Monitoring and Measurement

Through monitoring and

measurement, your facility can tangibly point to where problems exist. It is through monitoring and measurement that you learn to gauge “how much” something needs to be fixed. By the same token, monitoring and measurement will help you quantify your progress, and can be extremely valuable in helping your facility to determine where it stands relative to specific compliance issues and targets. Most importantly, this process can help you determine how your EMS is working overall.

Monitoring and measurement is used to ensure that operational controls are working and to track

targets. An effective monitoring and measurement program quantifies:

 Activities that have significant environmental impacts (and therefore are significant environmental aspects);

 Key aspects and environmental impacts of these operations and activities; and  How these characteristics are measured.

Some of monitoring and measurement activities are already spelled out as part of legal requirements,. For example, an air quality permit may require the facility to track gallons of paint used. Wastewater discharge permits often specify limits on different chemicals in the wastestream, and require facilities to sample and analyze wastewater to show permit limits are met. However, these types of monitoring and measuring activities address only the compliance issues of an EMS. They do not assess the overall success of the EMS itself. It is therefore necessary to consider two types of monitoring and measurement activities: EMS-wide and individual impact-level.

3.4.1.1 EMS-Wide Monitoring and Measurement

Performance indicators will help you evaluate the success of your overall EMS program, and how well the overall system for improving environmental management is functioning. A performance indicator is a specific measure that provides measurable information regarding progress toward meeting a specific environmental goal. The purpose of these indicators is different from the specific measurement criteria that are developed for evaluating progress toward individual objectives. Select performance indicators that will help you and your employees decide whether

MONITORING and MEASUREMENT in a NUTSHELL

 Determine what type(s) of monitoring and

measurement are needed to: comply with applicable legal requirements; achieve objectives and targets; and ensure correct implementation of operational controls

 Identify the equipment that will be used for any monitoring or measurement

 Properly calibrate and maintain monitoring and measurement equipment

 Document results of monitoring and measurement activities

During the gap analysis, a baseline of your organization’s environmental performance is determined; subsequent improvements as a result of the EMS can be compared against this baseline. It is easier for management and staff to understand how things are going if they can compare current results against other data.

You will need performance indicators that describe how well your Environmental Policy is being implemented. In addition, you will need performance indicators for all of the various components of your EMS. The measurement criteria selected for each component of your EMS will probably be different. Consider measuring activities – number of meetings with stakeholders, number of employees trained, or number of hours of training.

Activity, however, does not always translate into results. Consider the objective of each EMS component and define a way to measure results so that you would feel satisfied that the objectives are being achieved.

Data collected on performance indicators can be quite helpful during

management reviews. Select

indicators that will provide top management with the information it needs to make decisions about the EMS. It is the results shown by these

environmental performance

indicators that will become the basis for your plans for establishing continuous improvement. It is also the ability to continually track this performance and show improvement in spite of staffing or other changes that will ultimately test the durability and success of the EMS.

3.4.1.2 Individual Impact-Level Monitoring and Measurement

Monitoring and measuring the status of individual activities is a common process in facilities, and something most people are familiar with. The following are considerations for conducting this effort as part of your EMS.

Key Characteristics. Monitor key characteristics of operations and activities that can have significant environmental impacts and/or compliance consequences. The key is to figure out what those factors are and how to measure them. Process mapping may help track material and resource flows (see Section 3.3.5).

Equipment Calibration: Identify process equipment and activities that truly affect your environmental performance. Look at those key process characteristics you identified. Some facilities place critical monitoring equipment under a special calibration and preventive maintenance program. This can help to ensure accurate monitoring and make employees aware of which instruments are most critical for environmental monitoring purposes. Some facilities also find it is

MONITORING & MEASUREMENT EMS-WIDE vs. INDIVIDUAL IMPACT-LEVEL

MEASURES - EXAMPLES

EMS-Wide

 Number of environmental objectives and targets met  Average time for resolving corrective action

 Number of environmental impacts for which EMPs or operational controls have been implemented

Individual Impact-Level

 Number of complaints from community; number of responses to complaints

 Pounds of hazardous waste generated per unit product  Energy or water use per unit of product

more cost-effective to subcontract calibration and maintenance of monitoring equipment than to perform these functions internally.

Focus your measurement point. Most effective environmental measurement systems use a combination of process and outcome measures. Outcome measures look at results of a process or activity, such as the amount of waste generated or the number of spills that took place. Process measures look at “upstream” factors, such as the amount of paint used per unit of product or the number of employees trained on a topic. Select a combination of process and outcome measures that are right for your facility.

Operational Performance as a Goal. Consider what information you will need to determine whether the company is implementing operational controls as intended.

Attainment of Objectives and Targets. Set up a schedule to measure progress on achieving objectives and targets on a regular basis and communicate the results of such measurement to top management.

Selecting Performance Indicators. Make sure you can commit the necessary resources to track performance information over time. It is acceptable to start small and build over time as you gain experience in evaluating your performance. Start by identifying a few performance indicators that are:

 Simple and understandable;  Objective;

 Measurable; and

 Relevant to what your facility is trying to achieve (i.e., it makes sense relative to objectives and targets)

Communicating Performance. People respond best to information that is meaningful to “their world.” Putting environmental information in a form that is relevant to their function increases the likelihood they will act on the information. Link your measurement program with your communications program and other elements of the EMS (e.g. management reviews, see Section 5). Pollution Prevention. Measuring pollution prevention achievements are different from, and often more difficult than, measuring environmental achievements in general. Simply measuring the reduction in a waste stream might mean only that the waste has been transferred to another medium, not reduced. It is therefore important to measure the reduction at the source of waste generation. It may also be important to measure the activities that your company directs towards pollution prevention. Sources of information include:

 Permit applications

 Hazardous waste manifests  Toxic Release Inventory reports  Material Safety Data Sheets

 Purchasing records

 Production and inventory records  Utility bills