Case study

Power monitoring at Howard Park Wines

When faced with the challenge of reducing carbon emissions while managing a high-demand production environment, Howard Park Wines turned to Shoestring Digital for practical and cost-effective solutions.

Located in the heart of the renowned Margaret River region of Western Australia, Howard Park Wines is a medium-sized winery producing premium wines for retail, restaurants, and supermarkets across Australia and the UK.

The business challenge

As a winery operating across multiple regions, including Pemberton and the Great Southern, Howard Park Wines sought to monitor energy consumption to align with their carbon emission goals. A critical focus was their large chilling plant, responsible for temperature control of wine tanks during the high-intensity vintage season. Existing digital solutions on-site were large-scale systems managed by external contractors, leaving gaps in affordable and adaptable monitoring tools.

The solution

The Shoestring programme provided a tailored and low-cost power monitoring solution. This system utilised simple clamps attached to large machinery, such as the chiller units, to track power consumption during peak operational periods.

With guidance from the Shoestring team, including experts from Cambridge University and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Howard Park Wines implemented the system in-house.

The solution was affordable, with costs under $1,000, making it accessible even for a medium-sized operation. The flexibility of the system allowed it to be applied to various parts of the production process, offering broad potential for efficiency improvements.

The outcomes

The implementation of the power monitoring solution has delivered significant benefits. The team at Howard Park wines can now access insights into real-time power usage of chilling equipment during vintage season, helping them make progress toward their carbon emission reduction targets. Their team have also been empowered with new digital capabilities and confidence in managing future digital projects.

What are the next steps?

Through their Shoestring journey, Howard Park Wines has embraced the benefits of digitalisation. This hands-on experience has sparked interest in exploring additional digital solutions, including a new project to streamline fruit intake paperwork.

The forthcoming solution will digitise weight and record-keeping for incoming fruit bins, reducing manual calculations and saving approximately an hour of work per day during the busy vintage season.