Leveraging Emerging Management System Standards To Create Improved Environmental, Health, Safety (eh

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Management systems can strengthen business advantage by providing better data accuracy and transparency, and provide increased opportunities for cost avoidance and cost savings, while also creating opportunities for improving profit margin.

Management systems are becoming more common in business as companies seek reputable ways to demonstrate environmental compliance and responsibility to the international community. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) continues to develop and improve international standards for environment, health and safety (EHS), ergonomics, sustainability, construction safety, security and many other business processes. Understanding these new and emerging standards can be key in developing your own management systems to maximize business efficiency, improve profit/cost ratios, reduce environmental and energy impact, and improve your organization’s reputation in the business community. Certifying your organization to one or more standards can improve credibility, both internally and externally, and demonstrate your commitment to performing above conformance level and becoming ...
... an industry leader in EHS, sustainability and related issues.

This article will discuss some of the benefits, drivers and challenges of establishing a management systems approach in your business. We’ll provide an overview of some of the newer EHS and related management systems, as well as some of the advantages of developing a management system in the waste management industry to track and improve such factors as overall environmental footprint, safety and health concerns, or energy usage and management. In addition, we’ll discuss how a customized integrated management system—comprising elements of two or more standards—can maximize benefits as it decreases time and resource requirements.

What is a Management System?
A management system is a framework of processes and procedures that help ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives. This framework includes responsibility/accountability for tasks and processes, a schedule for activities to be completed, an auditing tool and a corrective action process. The system supports improved company performance through a process of continuous improvement, most often described as “Plan, Do, Check, Act.” Management systems align with existing company goals and provide measurable results to report to internal and external stakeholders.

Management Systems Drivers
What’s driving management system certification?

Companies are driven to develop a management system or seek certification to international standards for many reasons, both internal and external. External drivers include customer and stakeholder expectations, environmental compliance requirements, as well as supply chain demands. As more companies seek to improve their sustainability and social responsibility and decrease their environmental impact, large companies are requiring more rigorous standards up and down their supply chains. This may already be a factor in how your organization does business; demonstrating conformance to a standard may be an attractive feature to customers and other stakeholders. Some companies see the benefit to performance, as streamlining processes and procedures can lead to reduced costs and improved profit and efficiency. The time spent to develop a management system can quickly show measurable results to process efficiency and a return on investment. Increased performance may then lead to increased market share, which can be a powerful driver for management and stakeholders. Finally, corporate and upper management may make the internal decision that the company, subsidiary or specific sites will conform or be certified to a standard, so management decisions can be a driver as well.

Key Benefits of a Management System
Companies can realize many benefits from developing a management system, including:
Sustainable, organized, replicable risk management approach
Improved EHS performance and communication
EHS goals that align with the company’s missions, visions and policies
Efficient use of resources
Proactive response to stakeholder interest (employee, stockholders, customers)
Cost avoidance/cost savings
International recognition

Overview of Common Management System Standards
These most widely used management standards have excellent application for any organization dealing in solid waste or recycling. Ehs Management System can enable companies to better manage their overall environmental footprint, while focusing on the most important safety and health issues facing employees. Companies can track energy usage and resources, health and safety and ergonomics plans, and overall waste generation through the management system, and provide evidence of continual improvement year over year in these areas, while maximizing efficiency for day-to-day operations.

Quality: ISO 9001
The world’s most established quality framework, ISO 9001 is used by approximately 1,064,000 organizations in 178 countries worldwide. ISO 9001 sets the standard not only for quality management systems, but management systems in general. This standard is suitable for any organization looking to improve the way it is operated and managed, regardless of size or sector.

Environmental: ISO 14001:2004
ISO 14001, the Environmental Management System, is a management tool enabling an organization of any size or type to:
Identify hazardous materials and practices, conduct environmental monitoring and assessment, and control the environmental impact of its activities, products or services
Improve its environmental performance continually
Implement a systematic approach to setting, achieving, and demonstrating achievement of environmental objectives and targets through environmental monitoring and assessment

Occupational Health and Safety: OHSAS 18001:2007
The Occupational Health and Safety Management System provides a framework to:
Consistently identify and control occupational health and safety risks through occupational health assessments
Reduce the potential for accidents
Aid legislative compliance
Improve overall performance with occupational health services
This occupational health and safety standard can be adopted by any organization wishing to implement a formal procedure to reduce the risks associated with health and safety, construction safety, occupational safety and more in the working environment for employees, customers and the general public. This can also include ergonomic assessment and utilization of ergonomic consultants to assist with program design and implementation.