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Development Steps
DEVELOPING AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR IMPROVED PUBLIC UTILITY PERFORMANCE
Andrew Kricun, P.E.
Deputy Executive Director
Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority
1645 Ferry Avenue
Camden, NJ 08101
and
Tom Pedersen
Camp Dresser & McKee Inc.
One Cambridge Place
Cambridge, MA 02139
EMS DEVELOPMENT STEPS
The purpose of CCMUA's Delaware No. 1 WPCF is to prevent pollution of the Delaware River by treating Camden County sewage to the maximum extent possible. For that reason, implementing an EMS was a natural step for CCMUA. By implementing a well-designed EMS, CCMUA staff would be better equipped to perform their jobs and the CCMUA would be better able to control the operating performance of the WPCF in terms of odors, water quality, and sludge handling. The EMS would also help in discovering opportunities to reduce waste and unnecessary work, resulting in a reduction in cost and an improvement in environmental performance. Furthermore, the development of an EMS sent a strong signal to regulators, the public, and employees about CCMUA's commitment to a cleaner environment. The CCMUA EMS development efforts began in February, 2000 and the EMS manual and system was in place by September, 2000. The major steps involved in the EMS development activities were: gap analysis, team chartering, awareness training, EMS manual development, and sustained implementation.
Gap Analysis
As the first step in the EMS development and implementation program, an assessment of CCMUA's existing environmental management policies and procedures was undertaken. Available manuals and documents were reviewed, interviews were conducted with key staff, and operational processes were observed. This assessment was undertaken to determine the current status of operations at Delaware No. 1 with respect to the NEIC EMS requirements - both to identify areas that are already up to speed, as well as those areas that may need additional consideration. Because of its comparative nature this initial review is sometimes termed a "gap analysis" and is a requirement of the NEIC multimedia EMS developmental model process.
The gap analysis rated the CCMUA existing system(s) against the level of development needed for the EMS to meet the NEIC requirements. A questionnaire reviewing each element of the NEIC standard was used in the assessment. The gap analysis identified areas that organizational structure and communications were most significant areas requiring improvement, and provided information that was subsequently used in the development of the CCMUA EMS Manual (CCMUA, 2000).
Team Chartering
The next step in the EMS implementation process that CCMUA undertook was the chartering of the EMS development teams. This effort included the identification of the EMS program manager, a critical role in the success of any EMS project, and the EMS steering committee and the EMS implementation team members. For the CCMUA EMS, the EMS program manager and the steering committee members were selected from CCMUA executive staff candidates, while the implementation team members were selected from candidates of top managers at the treatment plant. Individuals were selected to represent a broad range of expertise needed to develop the EMS.
CCMUA identified a single individual, who has in-depth knowledge of CCMUA's environmental programs and who has a significant degree of authority, to act as the EMS program manager. The primary responsibility for a successful EMS implementation would reside in that person. Assigning this position required the full backing from the CCMUA commissioners to demonstrate that the EMS implementation is an important organizational goal. The EMS program coordinator would work closely with, and direct, the activities of the EMS implementation team. This approach offers the advantage of a single point of responsibility for the EMS, without which the ultimate accountability may become diffused. The appointment of the CCMUA deputy executive director as EMS program manager by the CCMUA Board of Commissioners represented a commitment to the success of EMS development at the highest levels of the company.
The EMS implementation team and steering committees included the key individuals who will be responsible for leading the organization and driving the adoption of the EMS program. The EMS Implementation Team would bear much of the responsibility and must provide the initiative to sustain the EMS development activities.
Successful EMS implementation requires that key members of the organization "take ownership" of the EMS and make it part of their day-to-day routine. To ensure this ongoing commitment CCMUA established an EMS implementation organizational structure that clearly identified the oles, responsibilities, and authorities of the important functional units, management positions, and other individuals who have responsibility for implementing and sustaining the EMS. CCMUA identified an organizational structure that would enable the attainment of goals of the EMS without creating new burdens for team members.
Awareness Training
Awareness training was provided to EMS Steering Committee and Implementation Team members to ensure that they were familiar with the CCMUA EMS development goals and their role in the process. The key components of this training addressed:
- Roles and responsibilities of the EMS program manager, EMS implementation team, and steering committee
- Overview of how an EMS is developed and implemented
- Process for identifying environmental aspects of the facility's activities and operations and assisting the organization in determining which environmental aspects are considered significant
- Process for setting objectives and targets and developing action plans to meet these objectives and targets, and
- Environmental policy elements
EMS Manual Development
Written documentation is an important aspect of the EMS and helps to communicate expectations to employees, demonstrate commitment and facilitate management and control of the operation. The CCMUA EMS Manual was developed in conformance with the 12 elements identified in the NEIC EMS guidelines. The EMS Manual was completed in September 2000.
The CCMUA EMS Manual was developed to help formalize the structure of the EMS and provide a framework to ensure continuation of the program even if its architects should depart. The manual provides an overview of the EMS's organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, procedures and resources for implementing, reviewing, and maintaining the aims of the CCMUA's environmental policy.
Sustained Implementation
One important goal of CCMUA's EMS program was to improve communication throughout the organization. Specifically, the EMS implementation team was charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the environmental policy goals of CCMUA management were conveyed through the mid-level supervisors to the line workers who operate and maintain the plant's facilities. Conversely, the EMS implementation team is also responsible for making sure that critical path data is conveyed from the plant operators through the mid-level supervisors and up to the executive management. In this way, all levels of management are kept continually updated with respect to the process parameters that are deemed critical to the plant's performance.
The EMS implementation team meets on a regular basis to discuss key issues and to make sure that all levels of management have "their finger on the pulse" concerning plant operations. Finally, the EMS implementation team conducts brainstorming sessions to identify and address opportunities for operational and environmental improvement. Thus far, the CCMUA has found that projects that improve operational performance tend to not only result in environmental benefits, but also cost reduction benefits as well through increased efficiencies.
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