Edition No. 10

Integrating EHS into Your Business Operation:
Four Reasons that Make Sense

With the proliferation of business management systems available to corporations today, companies are realizing that these systems must communicate with each other to improve overall efficiency in the organization. It is no longer acceptable to use the excuse that the time it takes to integrate offsets the overall benefits of implementation. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is a function that can be integrated into current business management systems and achieve dramatic efficiency results.

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Let’s look at several reasons to integrate EHS into a company’s business operations rather than looking at EHS as a stand-alone function.

Job Simplification

Embodying EHS into your management system simplifies employees’ jobs. Instead of going to different places within the organization to find, for example, operating procedures or safety controls, everything an employee needs is consolidated into one integrated operation. Designing EHS into other business functions, like manufacturing, operations, finance, or purchasing, gives employees one all-inclusive procedure for their job that includes EHS requirements. Often, if more than one management system is in use, there can be conflicting guidelines, which could be confusing to the employee. By consolidating systems, confusion can be reduced and the job simplified.

Cost of Business Reduced

One of the most compelling reasons to make EHS part of your management system is the potential reduction in training costs. If the EHS function is part of your overall management system, then employees do not have to be trained in generic, non-specific EHS classes. They can receive specific, job-related training, which includes their EHS responsibilities. This results in increased employee productivity and more consistent / cost-effective training programs.

Capital equipment purchasing offers another opportunity for cost reduction. By integrating EHS into an operations system when purchasing capital equipment, cost savings of between 10 and 20% can be realized. All EHS requirements for the installation and use of the equipment, such as facilities and safety, can be estimated before purchasing. This saves time in modifications, cycle time, and shut down time. Also, third party inspections by city officials can be reduced and the equipment can be up and running in a shorter timeframe.

Enhanced Compliance

If EHS is integrated into the design review phase of an operation, then those areas that may hinder compliance efforts can be addressed from the beginning. Awareness of EHS processes can also increase compliance because employees recognize and understand the rules and requirements of their position. This helps them to bring controls into place without excess resources being used.

Employee Involvement

The fourth reason to integrate EHS into your management system is improvement in employee awareness, involvement, and morale. Involving employees in the development of procedures boosts their morale and gives them a sense of having a vested interest in the company. They become part of the company’s internal communication process. Managers and supervisors who involve their employees in procedure and safety development see an increase in the employee’s job awareness. Employees take ownership of the procedure and make suggestions for improving environmental impacts, reducing or eliminating safety hazards, and improving productivity in their area.

Here’s How One Company Did It

A manufacturing firm in the Midwest made the decision to integrate EHS into their management system. EHS templates were developed that gave a general overview of the site and examples of specific standard operating procedures. Managers and supervisors were trained in the general guidance and specific standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) was documented into 130 operating procedures. Including training, this took two months to complete. The managers and supervisors gave the rewritten procedures to job leads and brought in the EHS department for hands-on specific training. The original 130 procedures were the basis for disseminating the information into other procedures. The integration of EHS into these procedures allowed employees to be certified in the EHS requirements for the task and understand the requirements and impacts of not following the procedures.

Taking into consideration that there was other training happening concurrently in the company, including Six Sigma, Safety Leadership and Risk Assessment, the results were still dramatic. In the first three months, there was a 50% reduction of injury rates, a 70% reduction in EHS training classes, and a marked improvement in employee compliance with company policies and procedures.

If you would like information about how EORM can help integrate EHS into your business management system and improve communication between departments and business functions, please contact us.