No abstract

The mounting pressure of the European legislative to improve the sustainability of production operations prompts companies to implement sustainability paradigms into their production planning and control (PPC). First results from an ongoing European project will show how the innovative Resource Networks Methodology can be used to alter the production organisation accordingly. In particular, novel PPC strategies improving the integration of renewable energy sources and other resource efficient technologies by using previously identified levels of flexibility will be presented. These are complemented by an approach for unifying the readiness levels for application (RLA) of similar methodologies. The latter will assist decision making during the development phase and in preparation for industrial implementations.

The progressing introduction of renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy system creates an increasingly difficult market environment for traditional utility companies. While their fossil-fueled power plants are important to secure the supply of electricity, the associated operations are costly and energy intensive. This paper presents a simulation study on an open-pit mine (OPM), where flexibilities are sought for increasing the operator's overall energy efficiency. For this purpose, the OPM's material flows and energy flows are simulated simultaneously. Drawing from discrete production systems in a "cross-learning" approach possibilities for and adjustments to the process control are investigated. Preliminary results show that some opportunities to increase efficiency exist but still require more scrutiny.