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How Santa Stays Green at the Workshop

Santa's Sleigh

Santa has had his share of challenges the past couple of holiday seasons. But when production challenges push processes to the red line, digitalization is how Santa stays green and sustainable.

Last year, Santa had to send his process and control elves home during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Now, he’s dealing with product shortages as supply chains are holding back materials that are necessary to make toys.

But Jolly Old St. Nick stays as cool as the North Pole under pressure. And thanks to his adoption of advanced analytics a few years ago, Santa has the workshop running green.

“I don’t know what we would do during these times without TrendMiner. The workshop is backed up, and we are short-handed. Especially when it comes to data science elves. TrendMiner allows us to review processes remotely and get time-series data in the hands of subject matter expert (SME) elves who know how to address anomalies and make our processes more efficient. It helps especially with our energy costs so high, and when we are trying to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Santa ClausFounder and CEO

Workshop on Overtime

There’s no time to waste. The pandemic still is a concern and toys are not making it from factories to store shelves. Santa and his elves are working extra hard to ensure good little boys and girls get their presents this year.

(They checked; there is no shortage of coal for the bad ones).

To keep up the with the demand as Christmas approaches, the equipment in Santa’s workshop is running longer and faster than it ever has.

Keeping his workshop sustainable is Santa’s golden rule. But energy and gases escape when production runs hot. Water can be contaminated and break local and global environmental laws if it isn’t cleaned or recycled properly after use.

Santa’s workshop could turn into a nightmare for the rising Arctic’s carbon footprint. With fewer elves working in the factory, Santa keeps a watchful eye on problems to keep his factory as green as possible.

Sustainability Stats

Santa began using TrendMiner software a few years ago. As a result, he does not have to rely on data scientist elves to interpret data from sensors all through the workshop.

Let’s take a look at a few ways Santa is keeping his workshop green with TrendMiner.

Extreme Energy
Santa’s workshop uses a lot of electricity to make the toys. But with the plant running on overtime, Santa’s electric bill has skyrocked. Even by North Pole standards.

To reduce those energy costs and stay green, St. Nick had his elves track process trends to see when the most energy was being used. After two weeks of comparing TrendMiner data, the process elves were able to determine that energy spiked when two machines started at the same time.

Process control elves then adjusted the start-up timing of those machines. Santa saw his electric bill drop.
Water Woes
Recycling is nothing new for Santa. Despite his red coat, St. Nick was as green as the Grinch before sustainability was a trend. That’s why he put in a process to recycle production water.

Still, elements used in the water recycling process tend to foul. When they do, production slows. The recycled water no longer can be used for processing.

Elves used to clean the elements on a time-schedule basis. But with TrendMiner, elves were able to see variations of water pressure and usage when the elements fouled.

Knowing this information saved them time and money. They only needed to clean the fouled elements when trends told them it was necessary. Process elves can schedule it for the best time in the production cycle.
Sowing Seeds
Santa’s workshop and other industries contribute to deforestation as their processes consume energy. During the holidays, many people also cut trees for decorations in their homes.

The big guy in the red suit is famous for sliding down chimneys and leaving presents under those trees. But even Santa knows they must be replaced to keep the planet sustainable.

That’s why Santa teamed up with TrendMiner this year to plant 2,022 trees through One Tree Planted. The organization already has planted more than 40 million trees in 43 countries.

Santa said he joined the effort because a sustainable future is better than any gift he can make in a factory or buy in a store.

Gifting with Glee

Boys and girls do not have to worry about Santa making it to their homes this year. Just like a Boy Scout, Santa is ready for what comes next.

He’s adapted to working from home during a global pandemic and adopted technologies to help St. Nick’s workshop run more efficiently and with greater sustainability.

With happy, health elves and a green-running workshop, Santa’s early adoption to digitalization—and a little help from Rudolph on foggy nights—will keep his sleigh on time indefinitely.

Check out one of our practical use cases to learn how your company can improve sustainability with TrendMiner.

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Happy Holidays from all of us at TrendMiner

TrendMiner would like to wish everyone a Happy Holiday season and a prosperous New Year!

As we continue to navigate through global challenges, our Team is here to help keep your operations running at optimal levels. We look forward to working with you in 2022!

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