Benchmarking of energy and utility infrastructures in industrial parks

Based on technological progress in conjunction with globalisation, the role of industrial sites has been changing and a cost competitive infrastructure is decisive for a company's long-term success. This article will introduce an innovative approach to benchmark maintenance and electric energy costs to produce and distribute electric energy, steam, industrial and drinking water and compressed air by an empirical examination. In this study, a benchmarking evaluation within 9 chemical parks and chemical related industrial parks was performed. In total, 23 key performance indicators in the area of maintenance and electric energy costs of production and distribution were defined and calculated based on data collected from the participants. To compare the different infrastructures, the most important key performance indicators were adjusted by correction factors. Thus, the correction factors, which have to be very specifically defined for each area, increase the acceptance and applicability of the benchmarking methodology. In consequence, the benchmarking, using correction factors, enabled the comparison of different infrastructures and a justified discussion based on comparable and comprehensible figures. Here, the benchmarking results showed large differences in performance levels, indicating that there are still significant cost saving potentials in some industrial parks. In practice, this new approach provides a robust guideline for practitioners in analysing and advancing the competitiveness of infrastructures on a solid theoretical foundation and also supplies a valuable contribution to policymakers and academics. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.