Augos Factory / Optional extras / Resource intensity
New · resource intensity · an optional extra for finance and sustainability
New: what every unit costs to make, in kilowatt-hours, kilolitres and rand.
Augos has measured utilities for South African plants since 2009, and production lines alongside them. Now the two are joined: electricity, water, gas, steam and compressed air per unit of production, for the whole site, every half hour. The base load is separated, and every kWh is priced at the tariff in force when it was used.
In short
Resource intensity is the site's electricity, water, gas, steam or compressed air use divided by what it made, every half hour. Each product carries one standard unit, such as tonnes, litres, cartons, pallets or any unit every product converts to. Everything made at the same time then sums to one figure. Augos Factory joins Augos utility metering to the real-time production count and separates base load from what production takes. It marks each half hour as inside or outside paid time. Each kWh is priced at the South African tariff in force when it was used.
What it shows
Four questions your energy bill can't answer
An idle site still draws power
The base load the site draws when nothing is being made, separated from what production takes.
Same output, different cost
On a time-of-use tariff, a tonne made at peak costs more than the same tonne off-peak, so scheduling becomes a cost lever.
Outside paid time
What the site uses when no shift is paid to run it, taken from the shift plan and reported on its own.
Carbon per unit
From metered data and the grid emission factor your reporting uses, for customer and export questionnaires.
What it covers
Every resource the site uses, divided by what it actually made
Start with the utilities Augos already meters, add services where the site meters them, and take it to materials where a line doses them. The denominator never changes: production counted in real time on every line, summed in standard units.
| Resource | Examples | Per standard unit made | Measured for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utilities | Electricity, water, gas, fuel | kWh, kilolitres, cubic metres or litres | The site |
| Services | Steam, compressed air | Kilograms of steam or cubic metres of air, or the energy feeding the boiler and compressors | The site |
| Materials, on request | Packaging, seasoning and cooking oil on a snacks line | Kilograms or units, from a dosing pulse, load cell or flow meter | A line or the site |
The method
Base load out, then divide by output
Every product carries one standard unit, set once in the worksheet: tonnes, litres, cartons, pallets or any unit every product converts to. In each half hour, production is the sum of those units across every line that ran, and the resource used is divided by it. Clean, simple arithmetic.
Consumption is then regressed against that output. The intercept is the base load the site draws whether it produces or not; the slope is what each extra unit takes. This is the energy performance indicator method ISO 50001 describes.
The figure is for the site, not the line: most utilities and services feed several lines at once. Materials dosed at one line can be measured for that line.
We describe what is measured and how. We claim no saving until your own data shows one.
One line, one period: expected against actual
MeasuredWithin the baseline, not a saving to claim.
The expected figure comes from the line's own output and its 42.8 kWh per extra tonne.
Augos platform, energy per unit · one anonymised metered line · one period in 2026 · site, products and people removed.
By buyer
Measured, not allocated
Financial director
The resource cost of every unit, measured rather than allocated from the monthly bill.
Contract packer
Know what a unit costs the site in utilities, including the pasteuriser, boiler and compressors behind the lines, when you price contract work. For contract packers ›
Production manager
When production stops, see what the site keeps paying for while it stands.
What it needs
Utilities and production measured on the same site
- Augos Factory counting production on every line the metered supply feeds
- One standard unit for every product, set once in the worksheet: tonnes, litres, cartons, pallets or any unit every product converts to
- The Augos Energy electricity measurement suite on the site's supply, or existing Augos Energy metering that covers it
- Your tariff, which we already hold for most South African supply authorities
Strongest where energy is a real share of cost: kilns, pasteurisers, boilers, mills, extrusion and cold rooms.
Already an Augos Energy client?
Your meters are half the answer
If Augos already meters your plant, add a count sensor and an Augos Operator Terminal to every line the metered supply feeds. That gives you resource intensity for the site.
Questions
Resource intensity, answered
Will it save us money?
It shows what each unit costs to make and what the site draws while nothing is made. We claim a saving only when your own data shows one, measured against the baseline.
Does it cover water, gas, steam and compressed air?
Yes, where they are metered. The method is the same: base load out, divided by the standard units the site made.
Can we see it per line?
Not at this stage. Most utilities and services feed several lines at once, so the figure is for the site. It is the resource used divided by the standard units made across every line in the half hour. Materials dosed at one line, such as seasoning or oil, can be measured for that line.
Is resource intensity the same as energy intensity or specific energy consumption?
Yes, when the resource is energy. Energy intensity, specific energy consumption and kWh per tonne all mean energy used divided by output. Resource intensity applies the same arithmetic to water, gas, steam, compressed air and materials.
Which standard does it follow?
ISO 50001 energy performance indicators: energy per unit against a regression baseline. The measured data serves as evidence for ISO 50001.
Does it help with Scope 2 and Scope 3 reporting?
Yes, as measured data. Metered electricity is the base for your Scope 2 figure. Carbon per unit is what your customers ask suppliers for in their own Scope 3. You apply the emission factor your reporting uses.
What do we add to the site?
The Augos Energy electricity measurement suite, priced per measurement point at Augos Energy rates. Water, gas and other services are added where the site meters them.
Start with twelve months of bills.
Send your electricity bills and a production summary. We'll show where resource intensity is worth measuring on your site.
- Your tariff, checked against our database
- Where utilities are a real share of cost
- Prices in rand, ex VAT
A manufacturing specialist replies within two business hours to set a 30-minute call.