ISO 14001 in Transportation (Truck) - Small to Medium Transportation

[Marc]

Small Companies

Yeah - We've done all that. Thing is they've been proactive long before the 14001 thing came up. Energy (electric and gas) audits and the works. 'Special' low energy bulbs and fixtures everywhere. Even low water commodes were installed a couple of years ago.

> Do they lease their vehicles? Maybe they could specify
> that vehicles must meet certain emission standards.

Not feasible with owner-operators, but they do specify tractors less than 6 years old unless they go through an 'extended' inspection.

> What about their suppliers? Maybe they could say that by
> such -and-such date they will only use X% suppliers that
> don't have an EMS. They don't need to demand that their
> suppliers implement systems, but they can attempt to
> influence their doing so.

A small (32 people plus drivers) trucking company is not going to tell Firestone (their tire lessor) about starting up an EMS program. Or Interstate Battery. The problem, Randy, is your paradigm keeps you with big companies in your expectations. Little companies simply do not have the control bigger ones have. Its a bit like telling Kelloggs to implement an EMS or you won't buy their breakfast cereal(s). You have to get one heck of a movement going for something like that to work. And I doubt any individual is going to go out and buy their own corn flake making equipment (ref: recycling equipment in-house) in an attempt to reduce long term costs and/or to reduce environmental harm.

> Step out of the box for a while and try to view the
> operation from a different perspective.

Your turn!

 

[Randy]

To paraphrase the Terminator "I'll be back...after I think on it"

 

[Randy Stewart]

What about in the office portion? Paper, toner, ink, etc. It sounds like they would have it covered but have they looked at air emissions while in an enclosed area (loading dock, service bay)?

 

[Marc]

Originally posted by Randy Stewart
What about in the office portion? Paper, toner, ink, etc. It sounds like they would have it covered but have they looked at air emissions while in an enclosed area (loading dock, service bay)?

Simpler than that. They pick up a trailer at location A and transport it to location B. No inbetween storage or anything. Yup - office checked. Paper heavy as often happens in transportation businesses. Toner, ribbons, etc.

 

[Randy]

Marc

Check out www.greenseal.com and then go to Product Recommendations. Aslo check out Product Standards and Certification and scroll to the bottom of the page for Green Seal Environmental Standards.

You may find something of interest

 

[Marc]

It's Over - Zero Nonconformances

The audit is over. 0 nonconformances. They accepted no T&Os based upon our evidence (minutes from several meetings, etc.) of attempting to set one or more and failing - and they couldn't recommend any. So - that's another ISO9K upgrade and 14001 registration finished. Whew. I think I hate the darn things as much as, if not worse than, my clients. I've never had a client go down in flames, but I always get 'stage fright'.

 

[Randy]

Congrads there Marc

 

[JodiB]

Congratulations Mark!

No O&T's? I just can't see how there can be an environmental management system when there is nothing being managed. I guess I don't understand. Maybe it's enough that you have a structure in place in case you do ever find something that needs managing? Or a structure for looking for something to manage? Or just simply managing existing things but not trying to continually improve? Oh wait ...but you do have to improve ...or at least try. And I guess I don't understand a true demonstration of trying without there being O&T's set. Perhaps trying to try (which is what your meeting minutes show...) but not actually trying. If you get my drift.

Well, you passed so there is more to it than that I reckon.

BTW, does the registrar allow you to attend the certification audits? And do you? Kind of curious about the level of participation that they allow...

 

[Randy]

I've never quite undertsood why a consultant would not be allowed at the registration audit by the Registrar. Would the consultants vapors make everyone tarnish or something?

The audit is to determine the conformance of the system to the standard and not the level of participation of consultants. IMMHO of course.

 

[Marc]

Lucinda said:

BTW, does the registrar allow you to attend the certification audits? And do you? Kind of curious about the level of participation that they allow...

No O&T's? I just can't see how there can be an environmental management system when there is nothing being managed. I guess I don't understand.

I always attend audits unless I feel the company really doesn't need me there which has happened a couple of times. I explained it was their call - that I didn't feel they needed me but I would be happy to attend but, of course, I would have to charge.

During the audit I just can't answer questions for them directly. I can talk to them 'on the side' (like a sidebar in a trial). But - that said - with small companies I simply have them put me on their organizational chart as a part-time project manager. Then I can talk as well.

As far as no O&Ts, the issue is this: You reach a point where the operation is so simple that you have to 'discover' ways to 'improve'. This is also somewhat true in ISO. In this instance the company has a continuing on-time delivery agerage of 98%. While one might sit there and say "Hey - there's always room for improvement somewhere", in many smaller companies this becomes so much rhetoric. It sounds nice but if you're in the situation is is just words.

Your failure to understand is related to your paradigm that no company is ever optimized. Continuous improvement is often in small steps which, ISO or not, would have happened anyway. An example is a client I had which was small - 14 people. No new hires in over 10 years. All they do is bulk mixing - same thing for over 40 years. Simple chemicals No desire to increase business - everyone is there at 7 AM and leaves at 3.30 PM as they have for about 40 years. They're like one big family. The nice thing is they all lead low stress lives, enjoy what they're doing and have plenty of time for family life (no weekend work or over time). The place is like a dream from the 1950's. When I first went in they had one computer - it was only for labeling (a customer requirement for laser printed labels). Now they have about 10 computers. Continuous improvement but unrelated to ISO. They were just slow to come on board electronically in part because they really don't need computers for much.

But back to 14001, you have to experience a small, stable, long established company and you may (as we did) end up looking to the point of - well, we sell 30 cans of pop a day but drivers take almost all of them with them in their truck - so recycling cans is a non-issue. You know, you can always keep suggesting things but you reach a point of it being rediculous. Does one go so far as to post signs asking employees to try to only use the bathroom once a day thereby conserving water and paper?

I saw the same thing in the old ISO 9001 - statistical techniques. I had a number of clients who were so small that they did not see a need for statistical techniques. I argued with them when we went thru implementation that auditors would have trouble with no ST's identified - which was in fact the case. But the bottom line is they really don't have a need for one. that's not to say that you couldn't - as an outsider - keep saying "What about...?" until you're blue in the face but it doesn't change the fact that they didn't see any as of any value. I had to agree that in their case there wasn't anything they really could do with ST's - as did te auditor after the discussion.

The auditor at that registration audit also didn't like (read didn't believe) that the company had not had a customer complaint in nearly 7 years. Truth was they hadn't and they could prove it.

I've worked with a lot of companies of various sizes and such and there's always a different challange. The auditor (well, auditors) didn't like the idea of no O&Ts but we when through out thinking during the Stage 1 audit and they couldn't show us where you HAVE to have O&Ts - and we could show we went to the "Only 1 toilet trip a day to conserve water and paper" level in evaluating the company. So - what were they to do? It is, however, a part of management review to the operations manager's 'search' for O&Ts.

Check idealism at the door when you enter reality.