TEAM caught up with Jim Graves who has been using Sigma Energy Management Software– for over 25 years.
With extensive experience as Norwich Health Authority’s former Energy Manager, he now runs an eponymous energy management consultancy that is contracted by the East of England Ambulance Service.
Up until a few years ago Jim’s services also included bill validation for the NHS in Norfolk, where he identified in excess of £3.5 million in utility billing errors on the service’s behalf helped by using Sigma software.
He joined the NHS in Norwich as Energy Manager in 1986, and later discovered Sigma Energy Management Software in 1990. At the time, the health service had been considering writing its own software for utility monitoring. But after seeing Sigma Energy Management Software in use at a customer’s site, Jim was convinced Sigma software was the right software tool and introduced it throughout the NHS in Norfolk.
Jim left the NHS in 1995 but continued to work for them as an energy consultant for many years after, where he was contracted to monitor consumption at over 200 properties.
“Despite all the grand updates of the software, nothing much has changed for me because I’m still using the old version of the TEAM software. It’s a wonderful tool.”
Interesting Stories
Jim has an abundance of stories of how he has identified instances of unusually high utility consumption.
Washing Machine
“I noticed that gas consumption was unusually high at one of the community hospitals, so I decided to carry out a site visit. The staff had also been complaining that the hot water did not appear to be at full temperature in the mornings even though the boilers seemed to be working fine. On investigation I found that a big industrial sized washing machine – provided for the use of patients – was actually being used by staff to do their own laundry.”
Empty Building
A few years ago Jim noticed a considerable amount of electricity was being used in an empty office building. A site visit revealed that although the boilers had been isolated, the circulating pumps of the heating pumps had not been turned off and they were pumping cold water around the building, which had cost an extra £10,000.
Water leak
“A few years ago I discovered that one of the small cottage hospitals had been using three times as much water compared to those of a similar size and had being doing so for six years. A water leak was originally ruled out as this would have caused the ground to soften and become water logged over time. Further investigation, however, showed that there was indeed a burst pipe situated just above a drain, where water would have been leaking – probably for many years – directly into the sewerage system.”
Benefits of Sigma software
“I’ve been using the software for more than 25 years and I wonder how anyone manages their energy bills and consumption effectively without it.”
The greatest benefit of using Sigmasoftware for Jim has been the management of bills and easy identification of potential overcharges from utility providers.
“The Sigma software has helped me identify incorrect VAT rates, un-owned sites, incorrect meter readings, wrong tariffs applied and duplicate bills. I would like to wish TEAM a happy 30th anniversary – it’s a wonderful achievement and a great testament to TEAM.”