Center for Organizational &
Technological Advancement
a U. S. EPA designated EMS Local Resource Center
EMS Implementation Workshop
Virginia Tech offers an ISO 14001 EMS Implementation course for local governments. Space is limited to 10 government teams composed of 4 persons per team. An outline of the course contents and phasing is set out below.
Baseline Environmental Review
Virginia Tech (consisting of environmental engineers and EMS classroom instructors) visits your locality for a full day of meetings and field investigations related to your fenceline facility. This enables our faculty to have an understanding of the issues facing the EMS team when they arrive for Workshop # 1.
Virginia Tech meets with the locality's chief administrative officer and the 4-person EMS team to discuss your locality's commitment to the EMS process. Initial meeting provides an opportunity for senior management to motivate and educate their EMS team regarding organizational commitment to move beyond environmental compliance.
The one-day environmental baseline includes:
- Discussion of the scope of the EMS : Virginia Tech evaluates the scope of the target facility.
- Walking the facility: Virginia Tech
environmental engineers, the facility manager and the
designated EMS team walk the facility to observe
environmental practices. Upon the request of the locality,
Virginia Tech will brief facility employees on:
- What is an EMS ?
- What is the employee's role in the EMS development?
- Introduce and demonstrate software: The software is provided as part of your tuition. This briefing demonstrates the software's capacity to be an organizing tool in developing the EMS .
- Debriefing meeting: Virginia Tech reconvenes in the chief administrative officer's office to brief on what was observed and to adjust or confirm the scope of the EMS.
- Written assessment: Environmental issues identified by Virginia Tech during the site visit and discussed at the debriefing meeting will be mailed to the chief administrative officer. Assessment includes recommendation(s) to undertake immediate remedial action, if needed, prior to coming to Workshop # 1.
Workshops # 1 - 4
The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
Local government 4-member teams attend four workshops spaced four months apart, in which seventeen elements of an ISO 14001 EMS are introduced and practiced. Each workshop covers training on approximately 4 of the ISO 14001 elements. EMS team is trained and provided classroom exercises to model the tasks to be completed at the fenceline facility. The EMS team utilizes the intervening months implementing the elements taught at the prior workshop. Prior to returning to subsequent workshops, the chief administrative officer conducts a management review to check the team's progress. The team then returns to subsequent workshop session and repeats the process for the next set of EMS elements.
The web-based EMS organizer software is taught and utilized Center as part of the workshop series.
Workshops are scheduled in a 3-month sequence.
Workshop schedule
Baseline Environmental Reviews - January to March, 2007
Workshop 1: March 20-22, 2007
Workshop 2: June 26-28, 2007
Workshop 3: September 11-13, 2007
Workshop 4: January 15-17, 2008
EMS Audit 6 months after completion of W #4
Post Audit of EMS
Virginia Tech returns to the locality for two full days within 3-6 months of workshop # 4 to assist your team with final EMS document preparation. Virginia Tech implements a field audit in preparation for submission of your EMS to DEQ for E2 and E3 recognition.
Summary
- Baseline Environmental Review includes all costs associated with one full day for Virginia Tech's visit to your community.
- Four 3-day workshops for (4-member) EMS team: The workshops are held at Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center - includes single room lodging for each team member, breakfast, lunch, dinner, continuous break station, all gratuities and taxes, meeting room, instructional materials and equipment as well as classroom instructors for all workshops.
- Web-based EMS organizer - includes server access and training.
- EMS Audit - includes Virginia Tech returning for two full days to audit your EMS, review documentation and a field visit to the facility. Employees are interviewed as to their role and responsibility in implementing the EMS.
For additional EMS information, please contact:
Bob Herbert
COTA Fellow
Virginia Tech
telephone : (540) 853-8275
e-mail : bherbert@vt.edu