Energy Solutions - STOP! LOOK! LISTEN!

Energy management is a crowded marketplace with a variety of messages and value propositions made by a motley group of various interests, technologies and consultants. It isn’t simple. There is a wide range of buying motivations that will greatly impact how a company looks at energy management and what value proposition they are looking for. How is anyone supposed to make sense of all of it?

Here’s an idea…a phrase from my childhood where I lived across the street from a busy railroad track: Stop. Look. And Listen.

STOP!

That may seem like an odd first step, but there is a method to the madness. Chances are, in your company there are a variety of individual efficiency projects that are going on in quiet corners of almost every facility. The marketing department, looking for a new P.R. campaign that shows the company is concerned about the environment, is trying to push through a solar array on any building that it can take pictures of and distribute through newswires. Every day, lighting contractors are trying to create an ROI for installing new efficient lighting while HVAC contractors are trying to create an ROI for an upgrade, and there are plenty of solar companies out there happy to talk with your marketing wizards.

Pushing through all of those requests for individual projects overwhelms an already over-burdened purchasing department. They compete for dollars with Operations who is asking for money to upgrade production equipment that will increase productivity and/or lower unit cost. The constant barrage of “saving energy” projects eventually dulls the senses and devalues an important message. Most importantly, in the world of carbon accounting – efficiencies gained prior to the creation of an energy baseline are lost forever. That is what is called “Leaving dollars on the table.”

LOOK!

The most recent studies by energy management thinkers are finding that most companies would benefit from a holistic approach to energy management. A recent study by Groom Energy found that “No single energy management system meets all needs.” It is also important to look outside of your company to see what your competition is doing. Many companies now see the benefits of energy management as a competitive edge with regards to cost, risk and good P.R. (see last month’s article for more on that). Opportunity costs must also be calculated – what is the cost of doing nothing? Taking a look at all of these items will help you make better energy management decisions for yourself and your company.

LISTEN!

Listen to your employees. They want the company to succeed and may have good ideas that simply need attention, direction and data. Listen to your customers. Those that don’t care about sustainability and the environment won’t change their buying patterns regardless. Those that do care vote with their pocketbook – strongly. Listen to a trusted advisor – like Telamon. Our flexible, holistic approach will ensure the right results for your company. 

-Mark Brown

Channel & Business Development
Telamon Energy Solutions

Business Process Solutions - Problem/Solution

The Problem: 
In today's economy companies are looking to their finance function for insights that will drive business improvement. Telamon's Business Process Solutions division has the next-generation approach to help. Recently, a well-known bank in the Midwest approached Telamon looking for a more efficient method to organize and centralize storage retrieval of bank signature cards (the account holder's signature) across multiple bank locations.

The Solution:
Only the signature area from a document is captured and clipped as an image file and appears as a field, not a scan of the entire bank signature card document. Next, the account holder's details, account number and branch identification number are indexed into the cloud-based document management system. Telamon also audits and reports back to bank managers any bank signature cards that are missing signatures so they can follow-up. Because the solution doesn't capture the entire document and only the signature area, uploading and scrolling the entire document to locate the account holder's signature has been eliminated. The search and validation process is now much more efficient - saving significant time and cutting costs! 

Medical Solutions - Recent Events

Recently, Telamon's Medical Solutions division has participated in various activities involving the healthcare industry. Read on for an update from our medical solutions team!

FIME Show

The FIME show is the largest medical-related trade show in the U.S. The show occurs once a year with more than 2,500 medical-related vendors attend from all over the world. It provides a great opportunity for attendees to learn about the trends for medical suppliers and devices. Telamon has attended the show throughout the years to seek potential partners and learn about the major players in the medical arena. 

Entrepreneur Bootcamp 
The Entrepreneur Bootcamp was hosted by Launch Fishers and put on by Techpoint. The event was held to help equip 100 early-stage to seed-stage entrepreneurs with the skills and information they need to be successful and catalyze the next wave of start-up activity in Indiana. Entrepreneurs also had the chance to compete for thousands of dollars in investment and services. Telamon's participation was to attend and learn about the current trends in the technology market from the dozen or so start-up experts and companies. Current funding and market trends are moving heavily on Internet/SaaS (Software as a Service) and more specifically in Healthcare IT and Big Data. This plays well into the current focus that Telamon's medical division is pursuing.

Hoosier Healthcare Innovation Challenge (HHIC)
HHIC is a dynamic, results-driven competition intended to bring together healthcare and technology professionals from around the state to identify and create solutions to some of the most challenging problems in healthcare. The challenge was started by the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2012, and Telamon has participated for the last 1 years. This year, Telamon submitted a solution called IN-PERCENT (Indiana Pregnancy Resource Center) to the Pregnancy Application challenge that was submitted by the Indiana State Department of Health. The challenge was to help reduce the state's infant mortality rate by delivering important educational information to expectant mothers. While Telamon was not chosen as a finalist, we generated some great ideas and quite possibly a new product offering within the medical solutions product portfolio!

Telecom Solutions - Technology Deployment

Almost 30 years ago, Telamon was asked by a major telecommunications company to perform the integration work described in our last blog.  As we learned more about the sophisticated telecommunications equipment that we were packaging for them, it became a natural evolution to begin installing these products into their networks. 

This sounds easy, however, Telamon needed to build a new division from the ground up which mirrored our clients installation organization. This required hiring and training high quality individuals who understood the importance of maintaining very stringent quality standards.  Knowing that one is potentially working with critical circuits such as 911 has a way of reminding a technician of the importance of doing your very best work all the time.  As the years go by and technology advances, Telamon has been able to nimbly adapt to these changes and continue to provide the installation services beyond central offices to small telecom sites – remote terminals or service units – and cell sites for wireless traffic.  We now enjoy a reputation for providing quality installation and engineering services nationwide to a broad range of customers.  Several of our large OEM partners have also chosen Telamon to be their installation team for their customer base which has taken us into industries such as education, utilities, manufacturing and healthcare.

Installation Equipment

The telecom giant that gave us our start continues to be one of our largest customers and works with us to find new opportunities to take mutual advantage of our capabilities.  Telamon is very proud of how we have contributed to the growth of the telecommunications industry and constantly adapts to address this dynamic, changing environment.

-Suzanne Beck

VP Business Development

Telecom Solutions - Telamon Corporation