Endesa plant employees generate 11 million euros through their ideas

• Third edition of the BYEM (“Seek and Find Improvements”) project draws to a close. Project aimed at employees in production units of thermal, combined cycle and hydroelectric power plants.
• This edition receives 412 ideas from 30 production units, representing upwards of 12% of staff, compared with 7% during the previous edition. 
• Award for Best BYEM Global Proposal goes to initiative developed at Andorra thermal power plant (Teruel), which has cut SO2, emissions by 50% using organic acid.  
• After the success of the project in Spain, now in its third edition, the Enel Group (which Endesa belongs to) has launched the global GXcellence Award in nine countries in which it is present.

The creativity and great ideas of employees in the workplace can be extremely beneficial for any company. This is the philosophy behind the BYEM (Seek and Find Improvements) project, run by Endesa for its employees in the company's power generation units. 

With their contributions, employees participating in the latest edition of the project will generate 11 million euros per year on a recurring basis at their thermal and hydroelectric power plants, through cost reductions and increased income, 8 million euros of which have already been achieved. The remainder will be generated once all the measures have been implemented. And even more significantly: the 8 million euros achieved required an investment of just 1 million euros; most of the initiatives only require a few changes to the production process conditions without any direct investment. 

Since the last edition of the BYEM, held in December 2015, a total of 412 proposals have been received, 93 of which have already been completed, 42 are underway, 259 are still in the study phase and only 15 have been rejected.

These figures once again confirm the success of this initiative, with a higher degree of participation: in this third edition, 12% of employees provided ideas, compared with 7% during the last edition. 

Each edition of the BYEM project concludes with an award ceremony, in which the best proposals receive the BYEM awards. This year, the event was held at Endesa’s headquarters in Madrid and over 100 people attended the ceremony. The company’s CEO, José Bogas, highlighted “the immense success of the project, evidenced by the high degree of participation and the creativity of the proposals, many of which are simple ideas, but which work and illustrate the employees’ commitment to the company”.

The main aims of the BYEM project are to seek and develop improvements across all production processes and facilities, promoting a culture of improvement in all the plants and doing so on a continuous and permanent basis. An initiative that reflects the new Open Power culture that inspires the Enel Group (which Endesa belongs to), since it pursues collaboration, sharing best practices with the rest of the world and paving the way for innovation and the involvement of everyone. The BYEM plan has served as an inspiration for the global launch of the Gxcellence Award in nine countries in which the Enel Group operates, among employees in conventional generation plants (coal-fuelled plants, fuel oil and gas and combined cycle plants). These international awards will recognise the best proposals of each country, from which the best idea will be chosen, and the ceremony will be held in Buenos Aires in January of next year.

BYEM 2016 AWARD

The Award for the Best BYEM Global Proposal went to the initiative developed at the Andorra thermal plant (Teruel), which has cut SO2 emissions by 50% using organic acid. The measure has also driven down fuel costs, which translates into savings of 7 million euros. 

Another 12 improvement proposals were also recognised in six categories: occupational health and safety; the environment; operating efficiency; innovation in health, safety and the environment; innovation in operating improvements; and innovation in new business models and new generation technologies.

Award for the best health and safety improvement proposal

• Coal-fired thermal power stations: Alcudia Thermal Production Unit (Balearic Islands). “Change Management Model”.
• Combined cycle fuel oil and gas power plants: As Pontes Thermal Plant (As Pontes, A Coruña). Installation of hydrogen leak detector belts.
• Hydroelectric power plants. South Production Unit. Enhancements to the flood protection system of the water outflow tunnel of the Tranco de Beas Hydroelectric Power Plant (Jaén).

Award for the best environmental improvement proposal.

• Coal-fired thermal power stations: Compostilla Thermal Production Unit (León). Low-cost reforms to reduce NOx emissions.
• Combined cycle fuel oil and gas power plants: Ceuta Thermal Power Plant. Reuse of redundant settling tank.
• Hydroelectric power plants: Ebro-Pyrenees Production Unit, Portable oil extractor in wells.

Award for the best operating efficiency improvement proposal.

• Coal-fired thermal power stations: As Pontes Thermal Production Unit (As Pontes, La Coruña) Reuse of sludge from effluent treatment plant.
• Combined cycle power fuel oil and gas plants: Ibiza Thermal Power Plant. Monitored guide for power outages.
• Hydroelectric power plants: Ebro-Pyrenees Production Unit, Reduction of temperature in the alternator room of the Talam Hydroelectric Power Plant (Lleida).

Award for the most innovative health, safety and environmental proposal.

• Alcudia Coal-fired Thermal Plant (Balearic Islands). Mobile application for identifying equipment and systems to improve safety in discharges.

Award for the most innovative operating improvement proposal.

• Andorra Thermal Plant (Teruel) Use of oxidants to reduce NOx and SO2 emissions.

Award for the most innovative proposal for new business models and new generation technologies. 

• Andorra Thermal Plant (Teruel). Smart factory.