Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much will it cost to implement an EMS at my base?
Anywhere between $50K and $125K depending on several factors including your current compliance status, the size and complexity of your mission and the degree to which you have already instituted EMS principles. To be effective, an EMS must be implemented using a balanced combination of in-house, NEPSS, and contract services.
2. What is an aspect?
An aspect is a term of art used in both the ISO 14001 standard and Navy policy referring to that part of a mission process or practice that may impact the environment if not effectively controlled.
3. What is a gap analysis used for?
The requirements of an EMS are compared against the installation’s current management program. This gap analysis in conjunction with a risk analysis is used to determine program priorities to improve the environmental program.
4. Where is the best place to start?
Aspect inventories, gap analyses and risk analyses should be the first things completed for all installations. Then, objectives, targets and measures of success should be established for high-risk practices. For activities in a good compliance status with improvement oriented personnel at both the upper management and practice owner levels, the best place to start is with documenting current practices, thereby institutionalizing sound management practices. For activities with a variable compliance history, recent or frequent personnel turnover or currently following a centralized compliance management system the best place to start is with a high-risk practice improvement that has a high likelihood of success. By applying EMS principles to the practice in question, the installation can demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach and persuade managers that may otherwise be reluctant to institute an EMS. Then the EMS principles applied successfully to the first practice can be expanded to apply to remaining practices.
5. What is a POUCL?
A Point of Use Checklist (POUCL) is a quality assurance tool applied at the practice owner level to check and improve compliance. POUCLs should be designed to ask the right detail of questions at the right frequencies with the appropriate amount of oversight based on the mission risk of a process or practice. Since mission risk varies with process, location, regulatory scrutiny and other factors, POUCLs may be hard to adapt at another installation without significant modification. Nevertheless, a number of POUCLs are provided in the template section of each installation’s web page.
6. Is an EMS a way to do more with less?
No. To quote an EMS pioneer “ You can’t do more with less, you can only do less with less”. However, by applying principles of risk and total quality management, stations will find they are able to better focus their limited resources on the most important areas.
7. What training is available?
On this web site there will eventually be four separate modules for different levels of management and different levels of environmental responsibility. Currently, the EMS workshop slides presented in July 02 at the CNO P2 conference may be found on the site. CECOS currently offers an EMS Review class targeted for auditors, but no EMS classroom instruction is planned until FY03, probably to be offered on a regional basis. This web site is designed in part to provide information on EMS not currently available from any other source.
8. What is the difference between the EQA program and an EMS?
The Navy’s EQA program is the auditing or “checking and corrective action” portion of an EMS. The other critical elements of an EMS are policy, planning, implementation and management review.
9. How do I get assistance in starting my EMS?
EQA and EMS assistance are free NEPSS services available from NAVFAC EFD/As. Assistance is available to review plans, develop scopes, audit management systems and help with implementation. Contractors expert in developing EMS are also accessible on a reimbursable basis through NAVFAC.
10. What are some of the benefits of having an EMS?
Reduced risk, improved personnel turnover, mission integration, increased management involvement, more prevention oriented solutions, better compliance, and delegation of responsibilities to practice owners are just a few of the benefits. Although the private sector touts cost savings, most of the benefits realized by DoD are related to effectiveness.
11. What is the difference between a practice and a process?
The Navy has decided to use the term practice rather than process to ensure that in addition to industrial processes that may effect the environment, management practices are also included when performing an aspect analysis and making management improvements.
12. How long does it take to develop an EMS plan and to begin implementation?
Typically, installations using EFD, contractor and in-house resources have taken two to three years to complete plans and begin implementing their EMS. Implementation can be defined as following the plan–do-check –act improvement cycle on one or more key practices or setting up the cycle for all practices and following the continual improvement process.