International Approaches to Measurement and Verification of Continual Improvement in Industrial Facilities

Effective measurement and verification (M&V) protocols and processes are critical to the successful implementation of continual improvement in industrial facilities. For ISO 50001- Energy management system standard, national and ISO guidance documents are addressing M&V in the continual improvement context. An M&V protocol for energy management has been developed for Superior Energy Performance (SEP), a U.S industrial initiative with growing international interest that combines ISO 50001 and a specified requirement for energy performance improvement. Issues that M&V needs to address to support an energy management program such as ISO 50001 include the following: defining boundaries for which improvement is to be measured, defining improvement metrics, creating appropriate baselines, determining what should be normalized for and how it should be done, reporting and potentially setting requirements for accuracy and reliability of data, specifying data quality requirements and accounting for total consumption across multiple energy sources. This paper reviews a number of existing guidance documents from the six countries involved in Global Superior Energy Performance (GSEP), in terms of how they address the issues above, what context they're designed for, and what elements might be needed to extend them to address other contexts. This analysis identifies areas of commonality across the M&V documents and programs, and considers the challenges for developing standardized M&V documents. Common themes include the availability of guidance documents and a consistent basis for M&V planning. Understanding the context and constraints of the diverse existing approaches can help us move toward a common approach that will support and enhance their values.