Rob Kantner answers your questions:
- 10/04/08: Environmental awareness for contractors
- 6/23/08: PFMEA and environmental aspects
- ISO 14001: contractor controls?
- To get ISO 14001, must you have ISO 9001 first?
- About ISO 14001 scope statements
- 14001 and 'legal compliance monitoring'
- Which standard pertains? 9001 or 14001?
- Waste haulers: 14001 certified?
- ISO 14000 without 9001?
- Environmental continual improvement projects?
Environmental awareness for contractors (10/04/08)
I'm working in telecom company, as ISO14001 representative. When referring to the Environmental Awareness plan, I'm thinking to make an open house for our contractors and dealers. What activities should I consider in the event schedule as to make them totally aware of the ISO14001 as well as committed?
Excellent question. And holding an "open house" for contractors / dealers on the environmental system is a great idea. Here are some thoughts.
- Review your environmental policy with them. (They have to be aware of it.)
- Give them examples (generic) of the impact their activities could have on your business. Waste they could generate, hazardous substances brought in, etc.
- Talk to them about things your company is doing to prevent pollution and continually improve.
- Make a sign-up board with our environmental policy on it, sign it yourself with a big marker, and ask the others to sign it also, committing themselves to helping you.
PFMEA and environmental aspects (6/23/08)
How should we integrate Environmental aspect into PFMEA (Process Failure Mode and Effect Analysis)?
For each step in the PFMEA, besides the quality related failure modes, consider the impact the step might have on the environment -- that is to say, how the step could change something in air, water, or land.
- Could there be a leak?
- Could there be an air emission?
- Could there be a release of a chemical or other harmful substance?
- Could there be an undesirable noise, or odor, or escape of a substance into drains or other channels to water?
If so, and if such potential occurrences could a) violate law/regulation, and/or b) cause pollution to air, water, or land, prescribe controls to either a) prevent the occurrence, or b) mitigate/control it if it does occur.
In the latter event such would have to flow back into your assessment of environmental interactions/impacts, if not there already. But only if you're operating under an ISO 14001 system.
ISO 14001: contractor controls? (1/25/08)
In our ISO 14001 environmental management system I know we don't do an effective job with contractors who come into our premises for various reasons. How should I go about tightening things up? Should I make a list of the contractors that come in here on scheduled visits and then examine what things could go wrong with whatever service they provide and have it procedurally addressed the controls that are in place? -- Grace B., Tulsa, OK
There are several different ways to handle the contractor issue. The one you choose depends on a) what's actually going on with each contractor, and b) how strict / conservative you want to be.
I would suggest taking a fresh look at what these contractors actually do on your premises. Does anything they do generate a waste stream? If so, who is responsible for dealing with it?
If a contractor generates a waste stream and is responsible for controlling / managing / disposing of it, then I would have them sign something a) agreeing to abide by your environmental policy / practices and b) manage their generated waste in a manner that meets laws and regulations and prevents pollution. That's pretty generic and nobody should have a problem with it.
If a contractor generates a waste stream but YOU are repsonsible for controlling / managing / disposing of it, then I would list each instance of this on your list of environmental interactions / impacts and document the controls you have in place for controlling the waste stream, meeting laws/regulations, and preventing pollution. My guess is that in all such cases you already have this kind of thing in place.
If all your contractors who generate waste are responsible for controlling / managing / disposing of it, then you could list this as ONE interaction / impact and cite the agreement they sign.
Particularly in cases where a contractor's waste is affected by law / regulation, you'd want to internally audit their practices just as a matter of course.
To get ISO 14001, must you have ISO 9001 first? (11/24/07)
Is it possible for a UK manufacturing company to qualify for the ISO14000 certification WITHOUT any recognised QA/QC system in place? For example, a UK Cement Process Company requires to attain the ISO14000 environmental system. Do they need to have a demonstrable and auditable QA/QC management system in place?
ISO 14001 stands on its own. As it happens it has elements in common with ISO 9001 (quality management). But it stands on its own and a firm can be certified to ISO 14001 without having an compliant quality management system in place. Hope this helps. Feel free to write back.
About ISO 14001 scope statements (10/18/06)
Hi Rob, For ISO 14001, 4.1 says "Evidence that the org has defined and documented the scope of the EMS". Our Level I EMS Manual says in the scope section, "[Client] Corporation EMS provides a mechanism for environmental management throughout all areas and departments. The environmental management system is designed to cover environmental aspects which a facility can control and directly manage, and those it does not control or directly manage but can be expected to have an influence". Is this good enough? I am a little confused with this scope stuff because in the TS16949 when we discuss our scope, we talk about the product that we make but with the environmental it seems to be different. Maybe you can give me some advice? Any help appreciated.
When we do scope statements we get very specific in terms of location. If your system only covers one location then I would say something to the effect of "environmental aspects, interactions, and relevant laws and regulations that pertain to the [Client] Corp. facility located in ________________."
What you have I think is fine and ought to be melded with the additional thought(s) above. Just my .02, pre-tax.
14001 and 'legal compliance monitoring' (7/24/06)
How to handle a new clause of ISO 14001 : 2004, " Legal compliance monitoring " Thank you.
There are two ways.
- Some of our clients have already engaged environmental or safety consulting firms to help them with the technical aspects of compliance. If they’re auditing to the relevant OSHA, EPA, etc. regulations, that would be sufficient to meet the 14001 requirement.
- Another way is to incorporate compliance monitoring into the regular internal audit program. You’ll need to be able to prove that the internal auditors doing this work are appropriately qualified via training and/or past experience. Cross-reference the legal requirements to the documented processes; be sure auditors have access to the statutes / regulations, and you're all set.
Which standard pertains? 9001 or 14001? (7/24/06)
If our business is collecting and treating liquid & solid waste products from ships – The correct ISO certification is ISO-9001 Quality Assurance ???? What is the ISO – 14000 ??? Most of our employees will be Spanish speaking.
ISO 9001 is about quality management; that is, the processes you use to meet your customers' requirements. ISO 14001 is about environmental management; that is, managing and controlling your operations' impacts on air, water, and land. The standards are separate but compatible, and systems compliant with them can be implemented in an integrated manner or one at a time. We've done it both ways with companies all over the country.
Given what you do, I would think ISO 14001 would be just as relevant (and important to your customers) as ISO 9001.
We work all the time with companies that have non-English speaking employees. It's an issue but not a challenge. As it happens we have a project right now with a company in south Texas and Mexico that is implementing both 9001 and 14001 with a multilingual work force.
Waste haulers: 14001 certified? (10/12/05)
We are in the process of changing our liquid waste hauler. The reason being is that we have been burning our own oil/water mixture for far before I started working here and the smell is the worst thing that I have ever encountered. Well,
Licensed waste haulers provide manifests to their customers that basically attest to the customer that the material is being transported and disposed of in accordance with regulation. They provide these as a matter of course. Forms vary from state to state. They'll know what to give you. They do not need to be registered to 14000, unless you want to set that requirement, of course.
ISO 14000 without 9001? (9/3/05)
(All spelling and punctuation actual): Is it possible for a UK manufacturing company to qualify for the ISO14000 certification WITHOUT any recognised QA/QC system in place? For example, a UK Cement Process Company requires to attain the ISO14000 environmental system. Do they need to have a demonstrable and auditable QA/QC management system in place?
ISO 14001 stands on its own. As it happens it has elements in common with ISO 9001 (quality management). But it stands on its own and a firm can be certified to ISO 14001 without having an compliant quality management system in place.
Environmental continual improvement projects? (11/17/04)
I have to come up with a couple of continual improvement projects for the new year for environmental. I am going to pose this to the floor for suggestions, but do you think pursuing getting rid of using styrofoam is a good project??? We use tons of it here just in coffee cups alone. I heard it does not break down in the landfills and that it is really frowned upon. What do you think? Your input is always appreciated.
Discontinuing use of styrofoam is a great continuous improvement idea. Anything you can do to reduce landfill utilization is a worthwhile effort in terms of continuous improvement. Another is monitoring of energy use and reducing it. (Track it as a percentage of sales or something else, to smooth out spikes in volume.) Many people don't realize that energy use is an environmental interaction.