Environmental Management Systems PDF

This book fills a void in the environmental literature. There are books on environmental management from a global or regional perspective. There are books on environmental sciences and engineering. There are a few books that touch only lightly on environmental management issues at the plant level. This is not a criticism of these books; it's just that they have orientations different from those of management systems. This book provides operations managers; environmental managers, scientists, and engineers; and environmental regulators (and those who have a public interest) with the specific features of environmental policies and procedures that should exist at the plant level. These features are universally applicable from plant to plant regardless of the nature of the industry or the details of technical requirements. Utility, petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical, and other manufacturing industries can benefit technically and economically by implementing the features of the management systems described in this book.

Let n1e relate a little about how this book came to be written. I was responsible for environmental affairs, along with other functions, at Consumers Power Company, a large electric and gas utility serving most of Michigan. When the company assigned the director of environmental affairs and his staff to report to my office, I had no background in the environmental sciences. At that time, my significant experiences were in project management and quality management. Undoubtedly, the environmental scientists were concerned about my lack of background in their technical arena. So was I.

am indebted to the environmental scientists who taught me the fundamentals of a variety of environmental sciences. I am also indebted to these scientists for their willingness, in turn, to maintain an open mind toward my management systems and to have thoroughly learned these systems-systems that are addressed in detail in this book. Most important, I am indebted to these scientists for having successfully implemented these systems-success that serves as testimonial to the practicality of this book

The management systems described in this book were also the subject of environmental management seminars that I led and that were attended by representatives of electric and gas utilities and petrochemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. The value of these management systems was acclaimed in the feedback I received from the attendees.

These management systems are not especially new to industry. Some of the systenls have interesting parallels in project management and quality management. However, based on my industrial experiences, my feedback from the seminars and, most significantly, my understanding of the state of environmental management in industry and in regulating agencies, I was compelled to write this book. I hope that it will contribute to a better understanding of the roles required of environmental managers, scientists, regulators, and, by all means, the corporate line and function managers, who play the biggest part in attaining environmental control for safety and for the economic advantage of their companies, their communities, and society as a whole.

I challenge company professionals to compare the management systems that exist in their companies with the breadth and depth of the management systems described in this book. Don't stop there. Make the changes in your companies in order to be compatible with these management systems.

Essentially, the same challenge holds for regulators. Compare the management systems in this book with the systems in the companies that you regulate and use your special powers to cause these companies to make the management systems improvements described here.

Finally, I urge members of public interest groups to use the information in this book as a baseline with which to assess the environmental control management systems used by your neighboring companies. Progressive companies will cooperate, at least by making their management systems documents available through public libraries.

I appreciate the efforts of many people at Marcel Dekker, Inc., and ASQC Quality Press, copublishers of this book. In particular at Marcel Dekker, Inc., my thanks go to Maria Allegra, Associate Acquisitions Editor; Lila Harris, Supervisor, Book Editorial; Eridania Perez, Executive Director, Promotions and Marketing; Marilyn Ludzki., Copy Supervisor; and Billie Spaight, Senior Copywriter. At ASQC Quality Press, my thanks go to Jeanine Lau, Acquisitions Editor; Tammy Griffin, Production Editor; and Susan Westergard, Marketing Administrator.

Author: B. Marguglio