Emergency Preparedness and Response procedure - ISO 14001 Clause 4.4.7

Hi all, I have been asked to help a training organisation to achieve certification to ISO 14001. They are based in 'managed' office facilities and deliver various management training topics at clients' premises.

Things are progressing nicely but I am unsure of what to do about clause 4.4.7 which requires a procedure for emergency preparedness and response. I am struggling to think of any situation where having a procedure would be of any value. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Hi Colin,

In a fire or other natural disasters, are your resources - training materials, schedules, database etc protected so as not to interrupt with the smooth running of your business?

Are your servers (if you do use them) protected against hackers? Do you have a back-up or remote site?

I think these are some of the relevant items that need consideration.

Thanks for the thoughts Harry. I think these are very good points for business continuity but I am not sure how they fit into environmental control.

You are right Colin. In the first place, the nature of their business has practically nothing to do with ISO 14001 apart from using less paper, power and water in the office.

Lets see what others, in particular Randy has to add.

Remember, we're only looking at emergencies relevant to those that can create environmental impact.

Question...Do they own the facility they work in? If they do, the effects of a fire, both during and after need to be addressed. The same would hold true for a break in the sanitary waste water system, or even overflow because of the potential for environmental impact.

Now if they don't own the facility they still have the issue of fire, its properties and the potential for impact on the environment...People...people are part of the environment (read the definition)

Question...Do they have any type of hazardous material that when uncontrollably released could create an adverse environmental impact? Maybe, maybe not, but what if a bottle of cleanser were inadvertantly spilled? What about the leakage of fuel or coolant from one of their vehicles in the parking lot? So on and so forth.............

This line of thinking needs to be followed because even the most seemingly environmentally benign organization has the potential for adverse enviromental impact that may need to be responded to.

Randy, thanks for the thoughts. They are tenants in the premises and the landlord is responsible for all maintenance, cleaning, purchasing of light bulbs etc. so they have little or no control over the premises. However, its a good point about the cars in the car park and I think that needs to be addressed in the procedure.

Colin, have you had a look at this thread relating to a small service company?

Nice one Harry, thanks.

Colin

I'm rusty with 14001, so hopefully this thinking is still correct. You should also look at the impact that their employees have while conducting training at client locations. It probably does not have to be too detailed, but your people need to know to follow the procedures of the clients and possibly exceed them if the client is not in good shape.

I worked as a consultant with an office in a managed office building where I could have very little impact, assuming I did not start the building on fire. I had a client that made paint, so I could have a big impact at their site if I started playing with buttons, knobs and valves.

You really need to look at the impact both at your own business, and the impact you might have at your client's. Are you bringing in any kind of chemical? Make sure that your client is aware it is on site, bring an MSDS with you for their approval.

Do the things that Randy has stated at your own facility.