SCAAP's efforts improve energy consumption

By Rich Hansen, Scranton Army Ammunition PlantJune 1, 2020

Newly installed production cooling towers result in a $150,000 annual cost avoidance in energy costs due to their high efficiency in cooling production water.
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Newly installed production cooling towers result in a $150,000 annual cost avoidance in energy costs due to their high efficiency in cooling production water. (Photo Credit: Joe Chup, GD-OTS, director of Facilities and Maintenance) VIEW ORIGINAL
SCAAP’s new production shop package boiler results in a cost avoidance of $40,000:  $25,000 in manpower and $15,000 in energy costs annually.
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – SCAAP’s new production shop package boiler results in a cost avoidance of $40,000: $25,000 in manpower and $15,000 in energy costs annually. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
The new nitrogen generators generate enough nitrogen for SCAAP’s production process.  This reduces the need to purchase nitrogen on the open market, resulting in a $224,000 annual cost avoidance in nitrogen consumption.
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The new nitrogen generators generate enough nitrogen for SCAAP’s production process. This reduces the need to purchase nitrogen on the open market, resulting in a $224,000 annual cost avoidance in nitrogen consumption. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant manufactures large-caliber ammunition metal parts for the Department of Defense. SCAAP leadership worked diligently to find opportunities to conserve natural resources and accepted the challenge to reduce energy consumption throughout the plant.

SCAAP’s operating contractor, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, worked in collaboration with the Department of Energy to achieve their energy reduction goals. Hard work and process improvement strategies have paid dividends, ensuring that SCAAP continues to produce high quality large-caliber metal projectiles efficiently and at the best value to the government.

SCAAP and GD-OTS partnered with the DOE to achieve a significant reduction in energy intensity which garnered SCAAP/GD-OTS with a Better Plants Goal Achievement Award for achieving their energy reduction goal. GD-OTS goal was to achieve a 25 percent reduction in energy intensity. Energy intensity is a measure of the amount of energy used to achieve a specific requirement, which for SCAAP, is to manufacture a standardized unit of ammunition products.

While projects that replaced old, inefficient equipment with state-of-the-art, energy-efficient equipment made significant contributions to GD-OTS’ energy intensity reduction, about 70 percent of the reductions were achieved through operational controls. Effective operational controls are achieved by paying attention to the details of how energy is used and adjusting operations to minimize the non-productive use of energy.

GD-OTS successfully passed its ISO 50001:20011(e) Energy Management Systems and Superior Energy Performance ANSI/MSE 50021 certification audit. GD-OTS is the first organization in Pennsylvania and the first DoD contractor to achieve these certifications.