, and multiple membership classes are not necessary. Industrial Refrigeration Consortium 6 Strategic Plan: October 2000