Academic literature on the topic 'Building exergy assessment'

The relevance of exergy to the life cycle assessment (LCA) of buildings has been studied regarding its potential to solve certain challenges in LCA, such as the characterization and valuation, accuracy of resource use, and interpretation and comparison of results. However, this potential has not been properly investigated using case studies. This study develops an exergy-based LCA method and applies it to three case-study buildings to explore its benefits. The results provide evidence that the theoretical benefits of exergy-based LCA as against a conventional LCA can be achieved. These include characterization and valuation benefits, accuracy, and enabling the comparison of environmental impacts. With the results of the exergy-based LCA method in standard metrics, there is now a mechanism for the competitive benchmarking of building sustainability assessments. It is concluded that the exergy-based life cycle assessment method has the potential to solve the characterization and valuation problems in the conventional life-cycle assessment of buildings, with local and global significance.

More than one third of the world’s primary energy demand refers to residential sector. Heating is considered as one of the main part of the energy consumption in buildings. In this study, a thermodynamic sustainability assessment analysis of different energy sources for heating of residential building, with net floor heated area of 162 m2, for Belgrade weather data, was presented. Five options of energy sources were studied, namely: coal, natural gas, electricity, district heating and air-water heat pump. Energy and exergy analyses were conducted and appropriate efficiencies were determined. Energy and exergy flows in boundaries of the building and in the whole chain from primary to final values were analyzed. The environmental impact factor and exergetic sustainability index were determined for all considered energy sources. The exergy efficiency is very low in all analyzed cases, which further implies poor thermodynamic compatibility of energy quality from the supplied side and the energy used for building heating. It was shown that the highest exergy efficiency is for the case of heat pump utilization (about 6%), due to the energy used from environment. The minimum environmental impact factor (15.37) and maximum exergetic sustainability index (0.065) were found for the case of heat pump utilization.

Assessment of Exergy for Renewable Energy Disposable in the Site of Building Future energy challenges to construct near zero energy buildings and to have a centralized network together with integrated distributed generation from local disposable renewable energy (LdRe) raises new goals of a complex approach to energy supply. In the context of the current scientific sector, a single comprehensive approach to the general LdRe is missing. Following the typical way, all buildings are planned or designed in light of the energy needs of the intended activities in the buildings and only after the determination of these activities are the points and forms of energy supply planned. This article presents another approach in the planning process - a building and its energy needs planning taking into account the LdRe. It also provides the universal system describing the quantity and quality of LdRe. This research includes LdRe flows' assessment, with the building, as LdRe energy user flows linking to the user only as a potential user of this energy. The exergy analysis method is used to determine the LdRe indicator. Actually determined main renewable energy (RE) flow' (solar, wind, soil and air) values are used for the calculations. Standard 1 ha land plot area and set volumes above the land surface and beneath it are analyzed. After determination of disposable RE flows exergy quantity of the exergy change in the period of half year, one typical month and day is depicted.

Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) systems can be defined as PV modules, which can be integrated in building's envelope by replacing conventional building materials such as windows, tiles etc. and have an impact on the functionality of the buildings. Considering the huge share (40%) of buildings in total energy consumption and nearly zero-energy building target of the European Union (EU), BIPV systems present a sustainable solution and have gained increased interest in last years. In this study, the performance of a BIPV system, which was installed on Feb. 8, 2016 on the façade of a campus building at Yasar University, İzmir, Turkey within the framework a EU/FP7 project and has a capacity of 7.44 kWp, is evaluated for a three-year period using first and second laws of thermodynamics. Within this context, real (experimental) monthly and yearly electricity productions are determined and compared with the results obtained from the simulations. Energy and exergy efficiencies and performance ratios of the system are also calculated based on the cell and total areas.

A significant part of world energy consumption balance, approx. 40 %, is utilized in buildings. Maintenance of comfortable conditions and improvement in the living, working or recreational environment is a desire for every human. Therefore it is no surprise that there has been a sudden increase in scientific research in the field of building’ energy efficiency. Despite the relevance of the problem there is no sustaining methodology for evaluating building’ energy efficiency by applying sustainable energy development approach. The majority of the researchers don’t assess different potential of the analyzed energy flows nor systems operational regimes. The aim of the work is to evaluate the possibilities for applying exergetical process and system integration method in the design, operation and normalization of the office building service systems: to prepare design solutions that increase buildings’ service systems’ thermodynamical efficiency and covers individual processes and elements’ chain systems. The thesis is divided into the introduction and three main chapters, conclusions, a list of literature and a list of publications. In this work the building service systems’ analysis incorporates three interconnected methods: system analysis, life cycle and thermodynamical analysis. Application of system analyses enables an estimation of service system’s elements (subsystems) and their interconnections. Life cycle analysis allows estimation of total exergy demand through the... [to full text]
Ženklią dalį pasauliniame galutinės energijos vartojimo balanse, apie 40 %, užima energijos dalis, suvartojama pastatuose. Komfortinių sąlygų palaikymas ir gerinimas gyvenamojoje, darbo ar poilsio aplinkoje yra natūralus kiekvieno žmogaus poreikis. Pastaruoju metu stebimas ryškus mokslinių tyrimų suaktyvėjimas didininat energijos vartojimo pastatuose efektyvumą. Nepaisant aktualios problematikos, nuoseklios, darnia energetikos plėtra grindžiamos pastatų energetinio efektyvumo vertinimo metodikos iki šiol nėra. Daugelio tyrėjų naudojami metodai neįvertina skirtingų analizuojamų energijos srautų kokybinių potencialų, nekreipiamas dėmesys į skirtingus sistemų veikimo režimus jų eksploatavimo metu. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti galimybes taikyti procesų ir sistemų integracijos metodą viešųjų pastatų mikroklimato sistemų projektavime, naudojime bei normavime, sukuriant individualius procesus ir visą įrenginių sistemą aprėpiantį priemonių kompleksą, kurio dėka būtų padidintas energijos vartojimo pastate termodinaminis naudingumas. Disertaciją sudaro įvadas, 3 skyriai, pagrindinės išvados, naudotos literatūros sąrašas. Disertaciniame darbe pastato inžinerinių sistemų tyrimui panaudoti trys metodai: sisteminė analizė, gyvavimo ciklo analizė ir termodinaminė (ekserginė) analizė. Sisteminės analizės naudojimas leidžia apibrėžti pastato inžinerinių sistemų elementus bei jų tarpusavio ryšius. Pasitelkus gyvavimo ciklo analizę nustatomi eksergijos poreikiai per visą sistemos gyvavimo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

ABSTRACT Exergy-based Index for the assessment of building sustainability Ahmed El shenawy, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2013 The declining state of the environment, combined with the increasing scarcity of natural resources and economic recession, presents us with the need to discover building practices that are capable of producing sustainable buildings. Building promoters are racing to certify the sustainability of their projects, aware that building sustainability assessment will delineate the features of current and future building practice. A sustainable building implies that resource depletion and waste emissions are considered during its whole life cycle. This research project proposes a new methodology and Exergy-based Index to assess building sustainability and to assist decision makers comparing building alternatives, since the wrong decisions can lead to serious consequences and even precipitate crises. The proposed methodology uses the SBTool that has been utilized for defining the criteria for analysing and ranking the environmental performance of buildings. Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made in developing Sustainable Building (SB) assessment tools that allow all stakeholders/actors to be aware of the consequences of various choices and to assess building performance. These SB tools, approaches, rating systems, indices and methods of assessment have already been utilized in the market (e.g., Multi-Criteria Assessment (MCA) methods, such as LEED and SBTool, Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) systems, like ATHENA, and the Single Index (SI) approach (Ecological footprint)). However, are existing SB assessment tools actually capable of considering the regional issues? Is it possible to use them to assess all types of buildings? Are they objective, easy to customize? Is it easy to interpret their final assessment results and are those results transparent to the end users? Despite the usefulness of the current assessment methods in contributing towards a more sustainable building industry, some of the limitations and critiques of these assessment methods indicate that the tools should evolve toward a genuinely generic and scientifically global SB assessment tool. After discussing and summarizing the limitations of the existing definitions, indices and rating systems for building sustainability assessment, a definition of a sustainable building in terms of thermodynamics is proposed, mainly based on the exergy concept. This proposal is supported by a general mathematical calculation for the exergy-based index of building sustainability. The index uses the comparison between the available solar exergy (considered to be the only renewable energy source) and the exergy lost due to a building’s construction and operation to measure the a building’s sustainability. Moreover, the selection and transfer of data from the SBTool, and the assumptions and additional calculations required for the assessment of the exergy-based index of sustainability are presented and quantified. A rating scale is also presented along with the index of building sustainability. Finally, case studies of residential and commercial buildings are used to demonstrate the framework’s reliability. The contribution of the proposed Exergy-based index is evaluated by comparing its similarities and differences with a selection of the available building assessment tools and methods.

ITALIANO - La valutazione energetica di un edificio ha lo scopo di quantificare le risorse energetiche impegnate dall’edificio per alimentare i fabbisogni delle utenze, in rapporto a criteri di natura energetica/ambientale/economica. I criteri di valutazione attualmente impiegati sono: energia primaria, emissioni di CO2, costi, energia finale. L’uso di energia a livello di edificio è messo in relazione rispettivamente con le risorse energetiche primarie impegnate, con le emissioni di gas a effetto serra e con gli oneri gestionali. In una visione centrata sulla combinazione tra catena energetica dalle sorgenti all’edificio e edificio, l’impiego di questi criteri è funzionale al raggiungimento di obiettivi strategici di vasta scala verso cui il settore degli edifici è chiamato a convergere. In una visione centrata sull’edificio, l’impiego di questi criteri implica tuttavia che il risultato della valutazione sia dipendente da parametri estrinseci: le infrastrutture energetiche e il mercato dell’energia, interpretati come fattori di conversione, fattori di emissione, tariffe, secondo cui sono differenziati vettori e fonti. Una lettura estesa dell’uso di energia a livello di edificio dovrebbe prendere in considerazione sia gli aspetti di primo principio (conservazione dell’energia), che gli aspetti di secondo principio (degradazione dell’energia). Al fine di delineare un criterio di valutazione energetica del sistema edificio che sia in grado di differenziare vettori e fonti secondo il relativo potenziale termodinamico e che risulti indipendente da parametri estrinseci, abbiamo individuato come strumento l’exergia. Il criterio exergetico delineato quantifica l’exergia impiegata dall’edificio per alimentare gli usi delle utenze in base all’exergia dei vettori di rete e delle fonti rinnovabili on-site utilizzate. In una visione centrata sull’edificio l’exergia dei vettori e delle fonti è determinata in corrispondenza del confine del sistema. La prestazione exergetica “Exergy Performance” è valutata come il quantitativo netto di exergia da vettori di rete e da fonti rinnovabili on-site impiegato dall’edificio per alimentare gli usi delle utenze ed è espressa attraverso un indice “ExP” normalizzato rispetto a un anno di attività e a una unità di superficie. Data l’assunzione di una visione centrata sull’edificio, il criterio exergetico è da mettere in relazione con gli usi finali dell’energia, in quanto svincolato dall’assetto delle infrastrutture energetiche. Il criterio exergetico costituisce uno strumento di valutazione energetica del sistema edificio in grado di incidere sull’assetto degli usi finali dell’energia nel settore degli edifici. All’aspetto di stabilità della valutazione si combina l’aspetto di indirizzo delle scelte energetiche e di interazione con le strategie di decarbonizzazione quali il fuel-switching da combustibili fossili a vettore elettrico e l’incentivazione di vettori localmente zero-carbon. Il criterio exergetico risulta in linea con gli scenari descritti in Energy Roadmap 2050 nella misura in cui la sua applicazione porta verso l’efficienza degli usi finali dell’energia, verso l’elettrificazione e verso l’aumento della quota di consumo finale lordo di energia alimentato tramite fonte rinnovabili. ENGLISH - The aim of the building energy assessment is to quantify the energy sources used from a building to satisfy the users needs, through the application of energy or environmental or economic methods. The assessment methods currently applied are: primary energy, CO2 emissions, costs, final energy. The building energy demand is related respectively with the primary energy sources consumption, the greenhouse gases emissions, the running costs. From a point of view centered on the connection between the building and the energy supply chain, these methods are suitable in order to reach overall energy-environmental targets imposed on the building sector. From a building-centered point of view, these methods imply that the assessment results are dependent from parameters external to the system: the primary energy factors, the emissions factors, the economic rate. The energy sources and the energy carriers are diversified according to these parameters. These parameters are representative of the energy supply chain and the energy market. An overall building energy assessment should take in account both the First Principle features (energy conservation) and the Second Principle features (energy degradation). In order to define a building energy assessment method that is able to diversify the energy sources and the energy carriers according to the respective thermodynamic potential, and that is indipendent from parameters external to the system, we have identified the exergy as useful concept. The exergy method developed quantifies the exergy used from a building to satisfy the users needs, both from grid energy carriers and on-site energy sources. Assuming a building-centered point of view, the exergy of energy carriers and energy sources is determined on the system boundary. The "Exergy Performance" is defined as the net sum of exergy, both from grid energy carriers and on-site energy sources, used from a building to satisfy the users needs. It is expressed by an index "ExP" normalized with respect to one year of building running and one square meter of building floor. Assuming a building-centered point of view, the exergy method must be related to the energy end-uses, because it is indipendent from the energy supply chain and the energy market. The exergy method is able to address the choices about the energy end-uses structure in the building sector. Besides enabling a stable building energy assessment, the exergy method is converging towards the decarbonisation strategies as the fuel-switching from fossil fuels to electricity and the facilitation of locally low-carbon energy carriers. The exergy method is in compliance with the energy scenarios described in Energy Roadmap 2050, because its application lead to the energy end-uses efficiency, the electrification and the increase of gross final energy consumption fuelled from renewable energy sources.

Tese de doutoramento em Sistemas Sustentáveis de Energia , apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
Exergy analysis has been found to be a useful method for improving the conversion efficiency of energy resources, since it helps to identify locations, types and true magnitudes of wastes and losses. It has also been applied for other purposes, such as distinguishing high- from low-quality energy sources or defining the engineering technological limits in designing more energy-efficient systems. In this doctoral thesis, the exergy analysis is widely applied in order to highlight and demonstrate it as a significant method of performing energy assessments of buildings and related energy supply systems. It aims to make the concept more familiar and accessible for building professionals and to encourage its wider use in engineering practice. This thesis is divided into five main cases studies, which have different scopes and follow slightly different approaches but all with the same common objective. Case study I aims to show the importance of exergy analysis in the energy performance assessment of eight space heating building options evaluated under different outdoor environmental conditions. This study is concerned with the so-called “reference state”, which in this study is calculated using the average outdoor temperature for a given period of analysis. Primary energy and related exergy ratios are assessed and compared. Higher primary exergy ratios are obtained for low outdoor temperatures, while the primary energy ratios are assumed as constant for the same scenarios. The outcomes of this study demonstrate the significance of exergy analysis in comparison with energy analysis when different reference states are compared. Case study II and Case study III present two energy and exergy assessment studies applied to a hotel and a student accommodation building, respectively. Case study II compares the energy and exergy performance of the main end uses of a hotel building located in Coimbra in central Portugal, using data derived from an energy audit. The results show that the most energy-efficient hotel end use does not necessarily correspond to the most exergy-efficient one. A diagram including information related to primary energy demand and energy and exergy efficiencies is proposed, revealing to be a very useful tool for including in future legislation on energy performance of buildings. Case study III uses data collected from energy utilities bills to estimate the energy and exergy performance associated to each building end use. Furthermore, the building end uses are ranked by inefficiencies or exergy destruction levels, using the concept of “Exergy Destruction Ratio”. Additionally, a set of energy supply options are proposed and assessed as primary energy demand and exergy efficiency, showing it as a possible benchmarking method for future legislative frameworks regarding the energy performance assessment of buildings. Case study IV proposes a set of complementary indicators for comparing cogeneration and separate heat and electricity production systems. It aims to identify the advantages of exergy analysis relative to energy analysis, giving particular examples where these advantages are significant. The results demonstrate that exergy analysis can reveal meaningful information that might not be accessible using a conventional energy analysis approach, which is particularly evident when cogeneration and separated systems provide heat at very different temperatures. Case study V follows the exergy analysis method to evaluate the energy and exergy performance of a desiccant cooling system, aiming to assess and locate irreversibilities sources. The results reveal that natural gas boiler is the most inefficient component of the plant in question, followed by the chiller and heating coil. A set of alternative heating supply options for desiccant wheel regeneration is proposed, showing that, while some renewables may effectively reduce the primary energy demand of the plant, although this may not correspond to the optimum level of exergy efficiency. The thermal and chemical exergy components of moist air are also evaluated, as well as, the influence of outdoor environmental conditions on the energy/exergy performance of the plant. This research provides knowledge that is essential for the future development of complementary energy- and exergy-based indicators, helping to improve the current methodologies on performance assessments of buildings, cogeneration and desiccant cooling systems. The significance of exergy analysis is demonstrated for different types of buildings, which may be located in different climates (reference states) and be supplied by different types of energy sources.

The performance assessment criteria of the BCHP (Building Cooling Heating and Power) system include thermodynamic parameters (primary energy rate, exergy efficiency) and economic parameters (economic exergy rate, payback periods) and environmental factors (emission). These criteria are affected by many factors such as the performance of power equipment, unit initial cost, energy demand, primary and second energy price, annual interest rate, operation hours. The scheme with minimum primary energy rate may also have high equipment cost which leads to longer payback periods, so that it is impossible to find a solution that simultaneously satisfies all of them. A genetic algorithm is then chosen to carry out the search for the optimal solution in this paper. The set of optimal solutions lead to the minimum values of the primary energy rate at fixed payback periods, or to the lowest payback periods at fixed primary energy rate. The optimization results are obtained under various load conditions (yearly average energy demand, changeable thermal-power rate, cooling-power rate and typical monthly load demand). The optimal unit capacity choice and operational strategy are discussed which is very important in design and operation process.

As regulation and competition drives the creation of environmentally sustainable systems, cradle-to-cradle life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies are becoming increasingly commonplace. However, existing LCA techniques are often laborious and costly to implement. Moreover, while LCA provides great insight into the impact of a given product or service, the translation of LCA outputs into iterative design inputs is not straightforward. A tighter linkage between product design and LCA methods is desired. In this paper, we propose creating such a linkage through the method of “exergo-thermo-volumes”. Specifically, we consider the design of an enterprise server with multiple heat dissipating components. Each of these heat dissipating components can be represented as an exergo-thermo-volume (ETV). Simultaneously, the cooling solution that removes heat from each of these components is also treated as an ETV. We show that the optimal system design can be determined through superposition of each of these ETVs with appropriately coupled boundary conditions. The resulting ETV representation of discretized heat sources and companioned cooling solutions essentially leads to the creation of an ETV network, which can then be optimized for the minimum sustainability footprint. We find that the optimal solution predicted by the exergo-thermo-volume approach matches those that would be predicted intuitively based on general design-for-environment and thermal management practices, but — using the current approach — we are also able to quantitatively show the difference between the optimal and sub-optimal choices. We conclude by demonstrating the applicability of the exergo-thermo-volume approach for the sustainable design of an enterprise server.

A review of past research reveals that while exergetic analysis has been performed on various building mechanical systems, there has not been extensive efforts in the areas of retrocommissioning air distribution systems or fault detection for cooling plants. Motivations for this new work include demonstrating the merits of exergetic analysis in association with retrocommissioning (RCX) an existing building air handling unit (AHU), as well as conducting an advanced analysis on an existing chiller for the purposes of health monitoring. The following research demonstrates the benefits of including a second law analysis in order to improve equipment operation based on lowered energy consumption and improved operation, and as a means for system health monitoring. Particularly, exergetic analysis is not often performed in the context of RCX, therefore this research will provide insight to those considering incorporating exergetic analysis in their RCX assessments. A previously developed RCX test for assessing an AHU on a college campus, as well as data collected from the testing is utilized for an advanced thermodynamic analysis. The operating data is analyzed using the first and second laws of thermodynamics and subsequent recommendations are made for retrofit design solutions to improve the system performance. The second law analysis provides beneficial information for determining retrofit solutions with minimal additional data collection and calculations. The thermodynamic methodology is then extended to a building’s cooling plant which utilizes a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC) chiller. Existing chiller operational data is processed and extracted for use in this analysis. As with the air handling unit analysis, the second law analysis of the VCRC chiller provides insight on irreversibility locations that would not necessarily be determined from a first law analysis. The VCRC chiller data, originally collected several years ago for the design of an automated fault detection and diagnosis methodology, is utilized. Chiller plant data representing normal operation, as well as faulty operation is used to develop a chiller model for assessing component performance and health monitoring. Normal operation and faulty operation data is analyzed to determining the viability of using existing data and performing an exergy analysis for the purposes of health monitoring. Based on RCX activities and thermodynamic analyses, conclusions are drawn on the utility of using exergetic analysis in energy intensive building mechanical systems in order to improve system operation. The results show the utility of the analysis and illustrate system performance.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.