UTM Sustainable Energy Management team latest engagement with PETRONAS

Sabri Ahmad

Skudai. 28 November. UTM Sustainable Energy Management team has this story to tell about their latest engagement with PETRONAS on 27-28 November.

In August of 2013, UTM received an invitation from PETRONAS to share UTM’s success story on Energy Management Implementation.

The email invitation came from a manager representing the PETRONAS Chemical Group – in particular PETRONAS Chemicals Olefin-Glycol Derivatives (PC OGD).

PCOGD requested UTM to motivate its staff on the launching of their “Energy Day” on November 27, 2013. They offered to sponsor UTM team – from setting up an exhibition booth, to delivering the main lecture to 200 PETRONAS personnel representing the Operating Units of the East Coast Region.

We were pleasantly surprised at this request because, in our effort to brand UTM as a Regional Reference Centre for Sustainable Energy Management, we do not recall having visited, or invited PETRONAS to hear our story.

So, deep-down inside, we felt that we may have made some impacts somewhere, when a multinational company, famed for outsourcing services to consultancy giants, offered you to tell them how to do things.

The excitement quickly became a worry – on how to best impress the conglomerate that must be overflowing with expectations for having favored UTM to their own consultancy arm – the PETRONAS GTS (Group Technology Solution) at least as far as SEM is concerned.

Even though the invitation was for one representative to deliver UTM experience, and another to manage the exhibition, we thought it was time to prepare for the D-Day, muster our strength, and give our all as a team.

PETRONAS was, in a way surprised to know that UTM will be sending 5 reps, comprising staff from the academic and professional (non-academic), instead of the invited 2.

For UTM, there was only one option and one mission – deliver a “killer impression”.

On November 26 and 27, UTM “strike-force” came “dressed-to-kill”.

UTM took this opportunity to further request another day for a special meeting with the PETRONAS top management after the event to discuss how UTM could assist PETRONAS to implement SEM, and discuss other collaboration strategies.

Deliver the UTM team did.

PETRONAS was keen to have UTM’s advise them on setting up SEM system for their operations, including the setting up of ISO 50001; They requested for UTM to provide them its training modules for PETRONAS to consider adapting for their skill development programmes. PETRONAS would like to collaborate with UTM in their projects on Energy Optimisation.

Below is a pictorial account of the UTM team in action.

1. More than 150 PETRONAS Crowd listening to UTM’s experience.

2. Zulhairi demostrating some energy-efficient appliances installed in UTM.

3. Masilah passionately explaining to a PETRONAS manager about UTM’s energy management initiatives.

4. Dr Kamaruddin promoting Energy Management Workshop and Postgraduate Programme

4. Prof Zain’s presenting on behalf of UTM team, with the PETRONAS Energy

Champion in the front seat.