Indicia Consulting
Industrial Ethnography

Project Description

A great deal of energy efficiency “low-hanging fruit” remains in the industrial sector. The types of improvements suggested in this project will be less capital intensive, and begin paying back the investment almost from the start of their implementation. Smaller firms, or firms with limited cash reserves, might be hesitant to replace HVAC equipment or hire a full-time energy manager; therefore, a lower-cost option for industrial companies to improve energy efficiency is through changing worker behavior concerning energy usage.

Few social and behavioral projects have looked at shop floor culture with respect to energy efficiency. Research on behavior and energy efficiency had tended to focus on residential or institutional settings, but we believe that many of the techniques and methods used are also applicable to the industrial sector. This research project will identify barriers to energy efficiency in manufacturing using a social and behavioral perspective. The focus here will be on shop floor workers engaged directly in production. We will review which strategies operations management can implement to communicate energy efficiency as a top organizational priority.

We are actively seeking funding/site partners for this project, so contact us for an in-depth prospectus!

Link: https://www.parc.com/event/1162/ethnography...