QUANTUM CONSULTING, INC. » asymmetric http://www.qcworld.com Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:25:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 RATIONALE http://www.qcworld.com/rationale.html http://www.qcworld.com/rationale.html#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:25:05 +0000 admin http://www.qcworld.com/?p=57 The market for process optimization (through the MWRP) in small and medium sized facilities has not been addressed for the following reasons:
•= Small and medium facilities have limited resources and generally cannot fund $100,000
process audits.
•= Engineering firms are interested in meeting discharge permits. During a particularly insightful interview, a wastewater engineer, when asked if he would ever consider identifying the minimum amount of energy required to keep a facility in compliance stated that “I’m not in the business of saving energy. I’m in the business of meeting permit.” This view permeates an industry that views its role as offering operator friendly” solutions. These firms are frankly not interested in working with and educating operators on their facility. The QC/BacGen Team has a successful track record of providing operators with the training and tools to reduce energy related expenses.
•= The QC/BacGen Team has a deep understanding of system biology and energy use.
Engineering firms that serve the wastewater industry take a more mechanical approach, usually resulting in increases to energy costs, e.g. increased filtration.

The specific market barriers facing the market for process optimization are as follows;

•= Lack of availability – Consulting engineers for the industry are focused on meeting permit with only passing reference to real energy savings. As the anecdote above implies, the wastewater-consulting engineers will not move to fill the needed void anytime soon.

•= Lack of consumer information/asymmetric information – The wastewater industry is
conservative and generally views anything new with skepticism. Local government’s are tightening their belts and are unwilling to fund many new projects. While larger urban cities have sufficient information on optimization techniques, those in smaller rural communities do not.

•= Bounded Rationality – While on paper, it would appear that process optimization is the appropriate solution for the majority of facilities, few rural communities do it without full funding. Operators are busy, and likely too busy to investigate the efficacy of each energy efficiency claim. Too busy to gather funding. Too busy to do the proper vetting required for any outlay of city funds.

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