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EMS Steering Committee

Discussion in 'ISO 14001:2015 - Environmental Management Systems' started by senior, Dec 18, 2018.

  1. senior

    senior Member

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    Good day guys,
    My company is in the process of applying to be EMS ISO 14001 certified.
    Our nature of business are: assembly of handryers / Vacuum cleaners / bladeless fan / injection moulding and secondary process (spray painting)

    My question is how many streeing committee should i have .

    Thank you in advance
     
    senior, Dec 18, 2018
    #1
  2. John C. Abnet

    John C. Abnet Well-Known Member

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    Good day @senior ;
    Two questions....
    1- Why do you want a steering committee? (probably a good idea, but what is driving the perceived need?)
    2- How many does your organization NEED on the committee?

    There is no requirement, and "we" (this site) likely can not answer this question for you. While a steering committee is likely a good idea, the standard requires no such committee and "we" don't know the size, complexity, needs of your organization.

    The only advice I can offer is to ensure "top management" is committed and supportive of the activity.

    Hope this helps.

    Be well.
     
    John C. Abnet, Dec 18, 2018
    #2
  3. senior

    senior Member

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    Thank you for the feedback John.
    The organisation that i work for have various sites (plant) with about 2000 workforce.
    If i have steering committee for waste management / chemical handling / emergency preparedness
    would this help ease the burden of EMR.

    Thanks again
     
    senior, Dec 19, 2018
    #3
  4. RoxaneB

    RoxaneB Moderator Staff Member

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    In my opinion, it really depends on the objective of the steering committee - what is their purpose?

    If processes already exist to support your organization's environmental management system, they can perhaps support top management by analyzing data, preparing recommendations, confirming the status of projects, etc.

    However, if processes do not exist, I don't usually find steering committees to add much value - after all, there is nothing in place to actually steer. In this case, your organization's top management should demonstrate its commitment and support by ensuring there is someone with overarching responsibility to oversee the implementation of an environmental management system, and this may include the development of several project teams who will actually do the work of implementation (something I don't usually see steering committees in favour of doing).

    There could be a language issue here - perhaps you could clarify how you see these steering committees working to support your organization's environmental management system? Because right now, to be honest, I don't think we quite understand their purpose.
     
    RoxaneB, Dec 19, 2018
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    John C. Abnet likes this.
  5. tony s

    tony s Well-Known Member

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    I believe the "steering committee" senior is referring to is the same as the "project teams" RoxaneB is suggesting.
     
    tony s, Dec 28, 2018
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