Audit Process

The following sections outline the general process that the EEC follows when developing a comprehensive energy audit report.

Pre-Audit: To commence the audit process, the following information about the client will be collected, and then discussed to determine potential areas of energy savings. After this discussion more specific information may be required.

First, the processes, number and size of key equipment, and opportunities that might be evaluated at the site are discussed by one or more site personnel, typically over the phone with EEC members.

Second, information such as utility bills, equipment lists, and production numbers are requested to help better understand what the facility is like that will be audited. Additionally, a description of the EEC processes, what to expect, and data collection forms that will be used for the audit will be forwarded to the client.

Assessment Process: Assessment teams will consist of a team leader, one or two students and one faculty member or graduate student. The team leader is responsible for obtaining required information from the client, coordinating all team activities and assembling the report. Team members are pre-assigned assessment areas so they can better prepare for data collection during the visit. One team member is assigned responsibility for the base data section (utility bills, energy balance, production rates and costs).  

Report Design: The OSU EEC is continuously improving the effectiveness of our reports in presenting information and recommendations to the diverse audience our agricultural clients represent. The reports are made to be accessible to a non-technical financial decision maker, and hold up to the scrutiny of a technical evaluator. To this end the EEC has split reports into two distinct sections. First, a set of assessment recommendation (AR) narratives outlining the ideas behind our recommendations and the potential results. Second, a presentation of calculations explaining data collected and the methodology used for each AR that includes only the minimum narrative content required.

Report Preparation: presided over or reviewed by the report lead include the following

  • SWAG Meeting to review ideas developed during the assessment and select for development those that show promise
  • AR Calculation Presentation Reviews to ensure a cogent, correct analysis has been prepared
  • AR Narrative Presentation Reviews to ensure a persuasive, readable presentation has been written
  • Report Draft Review : A week before the report is sent to the printer, it is assembled and each section is again checked and revisions identified. Final decisions are made on AR’s and Other Measures Considered (OMC’s)
  • Report Release Review : New sections such as the executive summary, table of contents and signature page are verified. The completed report receives a thorough review and signoff before it is printed and sent to the client.

Follow-up: conducted after report completion to ensure client success

  • Two Week Follow-up: Follow-up will be made to clients within two weeks sending them our completed report. This gives us a chance to answer any questions or concerns that arise and have a chance to overcome issues that might otherwise create a barrier to implementation.
  • Implementation Call : After 6 months, a phone interview is conducted with clients to determine which recommendations they elected to implement or plan to implement and compare their actual results to our estimations.