Adrian Buettner

Food Production Saves Energy with autinityE3

How can a mid-sized dairy implement energy management with heterogeneous legacy equipment, rising energy costs, and the need for transparency for Controlling and Quality Management? This episode provides hands-on answers. Raphael Elm from Kohrener Landmolkerei describes the starting point: a lack of transparency, only utility bill values, and the need to make concrete savings potential visible. Together with Maximilian Adam and Adrian Büttner from Schaeffler Digital Solutions GmbH, the autinityE3 software was introduced to capture and visualize energy data from electricity, steam, water, and compressed air. The guests discuss typical challenges such as old meters without network connections or machines equipped with sensors whose data was never used. Early “aha” moments came from comparing runtimes – for example, compressors running longer than the associated equipment – as well as by including additional parameters such as wastewater pH. Today, different departments use dashboards with customized views, from Controlling to Quality Assurance. The project began small with autinityE3 Starter and is now being expanded step by step. Future plans include AI-supported analytics and active peak load management. This episode is aimed at production managers, energy managers, and IT/OT leaders who want to implement energy monitoring in practice and unlock tangible savings potential.