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CONQUERING THE REGULATORY MAZE Welcome to the fast-paced, risk-laden, under-appreciated (for now) world of EHS Management! The EHS compliance arena is comprised of 4 categories of people relative to every single company:
As is typical with thousands of companies, you may have been "volunteered" for the assignment of administering your company's EHS compliance. Being a team player, you willingly accepted the addition to your already heavy workload, not quite realizing just what such oversight entailed. Then, having scanned a few books brought down the hall by your predecessor (why was he smiling, you ask yourself silently…), studied a few sparse documents in the files, plowed your way thru a set of MSDSs that, if all active, would make your company's production line look like that of an Exxon refinery, and attended 2-3 EHS conferences, you begin to realize that EHS Management is more than a full time job. It's a life-long crusade in search of the EHS Holy Grail! And it takes the versatility of Superman (able to leap tall stacks of the Federal Register & regulatory source materials, have the power of a locomotive to persevere in meeting compliance deadlines, and maintain the temperament of Clark Kent, mild mannered administrator who would avoid getting to know any reporters from the Daily Planet). Specifically, the contemporary EHS Manager must have the
combined skills of a legislative guru, chemical engineer, environmental
attorney, research analyst, computer wizard, government liaison or lobbyist,
resource librarian, public relations superstar, technical writer par
excellence, and designated inmate. Just kidding about the designated inmate
part! But you get the point. Who has that kind of versatility? You can be
assured such a person does not exist. We can, likewise, assure you that no
single professional at Vanguard has all those skills, but collectively our
team of compliance specialists comes as close as any entity would ever need
to be. Let's explore the facts that support these truths. THE REGULATORY MAZE Let's become a bit more intimate with The Regulatory Maze. The following charts will definitely identify the overriding problem at hand, and the daily compliance challenges facing the EHS manager. The problem is huge and far reaching. The repercussions of enforcement penalties can deliver a knockout punch to many companies. It would, at least, disrupt the financial progress a company has made in years prior to an enforcement inspection. Of course, the key to finding any solution is to first identify and understand the problem. Let's identify, understand, and then solve. First of all, see The Regulatory Maze in its entirety (Chart #1). Note, also, it can be called A Model For Regulatory Compliance in Environmental, Health, Safety, Risk Management, and ISO 14001 Protocols. Remember, ISO 14001 is not actually a law, but a certification. However, receiving this certification certainly verifies that your facility has met a high standard of excellence in its commitment to environmental protection and satisfying those environmental compliance laws mandated by local, county, state, and federal regulatory agencies with jurisdiction over your facility. Click: ISO 14001 (EMS) & ISO 18001 (OHSMS) at the home page for more information on this certification set to level the playing field among companies conducting business internationally. CHART
#1 – THE
REGULATORY MAZE IN ITS ENTIRETY As demonstrated by
Chart #1, the EHS Manager is confronted with multiple layers of compliance
legislation when it comes to environmental, health, and safety laws and risk
management.
For the sake of this discussion, let’s leave ISO 14001 out.
Much of the problem with EHS Manager’s responsibilities, though, is
knowing what his role is, how to assimilate the regulatory information, and
just where to start.
So, let’s break Chart #1 down into segments in order to build it
back up in the proper sequence. CHART #2 – THREE INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENTS OF
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, PLUS LEGISLATION AT
THE STATE, COUNTY, & LOCAL LEVELS Note there at
least three independent departments of the Federal Government impacting
industry with over 60 laws. [MSHA,
FDA, FAA, and other agencies are not included in this discussion for now.] Try not
to worry about any specific law at this sitting, but to understand the big
picture being presented.
Also, below the
DOT section, there is a list of state-specific and international
regulations.
However, this list could be continued completely off the page. Now focus on the center of the chart. You see, in addition to those laws coming down upon Industry from the Federal Government, there are further regulatory offshoots at the state, county, and local levels. This represents the basis for what any EHS manager would perceive as The Regulatory Maze…legislation coming from four fairly autonomous levels of lawmaking, even though the Federal Government is the final authority. Theoretically, then, the EHS manager is accountable for 240 sets of regulations encompassing four jurisdictions. This is not to say that every facility actually has that many compliance laws to satisfy, but that he must be able to determine with precision which ones require compliance and which ones don’t. For the ones that don’t, the EHS manager must be able to provide evidentiary documentation in the event of an inspection as to just why he has determined his company is not required to comply with those particular laws. For the ones that do require compliance, he must then develop some kind of strategic plan for satisfying that compliance. Once compliance is achieved on each law, he must subsequently implement a plan of ongoing EHS compliance management. CHART #3 – MANDATES & PROTECTION
In Chart #3, the MANDATES as listed (left side) represent those daily action steps or duties that must be fulfilled by the EHS manager as a direct result of the legislation enacted at the federal, state, county, and local levels as illustrated by Chart #2. These daily action steps or mandates consist of permits, reports, hazardous materials management, hazard communication training (employee right-to-know), industrial hygiene, emergency response planning, labeling, performance packaging, record keeping, risk management planning, hazardous materials employee training for shipping and receiving personnel, development of defensible documentation for all laws, MSDS management, pollution prevention planning, emissions inventory tracking and reporting, waste minimization planning, source reduction, hazardous waste management, compliance assurance and monitoring, all forms of safety and health training to the specs of regulations and standards, and more. Let’s not forget why all the preceding legislation and mandates have resulted in the first place. The area titled PROTECTION represents the rationale or purpose for such legislation and the duties being fulfilled by the EHS Manager. The intent of the regulations is to protect the safety and health of a company’s employees and contract labor, the environment – air, land, and water, the health of future generations through the human gene pool, the community-at-large, the region downwind from the facility, and plant and animal life. CHART #4 – THE
REGULATORY CALENDAR & COMPLIANCE DEADLINES Chart #4 illustrates the Regulatory Calendar, which runs concurrently with the calendar year. The regulatory calendar, along with those compliance deadlines that must be met on an annual basis, sets up a multi-dimensional challenge for the EHS manager. He must be able to meet all the deadlines for each and every law for which his company is accountable throughout the course of each and every year. He must continue to screen the legislation for amendments or newly enacted laws that would change his company’s compliance responsibilities at any time. For instance, it would be faulty thinking to assume that just because a company did not have to comply with a given law one year, his company would never have to comply with that law. There are too many variables coming into play, even if the company’s issues don’t vary in the slightest. Laws change; chemical lists change; thresholds change. It’s very important to remember that compliance enforcement is forever becoming more sophisticated through computer technology, bolstered by an every-increasing team of agents and a mounting level of commitment by government entities to enforce EHS laws. Enforcement is a very strong source of revenue generation for those agencies that strive toward self support in the programs they are administering. Often is the case,
though, that a company’s mission is to grow, expand, and become more
prosperous.
When this success-oriented growth occurs in business, it spirals the
company upward in greater volumes of raw materials, increased product
inventories, more machinery, expanded production schedules to two or even
three 8-hour shifts, increased emissions, increased hazardous waste
generation, and so on.
Most of the deadlines throughout the course of the regulatory year are EPA-driven deadlines. There are also many state-administered deadlines staggered through the year, too numerous to provide for the sake of this particular chart. It is important to note that OSHA expects compliance updating on an annual basis; however, the deadline is somewhat arbitrary for each company. OSHA generally thinks that a company’s compliance has become obsolete when it has not been updated within one year of the last update. Basically, OSHA’s idea of a deadline is the day the inspector walks in your door to inspect. OSHA’s style can be perceived as “open season inspections.” Exceptions would include the OSHA 300 Log and Process Safety Management where definite deadlines have been mandated. Finally, let’s return to Chart #1 to, once again, have a more insightful look at the problems and challenges facing the EHS manager. Now you might understand a bit better why we think that any EHS manager capable of doing everything that his job entails could be called Superman. It is Vanguard’s role with its clientele to place each client’s compliance activities on automatic pilot in “mission control style” through its own-state-of-the-art technology and team of compliance specialists. By the way, Vanguard can handle any OSHA compliance requirement and training, site-specific to your facility on-site AT YOUR PLACE! Special note: From August through December of the Regulatory Calendar, note how Vanguard has indicated "Recommended Deadlines" for almost all OSHA Standards. It is sensibly impossible that any EHS Manager could meet all his facility's OSHA requirements concurrently with his EPA requirements during the first 6 months of each year. So, it only makes sense that the smart and competent EHS Manager would satisfy his EPA requirements the first 6 months of every year and implement his OSHA compliance programs from August through the balance of each compliance year. The EHS Manager accomplishes all the administrative tasks (those not requiring employees to present) during August while so many people are on vacation. Then, once Labor Day is past and everyone's back from vacation - and the kids are back in school - the EHS Manager's OSHA programs begin in earnest. Training takes place. Accidents, injuries, illnesses and fatalities are presented. Doesn't this system of "Recommended Deadlines" make all the sense in the world? WHY VANGUARD? How can my company
benefit from gaining Vanguard’s assistance in conquering The Regulatory
Maze?
Vanguard has the versatility to complement your efforts and keep your
sanity in check, too.
It’s not Vanguard’s objective to replace the EHS manager, but to
empower you by performing as your advocate, ally, partner, and army in the trenches.
We can execute any role that you deem helpful, be it minor or major.
There are many factors that would influence that role, and your
factors are unique to you and your company.
We have some clients that have us satisfy one or two compliance
requirements each year, whereas some of our clients operate in a partnership
fashion with Vanguard who performs as their EHS compliance department, thus
satisfying all compliance issues they may have throughout the course of each
compliance year.
So, please make contact with us so we can learn more about you and
your situation.
Consider this
analogy.
In the early to mid-1980’s, a company’s receptionist was
considered top rank if she was typing on an IBM electric typewriter,
complete with correction key, of course.
Today, it would be an insult for a receptionist to even have such a
dinosaur nearby.
To provide her with a power tool that would enhance her productivity,
her work is complemented by the appropriate technology of today…a
computer. Likewise, it’s Vanguard’s objective to complement your energy and intelligence with a precision technology that enhances your overall effectiveness and efficiency through our unique, one-of-a-kind Compliance Gap Analysis (CGA). The CGA is designed to provide you with your own site-specific Regulatory Compliance Agenda (RCA). It can even be purchased, installed, and implemented right over the Internet. But, in the majority of cases, we recommend personal interaction with one of Vanguard’s Regulatory Specialists to ensure your company receives optimum service, benefits, and compliance excellence. Vanguard’s CGA
technology is a revolutionary method for conquering The Regulatory Maze!
Consider this.
Think of the gamut of federal, state, county, and local regulations
pertinent to EHS management as the universe.
Traditionally, the EHS manager and environmental consultants have
approached their compliance work by doing independent, stand-alone projects
without any consideration of all the other compliance issues impacting a
company’s compliance responsibilities.
This has historically been known as Compliance By Fragmentation
because it’s like looking at the universe through a keyhole.
Those EHS managers whose companies have been fined on any one of a
variety of laws, even though they had shown good intent by satisfying their
company’s compliance on at least one other law, can truly relate.
Unfortunately, EHS managers and senior management generally gain a
false sense of security that a consultant would “let us know if he noticed
we were out of compliance somewhere; after all, he’s an environmental
professional, right?”
The truth is he was not even looking in the first place because he
was performing a very specialized project, nor did he have an
all-encompassing technology to offer an assessment on the status of a
company’s total EHS compliance program.
Thus, Vanguard’s CGA technology is like looking at the
universe through the Hubble Telescope.
The difference between Vanguard’s approach and philosophy compared
to the traditional environmental consulting firm is quite that dramatic! Let’s dispel a
myth.
While EHS auditing has a definite place in compliance management, many EHS managers and senior management operate with the
misconception that a good old-fashioned walk-through or site-survey by an
expert with a keen eye and a checklist – beware of workers
compensation insurance companies in this regard – is the key to knowing
your company’s compliance status and avoiding enforcement penalties.
This couldn’t be further from the truth!
You see, only about 7% of compliance gaps can be identified through
visual audits as a company’s preferred method of compliance assurance and
monitoring.
When one becomes intimate with The Regulatory Maze, he begins to
realize that virtually all the compliance laws are based on chemicals,
thresholds, and regulatory mandates (or the rules that govern just how your
company’s site-specific compliance must be satisfied).
Therefore, wishing to bullet-proof one’s company against
enforcement penalties must require the screening of a facility’s
site-specific chemical data (don’t forget your metals!) and vital
facility information against all the compliance laws imposed by federal,
state, county, and local regulatory agencies. Can you imagine
having a Certified Public Accountant perform a site-survey of your office,
company, or home as the method of choice in preparing your tax returns and
IRS documentation? Certainly
not, and you’d fire him, quickly if he tried, right? A CPA
would research your financial data in terms of reportable income, receipts,
legal deductions, and current IRS mandates, or rules that govern how your
IRS compliance responsibilities are satisfied. Therefore,
if an EHS consultant performs an audit at your facility with a visual
site-survey as the sole method of compliance monitoring, you must begin to
ask some very important questions:
Note: For a crash course on myths and misconceptions prevalent in the field of EHS compliance, click Asking the Right Questions! to avoid some serious pitfalls associated with EHS compliance management. This section could help you make an abrupt course correction relative to your company’s EHS compliance program. Faulty thinking in clinging to just one myth can mushroom into being caught out of compliance on several laws. And as always, ”Procrastination can be suicide on the installment plan” when it comes to your company’s compliance. CONTACT US
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