Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients
Keywords: Sustainability, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), Digitalization, IoT Data Platforms, Data Fabrics, Energy Efficiency
Overview
Most industrial end users are implementing some kind of sustainability related initiative today, whether it’s reducing emissions, increasing energy efficiency, meeting more stringent regulatory requirements, or decarbonizing their supply chain, end users and owner operators are finding that sustainability can have significant business benefits. Although regulatory compliance is a key dimension of sustainability, end user companies have found that investing in sustainability has a considerable, multifaceted business value proposition.
Any successful sustainability related business initiative requires digitalization. All of these initiatives require greater integration of data from many disparate sources in the organization into a common environment, enabling end users to make intelligent decisions. This requires end users to consider sustainability projects from a true lifecycle perspective, from initial assessments of where sustainability improvements can be made to assessing the capability of the existing technology infrastructure, and what potential changes need to be made to provide the right path to digitalization.
Not all service providers are up to this task. Domain expertise in specific industries and sustainability related applications must be combined with the right software expertise with an eye toward driving measurable and quantifiable results. ARC recently spoke with LTTS about their approach to sustainability, which combines their expertise in software, services, and partner ecosystem to create “sustainable” sustainability solutions from initial assessment to operations and maintenance.
Why Sustainability Strategies Require Digitalization
Sustainability is almost always a leading driver in the adoption of new technologies. According to a recent ARC survey, the sustainability budget is often a major source of funding for many industrial digital transformation programs. Without digital solutions, sustainability efforts may struggle to achieve their intended outcomes. Sustainability reporting requires new levels of data integration and contextualization, driving the adoption of industrial data fabrics and industrial data platforms, as well as Industrial AI. According to the ARC Annual Technology Survey, for example, sustainability analysis is one of the leading applications being developed for Industrial AI product development and design initiatives. The relationship between technology and sustainability is essential for tracking and reporting metrics effectively.
Service providers are expanding their expertise to address sustainability challenges, highlighting the need for operational depth and data capabilities in managing sustainability initiatives. Practical engineering and hands-on experience in energy and water auditing and practice are crucial for achieving sustainability. These skills are essential for identifying and implementing energy and water efficiency measures, reducing resource consumption, and minimizing environmental impact.
The Role of Data in Successful Sustainability Strategies
What’s different about sustainability solutions versus previous efforts in the industrial and manufacturing space is the data requirements. It’s an unprecedented mix of different data types from all levels of the organization. Sustainability related initiatives require access to data from myriad sources both at the enterprise and OT level. At the enterprise level, this requires access to financial as well as planning and supply chain data. At the operational level, data can come from any one of hundreds of different subsystems, from emissions monitoring systems to power management systems and more. Adopting a system of systems approach also means adoption of a unified data fabric to place all these different data types into a common framework.
Implementation of digitalization strategies also requires the implementation of Industrial Data Fabrics (IDF). Industrial Data Fabrics weave together a unified, seamless layer for data management and integration across various endpoints, systems, and platforms within an industrial environment. This ecosystem encompasses diverse data sources like sensors, machinery, industrial engineers, and frontline workers, from within and beyond the organization.
LTTS Sustainability Business
As part of the large Indian engineering and technology firm Larsen & Toubro, L&T Technology Services (LTTS) specializes in providing engineering and software solutions to a wide range of industries around the world. LTTS consultancy, design, development and testing services across the product and process development lifecycle cater to all major industries including transportation, industrial products, telecom & hi-tech, medical devices, and the process industries.
LTTS specializes in an array of advanced technologies, including 5G, Industrial AI, collaborative robots, digital factories, and autonomous vehicles. LTTS provides engineering services across the entire “Design to Shop Floor” value chain, such as product conceptualization, design & development, testing, value analysis & value engineering, product maintenance, manufacturing support, aftermarket support, and plant engineering services.
LTTS’ deep expertise in engineering also extends to the realm of sustainability. The company has designed and implemented solutions, including systems and plants, for applications like water and wastewater, energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, carbon equivalence and accounting, scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions tracking, and regulatory compliance and reporting.
As a result of this experience that is both broad and deep in the realm of sustainability, LTTS can understand the relationships between the various domains of functionality, systems, and the processes and plants they control. Understanding how sustainability related data flows within the enterprise is essential for the long-term success of any sustainability project, and LTTS has a unique perspective on this.
LTTS combines both their services and software expertise to provide total sustainability solutions for end users in coordination with its many supplier and technology provider partners. LTTS implements Industrial Data Fabrics for sustainability that can integrate data from multiple platforms and sources. LTTS also has considerable expertise in implementing analytics and AI to gain insights from sustainability related data. LTTS does this through a combination of its consulting services and its Sustainability Manager software solution.
LTTS Approach to Energy Management Digitalization
The Energy and Sustainability Manager Solution provided by LTTS addresses need for digitalization in energy and sustainability management. The solution provides contextualized insights at an enterprise scale, integrating production KPIs and metrics with intelligence and bespoke analysis. It covers various aspects such as sustainability monitoring, analysis, reporting, compliance tracking, and performance against baseline. The solution also includes features like root-cause analysis, custom and standard reports, and reconciliation. Energy and Sustainability Manager emphasizes the importance of technology stack integration, including enterprise IT networks, shop floor operational technology networks, and ERP systems.
Energy and Sustainability Manager can remotely collect data from distributed measuring devices for water, air, gas electricity, and steam (WAGES) resources in an industrial or critical infrastructure facility. The system provides end user dashboards, reports, and historical trending to support business decisions for energy consumption optimization and cost control.
LTTS has a standardized process for implementing the Energy and Sustainability Manager Solution. LTTS begins with a detailed site assessment that typically takes one to three weeks. This phase involves studying existing network topology, meters, and the operational technology landscape. It defines the future architecture, finalizes dashboards, KPIs, alarms, alerts, and reports, and documents functional and integration requirements.
Phase 2 is implementation, which typically takes a matter of weeks. This phase includes configuring, customizing, integrating, and system testing. It involves alerts and notifications, user acceptance testing (UAT), training, and going live. It also covers the procurement, installation, configuration, and integration of meters and other hardware.
Phase 3 -- Support & Services -- provides onsite and remote support, periodic reports, insights, and functional support for energy savings. It tracks CAPEX and OPEX projects. Phase 3 also includes managed services for energy savings, including hardware and software support. LTTS has a large partner ecosystem, and has implemented Energy and Sustainability Manager on several software platforms, including PTC ThingWorx, Microsoft Azure, open-source stacks, and custom integrations tailored to the client's application tech stack.
Gaining Insights from Data: Applying AI and Analytics
In addition to providing a platform for managing sustainability related data, Energy and Sustainability Manager can also apply Industrial AI and analytics to provide insights into further opportunities for sustainability and energy efficiency. The system can provide alerts for deviations in key parameters, unveil additional opportunities for energy reuse and recovery, provide root-cause analysis and corrective actions, and enhance operator training and development of standard operating procedures (SOP). It also includes a systems approach for tracking energy losses and fine-tuning set points, such as HVAC systems.
Energy Auditing Services for Plants
LTTS also offers plant engineering upgrades and energy audit services for manufacturing plants. This involves a plant audit and assessment by LTTS energy auditors and plant engineering experts to identify potential improvement opportunities and qualify projects for implementation. Phase 2 includes basic engineering, bill of quantities (BOQ), and cost estimation for the qualified opportunities. It considers the feasibility of implementation with due consideration to process plant interfacing, along with support from energy auditor SMEs. The detailed engineering & implementation support phase provides detailed engineering (design, drawings, etc.), vendor identification, construction drawings, and support from energy auditor SMEs for implementation.
Case Study: Energy and Sustainability Manager Deployed at a Global CPG Manufacturer
LTTS deployed Energy and Sustainability Manager solution for a global consumer packaged goods (CPG) company in the United States. The client faced several sustainability challenges, such as unaccounted costs for electricity and water, inefficient resource input per gallon of produce, lack of traceability of losses in water lines, difficulty in calculating return on investment (ROI) for capital projects, and inadequate analysis and benchmarking of equipment against energy key performance indicators (KPIs).
The implemented solution included metering at critical data points, balancing water lines across recycle loops and from source to sink, and a reconciliation module addressing unaccounted energy. It also provided scenario analysis, automated decision support, and configurable KPIs for equipment, production line, batch, and resource type.
As a result of these solutions, the company achieved a 12 percent reduction in water intensity, a 5 percent reduction in electricity intensity, a 14 percent reduction in natural gas intensity, and significantly reduced unaccounted costs for electricity and water. The ROI was realized in 3.4 years, alongside notable sustainability benefits.
Case Study: Energy Efficiency Command Center
LTTS implemented an Energy Efficiency Command Centre for a global FMCG company aiming for a 10-15 percent energy reduction at over 30 sites and $20 million in savings by 2025. LTTS used virtual energy audits, digital twins, and expert online support to suggest and track savings measures. Key results included 4-10 percent energy savings from reduced air leakages, 30 percent compressor power savings, 2-6 percent savings from pressure drop reductions, and 2-4 percent savings in compressor consumption. Notably, one site's boiler saved $23,000 annually through improved condensate recovery and optimized controls.
Conclusions
Sustainability is a leading business driver for manufacturing and critical infrastructure, and it requires embracing digitalization. Digitalization is essential for successful sustainability initiatives, requiring integration of data from various sources within the organization. End users can buy all the products and platforms, but investing in technology by itself is not enough. You also need the expertise to make everything work together and create a lifecycle-based approach that has measurable results if you want any sustainability program to survive.
LTTS’ engineering expertise covers a wide range of sustainability-related processes, from water and wastewater management to energy management, carbon accounting, and regulatory compliance reporting. This engineering expertise runs deep, from plant design and engineering to system design, installation, and commissioning. This engineering gives LTTS deep knowledge of how sustainability-related data flows happen in manufacturing organizations. For an end user, that knowledge of the interrelationships between processes and how data flows, particularly between enterprise and OT realms, will be crucial for the success of any sustainability project.
L&T Technology Services (LTTS) is successfully leveraging its software and engineering expertise to provide sustainability assessments and cohesive solutions for end users in the realm of sustainability. LTTS is in a unique position because they can partner with just about any technology provider while simultaneously bringing its own domain expertise, software capabilities, and partner ecosystem to create sustainable solutions from initial assessment to operations and maintenance.