eguridad sy medio ambiente · fred kofman, expert in coaching and leadership. he is author of a new...

Year 28 Nº 110 Second quarter 2008SEGURIDAD

Assertive leadership for persuasive prevention● Coordination of the Preventive Duty ● Green Chemistry ● Voltage control

y Medio Ambiente

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Year 28 Nº 110 Second quarter 2008SEGURIDAD

Assertive leadership for persuasive preventionl Coordination of the Preventive Duty l Green Chemistry l Voltage control

y Medio Ambiente

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SEGURIDAD Y MEDIO AMBIENTE Nº 110 Second quarter 20082

Summary

Assertive leadership for persuasive prevention3

ERGONOMICS AND PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY

Coordination of the Preventive Duty5

LEGISLATION

Green Chemistry. Chemistry geared towards the twentyfirst century

7

Voltage control9

ENVIRONMENT

CINTILLOERGONOMICS AND PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY

Leadership for the management ofrisk prevention

Leadership, the mass noun from the

verb «lead», is a person or group’s social

skill or quality for directing others, dra-

wing on their capacity, knowledge and

experience. If leading is not to be con-

fused with commanding or giving or-

ders, or styles of leadership with styles

of commanding, it is usually associated

with a person or group’s capacity of ge-

nerating and channelling skills and ent-

husiasm in a project, industry or under-

taking. In the words of Fred Kofman: «Le-

ading enthusiasm is much more

productive than managing obedience.1»

Today we have to deal with a whole

range of semantic nuances, ranging from

«nowadays giving orders is called lea-

dership» to «nowadays giving orders is

called mobbing»2.

«Nowadays, the person responsible for

work safety is not so much responsible

3Nº 110 Second quarter 2008 SEGURIDAD Y MEDIO AMBIENTE

Assertive leadership for persuasive preventionAuthor: JOSÉ NIÑO ESCALANTE. Prevention Area ofFREMAP. [email protected]

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This article deals especiallywith leadership in themanagement of occupationalrisks prevention, albeitstressing the aspects held incommon with managing therest of the company’s risks.

(1) EL PAIS Business Section 23/09/2007 Interview:Management and Training. Fred Kofman, expert incoaching and leadership. He is author of a newversion of the Smithian economic liberalismapproach, claiming that «the capital system is theonly one that transforms greed into service».

(2) MAPFRE Seguridad nº 95: El «mobbing» y lasevaluaciones de riesgos laborales. Pg- 9-17. 2004

(3) INRS Institut National de la Recherche et de laSécurité.

ERGONOMICS AND PSYCHOSOCIOLOGY


for safety3 as responsible for the work it-

self». The ultimate responsibility for work

safety is therefore held by the person hol-

ding the ultimate responsibility for the

work itself, i.e., line management right

to the top, whether this be supervisory

liability or managerial liability.

Or as the former head of the French

National Institute for Research and Sa-

fety P.L. Thibaut once put it «Nowadays

any work accident should be considered

a managerial failure».

❙ Managerial capacity

There are many definitions of mana-

gement, ranging from a necessary «po-

licy» or approach right through to the

definition of execution procedures or

criteria and the checking and fine-tu-

ning of results. MANAGEMENT (of risks)

is hence defined as the process of plan-

ning, organising and decision-taking, in-

cluding «the decision not to do anything»

in light of the various alternatives and

responsibilities posed, plus preparation

of the analyses, reports and communi-

cation procedures thereof.

❙ The vision of the leader

We will not get bogged down here in the

difference between having a vision and

having visions, akin to the difference in

science between one solid hypothesis and

many pie-in-the-sky conjectures.

The leadership vision has to be a glo-

bal, holistic, strategic and interrelated

vision.

«The final message for politicians and

health and safety experts is that we can-

not go on treating individual risks se-

parately. What we need is a holistic ap-

proach to risk prevention»4 . A SWOT

analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Op-

portunities and Threats) would be tan-

tamount to a switch in mental schemes,

changing weaknesses into strengths and

threats into opportunities: The strate-

gic vision of prevention in a company is

making the preventive advantage a com-

petitive advantage.

❙ Creating and believing in a mission

It has sometimes been mooted that

prevention might be a «mission impos-

sible», falling somewhere between Sisyp-

hean and trivial.

We need to come up with an answer

to this management question: Are we

committed to prevention? The stock ans-

wer is «Of course». But it is by no means

de trop to insist on asking : But of cour-

se we are or of course we aren’t?

The integration of prevention in com-

pany management should go «From ma-

nagement commitment to commitment

management». And above all, we need

to ensure that the «declared preventive

commitment» is the «perceived and prac-

tised preventive commitment».

Styles of management and the limitsof laissez faire in safety: Prescribedwork versus actual work versusforbidden work

Different styles of management, of gi-

ving orders, are usually broken down in-

to four main patterns or models: The

«authoritarian or autocratic», the «pa-

ternalist», the «laissez faire» and the «de-

mocratic or participative».

It is also common knowledge that the-

re is often a glaring difference between

«prescribed work» and «actual work», with

important consequences for the organi-

sations involved. Everyone knows that

working «to rule» often threatens to bring

the whole system grinding to a halt. It is

also known that, to avoid this predica-

ment, people adopt ad hoc solutions and

initiatives that mean the work gets done

without actually doing it by the book. This

is the «actual work». But it is also known

that this «actual work», over and above

the ad hoc inputs, also leads to many im-

proper practices, especially in safety terms,

but a blind eye is turned on them as long

they produce no accidents. This is clearly

not at all conducive to prevention.

ConclusionsThis nutshell account of leadership in

the context of the prevention of occupa-

tional risks makes it fairly obvious that ef-

ficient occupational prevention has to

work its way towards a sort of «persuasi-

ve prevention», using «persuasive» here

in the sense defined by Ortega y Gasset

as «the exquisite mix of obliging and con-

vincing». In this case the persuasion ne-

eds to be brought to bear on a change of

values and attitudes and behaviour both

of workers and, above all, of management.

Assertiveness 5 is one of the most po-

werful social skills for exercising lea-

dership with the fewest side effects. As-

sertiveness pools all the main social skills

such as empathy, or the ability to put

oneself in others’ shoes, communica-

tion, flexibility and tolerance. Assertive-

ness is the antidote to acquiescence, the

over lenient tendency to compromise or

say yes to everything or look the other

way to avoid conflicts.

The honing and practicing of these as-

sertiveness-related social skills ensures

the best preventive leadership. ◆

(4) (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.Report October 2005 «Expert forecasts on emerging

physical risks related to occupational safety andhealth»)

(5) ASSERTIVENESS consists in the direct expressionof one’s own feelings, rights, desires and opinions

without threatening or punishing the rest and withoutviolating the rights of these people. It is a social skill

in managing the conflicts in these new situations.


The main principles underpin-

ning the Occupational Risks

Prevention Act 31/1995 of 8

November (Ley de Prevención

de Riesgos Laborales: LPRL) include the

necessary cooperation and coordination

measures in this field. Although this text

heralded the new regime, it was really

the subsequent regulations that laid down

the patterns and guidelines to follow.

Most firms in the industrial sector po-

se special coordination problems, in view

of their complexity and function. The

problems of how to design, apply and

promote this cooperation and coordi-

nation are difficult both in general busi-

ness activities and in the construction

sector in particular. But they become es-

pecially acute when dealing with the fre-

quent subcontracting arrangements that

have to be made in this sector, driven by

the general globalisation of markets and

the economy in today’s world.

The first regulation to deal with these

aspects, albeit somewhat obliquely, was

the Royal Decree (Real Decreto) 1627/1997

of 24 October laying down minimum he-

alth and safety provisions in construc-

tion work. RD 1627/1997 therefore refe-

rred solely to this sphere. The first real

direct legislation on this matter came

with Real Decreto 171/2004 of 30 January,

developing article 24 of the LPRL on bu-

siness coordination activities. RD171/2004

therefore has the object of establishing

the obligations to be met by the various

employers coinciding in a single work

centre to head off occupational risks de-

riving from the concurrence of several

activities in the same place. The most re-

cent legislation on the prevention of risks

in construction was the Construction

Sector Subcontracting Act 32/2006 of 18

October (Ley de la Subcontratación en

el Sector de la Construcción: LSC), sub-

sequently developed by Real Decreto

1109/2007 of 24 August (RD 1109/2007).

First of all, we will look at the legal as-

pects involved in occupational risks pre-

vention when dealing with the coordi-

nation of business activities in a general

Coordination of the Preventive Duty Author: JOSÉ RICARDO PARDO GATO. Lawyer. Higher ORP officer. Legal head of Imaga Proyectos y Construcciones, S.A. Legal advisor of the Association ofOccupational Health and Safety Professionals of Galicia (Asociación de Profesionales de Seguridad y Salud Laboral de Galicia: APROSAL).

In recent years regulations on occupational risks prevention (ORP) have come thick and fast,laying down the guidelines to follow in this field. This study analyses the recent regulation on thepreventive duty in terms of coordinating business activities when different employers coincide inone work centre, as well as the problems posed by subcontracting in the construction world.

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LEGISLATION

LEGISLATION


cupational risk prevention purposes is

the consistent and plausible application

of the preventive action principles, the

working methods to be implemented,

control of the interactions deriving from

the concurrence of different firms and

bringing risk-prevention methods into li-

ne with existing risks. In this light chap-

ters II, III and IV of RD 171/2004 provide

for three different cases of application, to

which it also assigns different obligations

in increasing order of importance.

Subcontracting in the constructionsector

Subcontracting in the construction

sector, given its enormous importance,

is dealt with in its own right. Directly ap-

plicable thereto will be the ORP specifi-

cations laid down in RD 1627/1997 (first

additional provision of RD 171/2004)

and, above all, the rules and guidelines

laid down in the more recent LSC.

This latter text takes on the task of la-

ying down, on a sector basis, the legal

subcontracting system of Spain, deter-

mining a series of guarantees designed

to prevent any lack of control in this wi-

despread form of productive organisa-

tion and any concomitant situations of

risk to the health and safety of workers.

The caveats or safeguards laid down

in the LSC have a threefold purport:

❚ Firstly, to require compliance with cer-

tain conditions to ensure that sub-

contracting as from the third level is

justified on objective grounds, preci-

sely with the aim of preventing prac-

tices that might lead to risks to health

and safety at work.

❚ Secondly, to require a series of safety

and solvency requisites from firms that

are going to carry out their activity in

this sector, as well as reinforcing the-

se guarantees in relation to the accre-

ditation of ORP training within their

own human resources. This is to be

done by accreditation of the firm’s spe-

sense, including construction as part the-

reof, before homing in on the particular

problems posed by subcontracting in

the complex world of construction, in

terms of conformity thereof with the sa-

fety postulates vis-à-vis these risks.

The necessary business coordinationArticle 24 of the LPRL foreshadowed a

whole set of obligations incumbent on

companies for coordinating preventive ac-

tivity, but its wording was somewhat am-

biguous and vague. The need was there-

fore mooted for further legislation to cla-

rify, specify and top up its contents clearly.

To this end RD 171/2004 was based on

criteria agreed by the social stakehol-

ders, particularly as recorded in the Agre-

ement of the Panel of Social Dialogue on

Occupational Risk Prevention dated 30

December 2002.

Construction work is still ruled by its

own specific legislation and coordina-

tion measures in its own right, albeit still

bound by ruling obligations (health and

safety at work study during the design

project phase drawn up at the behest of

the promoter, obligatory on-site health

and safety coordinator, health and sa-

fety plan drawn up by the contractor,

obligations of surveillance, accredita-

tion and registration, plus the obligation

to keep a subcontracting book, among

others). The truth is, however, that this

specific legislation has been enriched

and even reinforced by the provisions

laid down in this Real Decreto in terms

of the preventive information that now

has to be exchanged between the em-

ployers coinciding on the same site and

clarification of the measures to be adop-

ted by the agents intervening therein.

Cases of concurrence of workersfrom different firms in the sameworkplace

The common denominator of the co-

ordination of business activities for oc-

cific preventive organisation and, in

employment quality terms, by esta-

blishing minimum conditions of la-

bour stability.

❚ Thirdly, by the introduction of suita-

ble transparency mechanisms in cons-

truction work on the basis of specific

document systems and reinforcement

of worker participation measures in

the various firms participating in the

work in question.

Requisites incumbent oncontractors and subcontractors

As well as the general duty of survei-

llance, and without any detriment to the

provisions laid down in article 11 of RD

1627/1997 (entitled «Obligations of con-

tractors and subcontractors»), the mini-

mum eligibility requisites laid down by

article 4 LSC for a company to intervene

in the subcontracting process within the

construction sector, as contractor or sub-

contractor, include the following:

❚ Be in possession of its own producti-

ve organisation and the necessary ma-

terial and human resources and direct

the use and employment thereof in

pursuit of the contracted activity.

❚ Assume any risks and also such obli-

gations and liabilities as may properly

derive from the business activity.

❚ Directly see to the organisation and ma-

nagement of its wage-earning workers

and, in the case of self-employed wor-

kers, carry out the work with autonomy

and on their own responsibility.

Furthermore, firms that aim to be con-

tracted or subcontracted for construc-

tion work shall be able to accredit the

availability of human resources, with ne-

cessary training in occupational risk pre-

vention. They must also have a suitable

preventive organisation and be enrolled

in the new Register of Accredited Firms,

as laid down for the first time in the LSC,

wherein they shall confirm compliance

with the abovementioned requisites. ◆


Historical developmentThe number of environmental laws,

especially dealing with waste treatment

and handling, has soared, producing a

notable increase in production costs. In

Europe the new REACH regulation ca-

me into force in June 2007 and aims to

regulate chemical products and ensure

their safer use. REACH stands for the Re-

gistration, Evaluation, Authorisation and

Restriction of Chemical substances.

From the second half of the nineties on-

wards institutes and centres were set up

around the world for Green Chemistry re-

search- and teaching-purposes and to

bring it to wider notice: in the US, the Gre-

en Chemistry Institute; in the UK, the Gre-

en Chemistry Network, which pools many

universities and institutions; in Italy, the

INCA, an interuniversity consortium; in

Australia, the Centre for Green Chemistry

of Monash University; in Japan, the Gre-

en and Sustainable Network (GSCN). In

Europe, the European Technology Plat-

Nearly all chemical reactions

stand in need of a catalyst

to speed up the reaction and

make it profitable, but in ge-

neral chemical catalysts are toxic. Once

the reaction is over they need to be tre-

ated in diverse ways to forestall their po-

llution as waste products. This suggests

that we need urgently to change our wor-

king philosophy. There is no doubt about

the benefits of chemistry in furnishing

us with these products that are so vital

to the comfort and convenience of our

daily lives. But we can no longer conti-

nue to reap these benefits at the expen-

se of the environment. Now we have to

take on the challenge of preparing the-

se products through non-pollutive pro-

cesses, following the principles of Gre-

en Chemistry, as its has come to be ca-

lled in the English-speaking world.

Introduction to Green ChemistryGreen Chemistry is the design of che-

mical products and processes that re-

duce or eliminate the use and genera-

tion of hazardous substances. The term

Green Chemistry was coined by Anastas

(Anastas, 1998) and reflects chemists’ ef-

forts to develop processes and products

that prevent pollution and are harmless

to human health and the environment.

Green Chemistry is therefore directly

bound up with the principle of sustai-

nability. The design of environmentally

friendly products is guided by the twel-

ve principles of Green Chemistry drawn

up by Anastas and Warner (Figure 1).

form for Sustainable Chemistry SusChem

tries to bring together a wide spectrum of

organisations and individuals interested

in Green Chemistry. In Spain the PETE-

QUS platform was set up, now called Sus-

Chem-España. Finally, in November 2002

the Spanish Green Chemistry Network

(Red Española de Química Sostenible) was

created as a group of researchers from uni-

versities and research centres with the aim

of promoting and boosting the future de-

velopment of green chemistry.

In the Universidad de Castilla-La Man-

cha our group of «Microwaves in organic

synthesis and Green Chemistry» (Micro-

ondas en síntesis orgánica y Química ver-

de) has been carrying out research since

1993 into the application of environ-

mentally friendly methods in organic

synthesis and the use of microwave ra-

diation and its synergy with «solvent free»

reactions and heterogeneous catalysis.

These methods chime in with three of

the twelve principles of Green Chemistry:

Green Chemistry. Chemistry geared towardsthe twenty first century Authors: ANTONIO DE LA HOZ AYUSO. PhD inChemistry. Professor of Organic [email protected]. ÁNGEL DÍAZ ORTIZ. PhD inChemistry. Senior Lecturer in Organic [email protected]. School of Chemistry. Universidadde Castilla-La Mancha. Ciudad Real (Spain).

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ENVIRONMENT

Design for Energy Efficiency, Catalysis

and Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries.

EducationMost organic chemistry textbooks do

not deal with the concepts of Green Che-

mistry. Atom economy, for example, is not

regarded as necessary for understanding

chemical reactions. The next generation

of scientists, however, will have to be trai-

ned up in the methods, techniques and

general principles of Green Chemistry.

Several chemical societies have risen

to the challenge and are now leading edu-

cational projects in this field, producing

textbooks (Lancaster, 2003), case studies,

lab experiments (NOP Project, Leadbe-

ater, 2007), summer schools, teaching

and laboratory tools, educational sym-

posia, etc.

In recent years the first Green Chemistry

degree syllabi have been drawn up and

the first masters in green chemistry, es-

pecially in the UK.

In Spain the Spanish Green Chemistry

Network (Red Española de Química Sos-

tenible: REQS) was set up in 2002 as a think-

tank of researchers from various univer-

sities and research centres. Since then se-

veral joint research projects have been set

up and the REQS is taking an active part

in the SusChem España platform.

Green Chemistry is also being spread

further afield through the Green Chemistry

Conference (Jornadas de Química Verde).

As for teaching activities, summer scho-

ols have been held in two universities: the

Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pe-

layo (UIMP) and the Universidad Inter-

nacional de Andalucía.

Finally, REQS organises the interuni-

versity green chemistry doctorate sylla-

bus, which obtained the quality endorse-

ment of ANECA (Spanish Accreditation

and Quality Assessment Agency) for the

courses 2003-04 to 2007-08, one of the first

doctorate syllabi to obtain this quality ac-

creditation. As a development of the doc-

torate syllabus, the REQS also organises

the Master in Green Chemistry, which has

obtained the quality accreditation in the

courses 2006-07 and 2007-08.

From the viewpoint of creating the Eu-

ropean Higher Education Area, the ini-

tiatives have to represent a step towards

creating a consistent system of Green Che-

mistry training at European level.

The central goal of our endeavours must

be to achieve a European Green Chemistry

Doctorate and Master Syllabus. ◆

ENVIRONMENT


1. Prevention

It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.

2. Atom Economy

Synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials

used in the process into the final product.

3. Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses

Wherever practicable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate

substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.

4. Designing Safer Chemicals

Chemical products should be designed to effect their desired function while minimi-

zing their toxicity.

5. Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries

The use of auxiliary substances (e.g., solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be ma-

de unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.

6. Design for Energy Efficiency

Energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environ-

mental and economic impacts and should be minimized. If possible, synthetic met-

hods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.

77.. Use of Renewable Feedstocks

A raw material or feedstock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever

technically and economically practicable.

8. Reduce Derivatives

Unnecessary derivatization (use of blocking groups, protection/ deprotection, tempo-

rary modification of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized or avoided if

possible, because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.

9. Catalysis

Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.

10. Design for Degradation

Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function they break

down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.

11. Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention

Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-pro-

cess monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.

12. Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention

Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be cho-

sen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions,

and fires.

Figure 1. The 12 principles of Green Chemistry


ENVIRONMENT

Voltage control is a new type of so-

lution that is currently catching

on widely as a way of cutting down

energy consumption conside-

rably while maintaining comfort levels.

Power Electronic Systems has developed

a compact technology that makes these

energy-saving solutions affordable and

practicable for all sectors, regardless of

their energy consumption. It also offers a

very quick return on investment.

Energy is a scarce good. To make mat-

ters worse energy sources are likely to

run out in the short term. Society, ho-

wever, is locked into an increasingly high-

consumption model for carrying out all

its activities. The welfare state leads to a

constantly increasing demand for this

good.

Power Electronics Systems (PES) is an

Israeli company whose products and

solutions are distributed in Spain by

PRODUSOL (Productos y Soluciones

Aplicadas S.L.). It boasts a 20 year track

record in making energy saving equip-

ment and also invests heavily in R&D to

provide different consumption sectors

with a continual stream of different energy

economising alternatives.

The solutions presented herein are ba-

sed on three fundamental business prin-

ciples:

❚ Energy saving is immediate.

❚ This energy saving is achieved without

having to make any infrastructure chan-

ges in the current electrical installa-

tion either for lighting or for electric

motors.

❚ A very short payback (ROI) time of

about 2.5 years.

These solutions also help to achieve a

cleaner environment by cutting down

Voltage controlAuthor: EERRNNEESSTTOO GGOOÑÑII.. Graduate in Exact Sciencesand Diploma holder in IT. Productos y SolucionesAplicadas S.L.

the amount of CO2 emissions, in keeping

with commitments taken on by the sig-

natory governments of the Kyoto Pro-

tocol.

The technology of the equipment des-

cribed herein is based on voltage con-

trol (flux optimisation). As such it can be

quickly and easily phased in to existing

infrastructure; it is also applicable to va-

rious levels of energy demand, opening

it up to users who hitherto had no access

to such technology.

Sectors such as town councils, street-

and road-lighting, the hotel trade, car

parks, shopping malls, logistics centres,

small and medium-sized shops, large su-

permarkets, distribution chains, service

stations, industry, outside lighting of

parks and venues, etc., now have access

to this new technology and can tackle

significant energy-saving measures whi-

le keeping their present infrastructure.

The implementation of voltage control

measures is the quickest and easiest way

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of controlling consumption and saving

energy in the short term.

Electric-motor power consumption is

one of the most promising fields for energy

saving and control measures. PES’s sys-

tems are based on a voltage control met-

hod by maintaining the sinusoidal wa-

veform. This technology has been put

through its paces during the last 7 years.

The MEC (Motor Energy Controller) sys-

tems are based on the principle of «in-

ducing only the non-required voltage to

the load».

The Motor Energy Controller is based

on the idea that «reducing the voltage

applied to partially loaded induction mo-

tors can make them run more efficiently».

The systems developed since the eigh-

ties of the twentieth century did not per-

form as hoped. These new systems, ho-

wever, attain optimum efficiency.

ENVIRONMENT


If the voltage supply is sinusoidal, the control of sinusoidal

voltage will cause a dramatic reduction of current, since

the PF and K of the formula will be much greater and will not

call for voltage and current offsets

Voltage controlSometimes there are environmental

and safety standards that impose mini-

mum lighting criteria. On other occa-

sions there may be a recommended ligh-

ting level in shopping areas to provide a

comfortable setting for the shoppers. All

too often there are lighting schemes that

live on by simple inertia without anyo-

ne proposing their change. In most of

these cases the real comfort needs are

oversized. The difference becomes gla-

ring when some of the consumer cen-

tres in Spain are compared with other

countries that have taken the fore in set-

ting up voltage control solutions.

240 V220 V220 V

200 V200 V

40

60

80

100

4 8 12 16 20 24

H.P.S. lifetime bulbs VS voltage

Working hour (x 1000)

70

60

80

100

4 8 12 16 18

Luminous Flux VS lifetime on H.P.S. Bulbs

Working hour (x 1000)

2 6 14 20 22

90

110

120

200 V200 V

240 V240 V 220 V220 V

10

Figure 1. Relation between voltage and bulb lifetime: Maintenance saving.

The best and most modern infras-

tructure in Spain (especially systems set

up from scratch or created recently) has

been set up with full consideration gi-

ven to the importance of saving energy

in the lighting system, by such means as

using low-consumption lamps or energy

economising measures. The energy op-

timising systems in these installations

greatly raises the initial outlay, as part

of the overall construction costs; main-

tenance costs are also increased. Furt-

hermore, these installations based on

voltage control also include control of

lighting.

Whenever these cheap and overall vol-

tage control measures are mooted, with

concomitant reduction of consumption

and cost, they often meet with mistrust

due to the reduced lighting levels. The

truth is, however, that such measures as

ballast and bulb changes produce the

same percentage lighting loss, which in

all cases is almost inappreciable to the

naked eye.

PES’s Lighting Energy Controllers (LEC)

cut down consumption by over 20%, whi-

le the lighting level loss is imperceptible

to the naked eye. In other words, the hu-

man eye cannot perceive the lux reduc-

tion produced by a 10% reduction of the

input voltage.

Technological Lighting PrinciplesThe idea is very simple; it is more dif-

ficult to apply the technology in practi-

ce and make it applicable in all sorts of

settings. As it is, not all sectors have sui-

table installation and operating condi-

tions for setting up the solution with a

reasonably quick payback on the initial

outlay. To solve this problem, equipment

has to meet the needs of a wide range of


infrastructure, from 2 amperes right up

to 250 amperes.

There are different ways of flux opti-

misation by voltage reduction. All sys-

tems work on the curve of the famous

cosine FI. Some solutions cut off the cur-

ve at its peaks and troughs, producing

mini lighting cuts in the bulbs that, ex-

cept in critical conditions, are not per-

ceptible to the naked eye. This new LEC

technology generates a negative modu-

lation of the voltage curve; this new, con-

tinuous modulation curve brings down

the voltage to the necessary and desired

level. The wave is thus continuous and

controlled, with no functional disconti-

nuity and hence keeps the lighting at a

constant level.

Direct and indirect savingsThe savings produced by voltage con-

trol equipment can be broken down in-

to two types:

❚ Direct energy saving, in some cases

up to 30%. These are achieved by ke-

eping the voltage to the necessary le-

vel for maintaining the desired ligh-

ting level, thereby reducing the energy

consumption with the associated cost

saving.

❚ Indirect saving, which may be up to 15%.

These are knock-on cost savings due to

lower maintenance and replacement

rate of the lighting elements (wear and

tear of lamps; according to manufactu-

rer’s figures their life may be lengthe-

ned by 300% if the voltage is reduced

from 230 to 205 volts) (fig. 1).

Depending on the type of infrastruc-

ture involved, and lumping together all

types of saving, these new voltage con-

trol systems can obtain a TCO (Total Cost

of Ownership) reduction of up to 50% .

It is important to stress, once more,

that these saving rates are achieved wit-

hout having to modify the infrastructu-

re and regardless of the different energy

needs of each client.

Electric motor energy savingsAmong other objectives the MEC line

aims to bring about a saving in electric

motors. Direct savings in motor con-

sumption by applying the three func-

tions in one of PES’s MEC lines may be

as much as 18%.

Indirect savings, stemming from the

longer useful life of the motors and the

reduction in the motor’s lifecycle cost

might match or even outstrip direct sa-

vings. The greatest benefits to users are

likely to be protection of their invest-

ments and the service level of installed

motors (fewer shutdowns and longer

useful life). Savings are also produced in

the «reactive power» (VAR), which, to-

gether with the power level we pay for,

makes up the use vector governed by the

famous cosine FI. This saving may top

40% in MEC’s market solutions.

The example shows the energy con-

sumption reduction of a conveyor belt

in a cement works, with a direct power

saving of 18% and a reactive power sa-

ving (VAR) of 58%.

In other cases, such as the illustrated

example of air conditioning towers, the

direct savings were 14% and the reacti-

ve power saving (VAR) was 20% .

As a conclusion, the energy saving so-

lutions developed by the company Po-

wer Electronic Systems bring this new

technology within reach of infrastruc-

ture of all type. Previously they were af-

fordable and practicable only for major

systems. ◆

PES’s Lighting Energy

Controllers (LEC) achieve

consumption saving rates

of over 20%, with a

negligible lighting-level loss,

imperceptible to

the naked eye

Age

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