Pre-Visit Preparation
Preliminary Information
Preliminary information supplied by the client includes copies of most recent 12 months of electricity, natural gas, and water bills. The IAC team member prepares energy use profiles and conducts any necessary library research, analyzes various production processes, identifies potential energy conservation, pollution prevention, and productivity improvement opportunities, and determines what further data are needed. A simple map of the plant and a list of the larger, more significant equipment is useful to plan what data should be collected, and thus what measurement equipment should be brought by the team on the plant visit.
Safety
Safety is a primary concern to the IAC program. Typically, each IAC team member wears steel-toed shoes, safety glasses, and earplugs for manufacturing environments. Hard hats may be required for certain manufacturing plants. Please notify the assessment lead student, before the visit, regarding hardhat or other special safety requirements.
Security Clearances
If the manufacturing facility requires that all team members meet special security requirements, the client should notify the lead student at least one week before the visit date. For example, if the facility requires background checks or other status criteria for all visitors, the IAC staff needs to prepare for this well in advance.