Over the years there has been substantial debate over whether it makes sense to outsource the conduct of environmental, health and safety audits entirely. And, in fact, many, but not all, organizations have done just that. This outsourcing is typically not an easy decision. There are many factors that come into play. A previous EHS
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Corporate EHS audit programs require a substantial commitment on the part of executive management in order to be successful. Sadly, it is not always the case that senior corporate executives participate actively in EHS audit programs. This article examines the role of executive commitment in EHS audit programs and discusses ways to test whether this involvement is real or not.
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber Introduction In recent years there has been considerable discussion of establishing a more risk-based focus on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) audits. The concern is that audit results had devolved over time and several audit cycles into an inventory
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Over the past few years there has been much discussion about how companies go about establishing and achieving sustainability and social responsibility objectives. Unless one is careful these initiatives can result in overlooking the need to meet the fundamental objective of regulatory compliance. There is no country where this is more important than the United States where the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) regulatory burden is substantial and the consequences of non-compliance can be quite severe. In order to merit a “license to operate” in the U.S. it is important to understand clearly and completely the regulatory environment and its requirements…
There continues to be intense discussion in the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) audit community over how to evaluate the performance of audit programs. EHS professionals know that simply tracking the number of audit findings yields little meaningful data. This article evaluates key audit program metrics that could be used to better assess audit program performance.
In the past few decades or so there has been a revolution in third-party programs and standards certifying, recognizing, or accrediting companies’ environmental, health and safety and sustainability performance. This has included numerous International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and guidelines such as those for Environmental Management (ISO14000), Occupational Health and Safety (ISO45001), and
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“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” — Ernest Hemingway I’ve always thought that two of the most interesting challenges in one’s career as an EHS professional might be (1) to write an article on effective writing and (2) to give a presentation on effective
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On December 27, 2012 the EHS Journal published an article of mine entitled “Lessons Learned on International Assignments”. The feedback has been extremely positive, especially from young professionals who anticipate the eventual need to travel internationally during their careers. As a consequence I have racked my brain to come up with a few more experiences
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At the September 2012 Auditing Roundtable national meeting in Baltimore I heard Terri Morrison, author of Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than Sixty Countries (Adams Media, 2006) captivate the audience for two hours on the tricks and traps of working internationally. It made me reflect on my
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Establishing how often to carry out environmental, health, and safety (EHS) audits at sites and facilities considered to be part of the auditable universe can be a trying exercise. Auditing high-risk operations too infrequently can lead to unwanted surprises because of the lack of oversight and governance. On the other hand, auditing too frequently can
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