At Ford Motor Company, the commitment to energy efficiency and
saving money has started at the office computer. Under a new
program called PC Power Management, the power settings on Windows
laptops and desktop computers are centrally controlled to reduce
energy waste and optimize software updates. A managed
shutdown of computer systems not in use, especially overnight and
on weekends, further reduces energy use.
At the same time, the system ensures all computers connected to the
Ford Intranet are awake and able to receive software deliveries
during off hours, decreasing downtime during working hours due to
software loads.
The savings to the company on power cost alone is expected to top
USD 1.2 million annually when the system is fully
implemented. By reducing PC power consumption, Ford also
stands to reduce its carbon footprint by an estimated 16,000 to
25,000 metric tons annually.
“In the past, as many as 60 percent of Ford’s PC users
haven’t shut their PCs off at the end of the business day,
resulting in wasted energy,” said Keith Forte, Ford IT
project supervisor. “Going forward, we’ll be able to
manage PC power consumption more efficiently while minimizing
interruptions during the working day as a result of software
updates.”
PC Power Management is being rolled out to Ford computer users
across the US this month. It will be migrated to Ford
operations around the world later in the year.
The cost savings and reduced carbon footprint are obtained by
developing “Power Profiles” for each PC in the company.
With its power profile enabled, each PC monitors its usage patterns
and determines when it can be turned off. If the user is
working late, he or she will be alerted of the approaching power
down and given the opportunity to delay it. In addition, the
PC is able to detect when a Microsoft Office product is active and
is able to save open documents before shutting down in case the
user is not present.
Ford developed its PC Power Management system with NightWatchman
software from 1E Inc. 1E research found that almost half of all
employees who use computers at work typically do not power them
down at the end of the working day. In the US alone, over USD
2.8 billion of PC power is being wasted every year, according to
1E.
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