1.    BUSINESS CHALLENGE
A multinational manufacturer of turbine engines for the aerospace industry is subject to a complex set of EHS requirements imposed by its parent company in the US.  Maintaining the EHS management system on an ongoing basis was beyond the capacity of the firm’s EHS professional and technical staff.  The situation called for strategic, program deployment and auditing expertise from the outside.


2.    APPROACH AND STRATEGY
Our point of entry came when we responded to a request for consulting expertise during the implementation of the ISO 14001 EMS in 2000-2002.  With eleven (11) sites in the US and Canada falling under the umbrella ISO 14001 registration, a model management system, a common set of implementation tools and a consistent approach would be essential. 

We estimated that the project would call for the formation of a team of six consultants, each with the requisite technical and personal skills.  The consultants would deploy the model, while helping each site to maintain its own EHS management methods and culture.  Progress would have to be carefully tracked with regular reports being made to a central project steering committee.


3.    SOLUTION
ÉEM assumed the consulting portion of the ISO 14001 implementation project and ensured that each site was prepared for the certification process, some of which have several thousand employees, through implementation tasks, project management and a series of preparatory audits.  The team worked from a common action plan, prepared and presented monthly progress reports against the plan, and implemented technical and administrative portions of the work when required. 

ÉEM has since been retained to maintain, enhance, improve and audit the system on an ongoing basis.  In 2006, we entered into a worldwide contract in partnership with another consultancy to improve the client’s risk assessment process, provide training, assist in implementing corrective actions, audit the EHS management system, and enhance the internal audit process.

   
4.    RESULTS
The firm’s eleven sites were successfully registered to ISO 14001 and have maintained the certification, with ÉEM assistance, since 2001.  With our ongoing support, the organization achieves a balance between internal resources and external EHS resources, it can meet its policy commitments and its many EHS requirements, thereby enabling it to focus on its core business.