Developing Operational Controls
The targets established in the “plan” step have to be implemented through appropriate operational controls (procedures of operation) to ensure the environmental policy is followed and the objectives are achieved. This involves identifying and evaluating various alternatives and selecting the best alternatives based on a number of factors including costs and benefits. Some of the typical alternatives for pollution prevention and control include:
- designing or redesigning products and services to be friendly to the environment,
- reducing, reusing, recycling or substituting materials,
- maintaining and operating equipment effectively,
- increasing process efficiency to minimize waste and energy use,
- storing and handling of raw materials and chemicals appropriately,
- training employees to follow procedures, document and report problems, and
- managing and controlling waste disposal.
Once the best alternative has been selected, necessary procedures must be developed for implementing them into practice within the organization. The procedures are essentially step-by-step instructions for employees responsible for particular activities to follow to implement the chosen alternative.
For example, in an EMS system for an art classroom in a school, the target may be to reduce or eliminate the use of paper towels for cleaning. The alternatives may be to use reusable cloth towels or sponges. The alternatives, however, have some costs such as initial cost of cloth or sponges, water and cleaning liquids usage for washing cloth towels or paper towels, and benefits such as reusability of the items. The best alternative can be selected using the information on quantity of use of the item, their purchase costs, maintenance costs (for washing), and savings from reusable materials. Then instructions can be developed for purchase of appropriate materials, use of materials, maintenance, and disposal of materials.
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