
Engineering & environmental management services
Environmental auditing is a periodic, objective, and documented assessment of an organization’s operations compared to audit criteria. Audit criteria may be compliance requirements such as regulations or may be management practices that benefit the environment. In either case, an audit provides information on the operational status of an organization compared to management’s environmental performance expectations. For example, if management expects the organization to be in compliance with regulations, an audit will provide information on whether compliance has been achieved or not, and if not, what specific measures are required to achieve compliance.
Why Conduct an Environmental Audit?
It is useful to think of an audit as a diagnostic exam and operations
“tune-up.” By conducting the exam (i.e., audit), a business gains a better
understanding of where its operations stand compared to specified criteria,
such as regulatory compliance, management systems, or others. The audit will
indicate what needs to be done to allow operations to meet the criteria so a
business can take action and improve its efficiency.
Like other “tune-ups,” an audit should be performed periodically or whenever
needed. In Nigeria environmental audit is required from industrial
facilities every three (3) years by regulation, which shall be conducted in
accordance with the “Guidelines on Environmental Audit in Nigeria”.
Sustainable
development of the world’s natural resources requires careful consideration
of the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects or even
policies. During the development and planning phase of a project or policy,
EEMS prepares and leads an analytical process to predict potential impacts
on the environment and assesses their significance, in conjunction with a
public consultation program. Contemporary principles of risk assessment and
management and impact mitigation are applied to developments that have the
potential to impact on the natural, health, social and economic
environments. This system approach includes a review of the possible
cumulative impacts of the proposed project in the context of other existing
and planned developments.
EIA is the assessment of impacts of a project on the natural, health, social
and economic environments. In Nigeria and most countries of the world, EIA
is a statutory requirement for all new projects or major modifications or
expansion projects that are likely to have significant impact on the
environment.
The EIA is an input into the project definition, basis for preliminary and
detailed design, construction and installation, operation and maintenance
and decommissioning and end-of-project phases.
Project Development and Feasibility Studies
The feasibility study is the first step in process development. During the feasibility study, different ideas, strategies, options and variables are investigated, analysed and synthesised for optimal results. We convert your ideas to reality no matter how vague, through sound application of the state-of-the-art business development tools.
Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Management Systems
Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Management Systems Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Management Systems Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Management Systems Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Management SystemsTo be really efficient and effective, the organization can manage its way of doing things by systemizing it. This ensures that nothing important is left out and that everyone is clear about who is responsible for doing what, when, how, why and where.
Management system standards provide the organization with a model to follow in setting up and operating the management system. This model incorporates the features on which experts in the field have reached a consensus as representing the international state of the art. A management system which follows the model - or "conforms to the standard" - is built on a firm foundation of state-of-the-art practices.
Organizations, irrespective of its size, nature of business or type of product or services, could not function well without management systems - although they may have been called by some other name.
The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of management system standards and the OHSAS 18000 now make these successful practices available for all organizations< when it comes to meeting their objectives concerning quality, the environment and health and safety. These management systems can be implemented by small or large organizations, simple or complex processes, production or provision of services.
Soil Remediation
Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001 EMS)
The ISO 14000 series of international standards have been developed for environmental management. In September 1996, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) finalized the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems (EMS), which was revised and re-issued in 2004. It is compatible with the ISO 9001:2008quality management system (QMS). The ISO14001 standard specifies requirements for establishing an environmental policy, determining environmental aspects & impacts of products/activities/services, planning environmental objectives and measurable targets, implementation & operation of programs to meet objectives & targets, system auditing, checking & corrective action, and management review.
REQUIREMENTS OF ISO14001A key requirement of ISO 14001 EMS is having documented environmental manual, environmental policy, register of environmental aspects & impacts of products/activities/services, register of environmental legislations relevant to your operations, environmental objectives and measurable targets, documented procedures for implementation & operations of the system to meet objectives & targets, checking & corrective action, and management review. Documented procedures are implemented and maintained in such a way that successful achievement of environmental goals commensurate with the nature and scale of activities is facilitated. Internal Audits of the EMS must be conducted routinely to ensure that non-conformances to the system are identified and addressed.
The Environmental Management System (EMS) document is the central document that describes the interaction of the core elements of the system, and provides a third-party auditor with the key information necessary to understand the environmental management systems in-place at the company. Consistent with the principles of ISO14001, the Environmental Policy and Environmental Aspects/impacts analysis, including legal & other requirements, shape the program by influencing the selection of specific measurable environmental goals, objectives, & targets. Specific programs and/or projects must then be developed to achieve these environmental goals, objectives, & targets (in ISO14001 terms, this would be referred to as "Implementation & Operation"). The checking & corrective action elements of the system help ensure continual improvement by addressing root causes on non-conformances. The ongoing management review of the EMS and its elements helps to ensure continuing suitability, adequacy, & effectiveness of the program./p>
WHY THE CONCERN ABOUT ISO-14001?
Conformance to ISO14001 is increasing becoming a contractual requirement of customers in Nigeria and many other African countries. Furthermore, as competition becomes stiffer in the market place, ISO 14001 will ensure loss prevention as part of cost saving scheme. Also, because ISO-14000 is a continuation of the ISO-9000 Product Quality standards, it is expected that ISO-14001 may eventually become a requirement for attaining ISO-9001 re-certification. Thus, many companies are setting goals to establish environmental management systems that conform to ISO 14001 guidelines in order to remain competitive in the global marketplace. For those companies who have already obtained ISO 9001 registration and/or follow Total Quality Management (TQM) system principles, the ISO-14001 registration is a logical next step because it is very similar to ISO-9001 and the principles of TQM.
Quality Management Systems (ISO 9001 QMS)
ISO 9001:2008 is an international standard that gives requirements for an
organization’s Quality Management System (QMS). It is part of a family of
standards published by the International Organisation for Standardisation
(ISO) often referred to collectively as the “ISO 9000 series”. The ISO 9000
series consist of three standards these are:
The objective of ISO 9001:2008 is to provide a set of requirements that, if they are effectively implemented, will provide you with confidence that your supplier can consistently provide goods and services that meet your needs and expectations of your customers and comply with statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to your products or services. Management system refers to what the organization does to manage its processes or activities in order that the products or services that it produces meet the objectives it has set itself, such as; satisfying the customer's quality requirements, complying to applicable regulations, and any other requirements you determine to be necessary.
REQUIREMENTS OF ISO 9001
The requirements cover a wide range of topics, include
top management commitment to quality, customer focus, adequacy of resources,
employee competence, process management (for production, service delivery
and relevant administrative and support processes), quality planning,
product design, review of incoming orders, purchasing, monitoring and
measurement of processes and products, calibration of measuring equipment,
processes to resolve customer complaints, corrective/preventive actions and
a requirement to drive continual improvement of the QMS. Last but not least,
there is a requirement to monitor customer perceptions about the quality of
the goods and services you provide.
The key to a successful ISO 9001 QMS is having documented procedures that
are implemented and maintained in such a way that customer requirements are
appropriately determined and properly satisfied or even exceeded
successfully. In addition, the QMS must include appropriate monitoring and
review to ensure effective functioning of the QMS and to identify and
implement corrective measures in a timely manner for continual improvement.
ISO9001 standards include the need for sites to document and communicate to
all relevant stakeholders within the organisation a Quality Policy, Quality
Objectives and the Quality Manual. In addition, procedures must be
established for ongoing review of the QMS activities. Programs must then be
set in place to implement these activities. Internal Audits of the QMS must
be conducted periodically to ensure that non-conformances to the system are
identified and addressed. In addition, the management review process must
ensure top management involvement in the assessment of the QMS, and as
necessary, addressing the need for changes.
The Quality Management System (QMS) manual is the central document that describes the interaction of the core elements of the system, and provides a third-party auditor with the key information necessary to understand the QMS in-place at the company. Consistent with the quality management principles of ISO 9001, the Quality Policy and the Procedures, including legal & other requirements, shape the program by influencing the selection of specific measurable quality goals, objectives, & targets. Specific programs and/or projects must then be developed to achieve these goals, objectives, & targets. The checking & corrective action elements of the system help ensure continual improvement by addressing root causes on non-conformances. The ongoing management review of the QMS and its elements helps to ensure continuing suitability, adequacy, & effectiveness of the program.
BENEFITS OF ISO 9001
Geotechnical and Geophysical Investigation
Geophysical survey provides data that would enable detailed geologic interpretations to assist with water supply development, groundwater investigations, remediation design, and development projects. Geotechnical investigations provide information for foundation design.