Managing your energy consumption and costs with ORBIT, Robin Razzell

Managing your energy consumption and costs with ORBIT, Robin Razzell

Robin Razzell, Data Project Analyst at TEC 

Did you know that you can forecast your future energy costs ahead using TEC’s budgeting and reporting tool ORBIT? 

Developed by MITIE, ORBIT is an industry leading platform which provides budget visibility, tracking, and forecasting. We sat down with Robin Razzell, TEC’s Data Project Analyst, to delve deeper into ORBIT and find out how members can make full use of the software. 

What is ORBIT? 

ORBIT is a sophisticated budgeting and reporting tool which helps you manage your energy use and costs. ORBIT is refreshed daily and provides insights into portfolio and individual supply levels based on your financial year. It also incorporates the complexities of commodity and non-commodity costs.  You can use the platform to get daily or monthly reports, to forecast up to a year ahead, and to look at your actual versus your forecast budget. 

What are the benefits of the ORBIT system? 

ORBIT is a very user-friendly piece of software which provides visibility into your projected energy costs and bills. It can also help inform investment decisions with insightful, bespoke, and up to date information. ORBIT provides you with visibility of what and when energy is being consumed, enabling organisations to spot anomalies. For example, you might spot heating or electricity costs are high overnight, indicating that the power is not being switched off. TEC can then step in and support you with advice about the next steps to reduce consumption and costs. 

What advice would you give to someone using ORBIT for the first time? 

The first thing is to familiarise yourself with ORBIT. So, when you have a little spare time, have a look around and really get to know the functionality the platform provides. It’s really robust and easy to use. Ask your MSA if you have difficulty getting started. 

There are no restrictions on the number of logins an organisation can have. Different teams in universities will use it in different ways. Finance will obviously be interested in the cost of things. Facilities Management will be looking at how much gas and power they are using; environmental and energy managers will be looking at carbon consumption. It is then hugely beneficial to have a helicopter view of how these things link together.  

How can you get the best out of the platform? 

Think about what it is you want to get out of the system, and you can tailor your reports accordingly. Once you’ve explored the platform, one of the best things to do is to talk to your Member Service Advisor (MSA). They can help you refine the information or the exact set of reports you need to support your institution’s carbon or energy consumption agenda. Our ongoing webinar series with Mitie on ORBIT provides a great forum to ask any questions you have. Finally, I’d encourage all members who come to the Annual Conference, to take the opportunity to chat with the Mitie team in the exhibition hall.  

The next Mitie ORBIT webinar takes place on the 7th November. Contact your MSA if you would like to register.