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New regulations,
federal and state mandates, regulatory deadlines, as well as
internal organization policy changes and demands are just a few
of the issues that the Environmental Health and Safety
professional is faced with on a daily basis. Along with these
demands on the EH&S professional’s limited time, he or she is
also faced with internal demands to streamline operations and
cut costs. The problem is, there are only so many hours in the
day. Hiring an assistant might help, but that memo telling you
to cut costs by 10% just crossed your desk yesterday. Telling
your family that you will only be home on weekends isn’t the
answer either.
Remember, this is the digital age. The key is putting today’s
technology to use. Therefore, part of the answer is sitting on
your desk – your PC. Although your PC is a crucial element, the
heart of the solution is finding the Environmental Management
Information System (EMIS) software that will do the job.
Combining your PC with the appropriate EMIS software can save
you significant amounts of time, cutting costs in the process.
The critical decision that you will make is deciding on an EMIS
software package that will fit your needs. An Environmental
Management Information System should provide you with instant
access to regulatory and environmental information, automatic
notification of upcoming deadlines, and report generation
assistance. In short, put the information you need a keystroke
away.
The EMIS that you decide on should be flexible enough to suit
your organization. Not all organizations’ requirements are the
same; an "off the shelf" EMIS product will not fit all of your
needs. The product should be customized to fit your
specifications while satisfying the applicable regulatory
requirements. The system should also be flexible enough to
conform with your present hardware configuration, saving the
expense of purchasing new hardware.
At a minimum, an Environmental Management Information System
should include:
A "compliance" calendar module which allows you to track your
facility’s compliance deadlines and dates. The calendar events
should also be linked to any associated documents.
A document management module that will organize and maintain
your compliance reporting documents in an easily accessible
system. The system needs to be flexible enough to access
databases, word processing documents, spreadsheets, photos, CADD
drawings, and any other type of compliance-related document.
A method of managing your Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) is
an extremely useful item. An MSDS module should give you the
ability to organize and search your entire MSDS database. The
MSDS module should also offer you, or anyone who needs to, the
ability to view and print a digital copy of the Material Safety
Data Sheet.
Security is a significant consideration. Since the purpose of an
EMIS is to provide access to critical information, this
information needs to be secure. The person who manages the
system should be able to limit access to any area of the system.
The vendor you choose should have the capabilities of developing
and customizing modules specific to your operations. The vendor
should also have the regulatory knowledge and experience to
assist in the implementation of the system.
As with any other software, if it is going to be used
productively, it needs to be user friendly. A familiar interface
such as a web browser will help new users feel comfortable with
the system and, therefore, learn and use the system.
An informatively chosen and implemented Environmental Management
Information System can save you time, improve your job
performance, and streamline your operations.
For more
information, please contact
Michael Peck
or David
Pramanik at 1-800-246-9021
HRP's EMIS software
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