Using an Environmental
Management System (EMS) to Meet Transportation Challenges and Opportunities
AASHTO Workshop #1
Building an EMS in Your State
DOT Using the EMS Process Roadmap – Part 1
WORKSHOP #1
Building an EMS in Your State DOT Using the
EMS Process Roadmap
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS
The information presented on the
following pages provides specific instructions to help in applying EMS Process
Roadmap Steps 1 through 5 to DOT activities. Following is General
Information to be reviewed before moving to the detailed step-by-step
instructions.
1.
Your Team will be asked to
share information on its efforts and findings during a panel discussion with
other EMS Workshop participants. As one
of your Team’s first steps – select one or two individuals (the
assignments may be split between the first and second workshops) who would
participate in this panel discussion.
See Item 6 for a list of questions that may be addressed when reviewing Team efforts during
the panel discussion.
2.
Worksheets are provided at the
end of the detailed instructions for EMS Process Roadmap Steps 1 through
5. These worksheets are provided for
your convenience in taking notes and keeping track of your Team’s efforts.
3.
Determine the focus and
basic scope of the DOT activity within your Team’s functional area which will be addressed in this Workshop. This activity will also be the focus of your
Team’s efforts in Workshop 2 this afternoon.
Following are several key points to consider:
·
Select an activity which will
be the focus of your Team’s the EMS implementation Workshop efforts.
·
Identify an approximate number
of employees that would be covered by the EMS.
·
Determine the geographic
coverage of the efforts (i.e., the entire state, a district/region, or a
county).
·
Identify any other selection
factors which your Team considers as relevant.
4.
The time allotted for each
workshop is believed to be adequate to work through the assigned steps of the
EMS Process Roadmap. However, to help
the Team complete each step of the EMS Process Roadmap we offer the following
suggested schedule:
9:30 –
9:35 Introductions, selection
of potential presenter(s).
9:35 –
9:45 Select and characterize
EMS focus activity.
9:45 –
10:10 Step 1, Identify issue(s)
and/or opportunity(ies) to be addressed by EMS.
10:10 –
10:30 Step 2, Identify desired
environmental and business results and benefits.
10:30 –
10:55 Step 3, Establish
objectives, measures and targets, and milestones.
10:55 –
11:15 Step 4, Obtain commitment,
characterize needs, and identify EMS leaders.
11:15 –
11:30 Step 5, Identify existing
initiatives, programs, procedures, processes, and tools.
5. Workshop participants are encouraged to use the results of
and the thought processes used in the workshop exercises to help develop and
implement an EMS in your own DOT.
WORKSHOP #1 (cont’d)
Building an EMS
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS (cont’d)
6. Following are items and questions to consider when reviewing
your Team’s efforts during the Panel
Discussion.
·
Plan for questions from other
participants.
·
The focus will be on what you
have learned from applying the EMS process steps.
·
Describe your reasons for
selecting the Team’s focus activity.
For example, it offered the quickest payback, was in most need of a
system, or could be most readily implemented.
·
Briefly describe your Team’s:
-
Expected benefits,
-
Anticipated resource needs,
and
-
Selling points to obtain
management commitment.
·
Describe any barriers that
could affect EMS implementation and potential solutions to overcome these
barriers?
·
How did you reach a consensus
on the focus activity and on specific elements of the EMS? What formed the basis(es) for this
consensus?
·
How would you apply what
you’ve learned in applying Steps 1 through 5 to your own DOT?
·
With the focus on understanding
and learning how to implement Steps 1 through 5 of the EMS Process Roadmap,
what are some key points that you would like to share with other Teams or would
like to hear other Teams discuss?
WORKSHOP #1 (cont’d) – Building an EMS
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS (All steps will focus
on the activity or facility selected for use.)
Gather and prioritize environmental information and
select focus: ·
List associated environmental issues –
these may include: recent compliance problems, prior Notices of Violation,
prior formal notifications from regulatory authorities, citizen
complaints, increased potential for violations or complaints, lack of
employee familiarity with relevant requirements, and changing conditions. ·
List relevant environmental opportunities –
consider: cost savings, cost avoidance, increased productivity (e.g., do
more work with existing resources), ·
Rank/prioritize the issues and opportunities
(IOs) – considerations may include: resources needed to fulfill the IOs,
time required, relative magnitude of environmental effect from fulfilling
the IOs (may be viewed as “low hanging fruit”), relative
acceptance/acknowledgement by public and regulators, ability to get and
affect on employee “buy-in”, and management interest or view that an issue
is a problem. ·
Identify the specific aspect(s) of the
activity, operation, or location associated with the IOs (e.g., materials
handling and storage at stockpiles, storm water control during roadway
maintenance, or storm water management permit process for construction
projects). ·
Identify the specific aspects and IOs (using the
ranking information from above) to be addressed by the EMS and BRIEFLY
document your rationale (for presentation to the group). PLEASE NOTE: Keep
your EMS effort manageable, you don’t need to fix everything at once. Identify results. Referring to: the selected activity, operation, or facility;
selected aspects; and chosen issues and opportunities – ·
List associated environmental benefits that
can be measured (to the extent practical) – these may include: quantities
or volumes, customer satisfaction score re: the environment, improved
regulatory relationships, and # of violations or incidents prevented or
avoided (based on recent history). ·
Identify associated business benefits
(including benefits related to the noted environmental benefits) that can
also be measured – including: dollars saved, cost avoided, manhours saved
or available for other use as a result of avoiding incidents or
violations, dollars and hours associated with reduced monitoring or
regulatory oversight, time saved (and associated hours, dollars, and
schedule advancement) as a result of improved regulatory
relationships/enhanced review process. PLEASE NOTE: EMS implementation and
acceptance can be facilitated through the use of existing tracking and
measurement systems/processes, and existing data and measures. Identify systems, measures, and data
in your organizations that would be applicable.
WORKSHOP #1
(cont’d) – Building an EMS
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS (All steps will focus
on the activity or facility selected for use.)
Set performance and success measures. ·
Identify actions to address the selected
issues, opportunities, and activity, operation, or facility and to realize
the benefit(s) identified in step 2.
PLEASE NOTE: there may be near-term and future actions – consider a
step-by-step approach. ·
Keep the list of actions short – too many
actions can lead to confusion, loss of focus, and an effort that is
difficult to manage. ·
Identify objectives that provide a goal/focus
for each action. For example,
an action could be to train employees in a certain requirement, the
objective could be to reduce incidents of notices of violation. Keep the list as short as practical. ·
Establish a performance measure(s) for each
objective. The measures could
be near-term as well as long-term.
In the example noted in the preceding bullet a near-term measure
could be % of work force trained, while the long-term measure would be #
of incidents. In this example, the
measure(s) should address the real reason/benefit for an action. ·
Establish a target(s) for each measure. The target(s) should be realistic and
achievable, but should challenge an organization to improve. Realistic targets help to ensure
success and, thus, build buy-in for future EMS efforts that may present a
greater challenge. Referring to
the example, the targets could be 95% of work force trained leading to
zero incidents without a follow up to prevent recurrence. ·
Establish a milestone(s) for meeting each
target. ·
Identify the position(s) that would be
responsible for taking the action and meeting the target(s) Prepare the EMS Business Case. ·
Estimate the resources (personnel, financial,
contractors, etc.) needed to implement the actions and meet the
targets. ·
If the resource needs span 2 or more
planning/business cycles estimate the relative splits (% of total or
estimate for each cycle). ·
Using the information developed in steps 2 and 3, summarize
the expected benefits, when they would be realized, and for how long. ·
Identify the position that will manage the EMS
effort and the positions that will play key roles (e.g., those
responsible for an objective and target. ·
Identify the senior management position who
will serve as the leader (i.e, management “champion”). This leader would ensure that:
resources are available when needed, managers of units outside of the EMS
area coordinate with and support the EMS effort, and employees throughout
the organization recognize the commitment of senior management.
WORKSHOP #1
(cont’d) – Building an EMS
WORKSHOP INSTRUCTIONS (All steps will focus
on the activity or facility selected for use.)
WORKSHOP #1 (cont’d) – Building an EMS
EMS PROCESS ROADMAP WORKSHEETS
Activity Selected for Consideration:
|
|
1. Identify environmental issue(s) and/or opportunity(ies) to be
addressed by EMS.
|
|
Relative Priority |
|
Environmental
Issues: |
|
|
Environmental
Opportunities: |
|
|
Specific Aspects of Activity to be
Addressed by EMS with Reason(s) for Selection: |
|