Case 6: generator set to reduce losses

Case 6: generator set to reduce losses

A multinational company (training aviation pilots via flight simulators) hired me to discover and solve the problem they were facing at their unit in São Paulo, Brazil.

They were experiencing unplanned interruptions in the power supply, which caused huge losses because the pilots had to reschedule the simulator for a new date each time these occurred. Since pilots are among the most expensive employees on the airline payroll, I was informed that they were starting to do the simulations in Miami.

The pilot would fly to Miami one day, do the simulator the next day and then return to Brazil. It was cheaper! To sum up, the client was losing "market share".

I said that the solution would be simple. Install generator sets that would meet the demand and, to avoid interruptions in the simulator, include uninterruptible power supplies (no-breaks) to take over the load until the generators took over.

I was informed that such a solution would require approval from headquarters, given the investment values ​​involved, which would require time that they did not have here in Brazil.

So I suggested a model in which we would call on companies interested in supplying generator sets in the desired model, BUT their remuneration would be the peak rate charged by the concessionaire.

Since the cost of operation and maintenance, including fuel, was much lower than the peak rate at the time, it was a success! Every weekday the gen set would operate during the peak hours. And when necessary the gen sets would be activated when there was a power outage. A BOT (build, operate and transfer) type contract was signed for 7 years.

The client was able to make this solution viable in this format and thus maintained its clientele without incurring any additional costs!