Six of NPorts’ apprentices had a successful showing in the IHK (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) competition “Energy Scouts”. Team Brake ended up garnering third place.
Oldenburg | 7/5/2019
“It was exciting to talk in front of so many people, but I think we got it right," says Adrian Schmeyer after the presentation to the IHK jury. He is an apprentice in Brake and, together with his colleague Leah Beckedorf, has redesigned the social building of the branch. This is the central meeting point for the colleagues of Niedersachsen Ports in Brake. In addition to changing rooms, showers and rest rooms, there is also a common room as well as a bicycle cellar.
“The building, equipment and facilities have not been updated much and are mostly in the state of 1981. That is why the focus of our project was aimed at how we can make the building more energy-efficient and sustainable," explains Leah. To this end, the two trainees have created a comprehensive project that also includes measures that are to be implemented in the future, such as the greening of the roof of the building. They were already able to accomplish quite a lot up until now, including the insulation of the heating system, and in addition, they have created information cards to help raise awareness among colleagues.
The effort was worth it. Last Friday, the jury awarded the project “Social Building 2.0” third place. “A really great achievement", Holger Banik, Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG and of JadeWeserPort Realisierungs GmbH & Co. KG, was thrilled to say, as he congratulated the Brake team. “For NPorts this is a win-win, since the ideas and projects of all energy scouts always lead to improvements that we can put into practice" Banik continued.
Smart Heating
The principle behind the Energy Scouts project from Cuxhaven is well known. When you open the windows to air out the stale air, the heating system better not be running. Marvin Rittershofer and Volker Ahl discovered that a lot of warm air is lost as soon as the gates of the workshop hall open. Various measurements of energy consumption are soon followed by implementation. The heating system is on its way to becoming smart. The duo went on to install sensors that detect when and for how long the roller gates are open and can regulate the heating accordingly. “We had a lot of support during our project and learned a lot. We learnt, for instance, that it is not so easy to find the appropriate materials” Volker said. “That's true, but you can only learn from experience”, Marvin replied.
In a New Light
In their project, the aspiring electronics technicians for operating technology Dominik Jürrens and Tobias Romanski from the NPorts branch in Emden have replaced fluorescent tube grid lights with LED panels. Once the retrofitting of the training workshop is finished, the master craftsmen office is next. First, exact calculations were required in addition to the right lamp selection. And that wasn't too easy. “We haven't even dealt with this topic at our vocational school" says Dominik.
After the theoretical calculations, it was time to put it into practice. Removing old lamps, installing new lamps. Then the exciting question – does everything work as it should? Yes, all LED panels are shining bright! “This was a lot of fun, our first own project from A to Z" Tobias added. Real teamwork!
Third Energy Scout Competition
A total of 31 trainees from eight companies took part in this year's run of the Energy Scout project by the IHK Oldenburg. As part of the award ceremony, all ten different projects were presented to the five-member jury on June 28, 2019. The range of topics was broad, ranging from "Optimizing Processes and the Use of Waste Heat", "Introducing e-Mobility and Apps for the Improvement of Mobility", to "Building Renovation" and "Reducing Standby Currents at Workplaces". This is already the third round of Energy Scout in a row.
Here is how you can contact us:
Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG
Hindenburgstraße 26 – 30 | 26122 Oldenburg, Germany
T +49 (0) 441 35 020 - 310 | F +49 (0) 441 35 020 - 999
presse@nports.de | www.nports.de
Niedersachsen Ports is owner and operator of five seaports, seven island supply ports, plus three regional ports along the German North Sea shore. The registered office of the company is in Oldenburg. Through the branch offices in Brake, Cuxhaven (with satellite location Stade), Emden and Wilhelmshaven, Niedersachsen Ports is managing the port infrastructure in the large seaports of the State of Niedersachsen. In addition, the Norden branch operates the supply ports for the East Frisian Islands. This way, Niedersachsen Ports is able to offer a multitude of port locations from one single source.
