EMS-DOC-08-1 Operational Planning and Control Process

Operational Planning and Control Process

ISO14001 Toolkit: Version 2 ŠCertiKit

Operational Planning and Control Process

Implementation guidance The header page and this section, up to and including Disclaimer, must be removed from the final version of the document. For more details on replacing the logo, yellow highlighted text and certain generic terms, see the Completion Instructions document.

Purpose of this document This document describes the operational planning and control process of the EMS.

Areas of the standard addressed The following areas of ISO14001 are addressed by this document: •

8. Operation o 8.1 Operational planning and control

General guidance The process of operational planning and control will vary widely according to the activities, products and/or services involved but should still follow the high-level steps set out in this document. Key to this is the consideration of environmental requirements, procurement, external providers and communication.

The idea is that the environmental operating criteria should be defined for business activities (e.g. the quantity of emissions produced), based on an understanding of the requirements (e.g. legal limits), and then measured and controlled so that the criteria are met (e.g. emissions stay below the legal limits).

Further detail should be specified in the supporting procedures for the business activity involved.

Review frequency This document should be reviewed when significant changes to business activities and their significant aspects happen, or annually otherwise.

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Operational Planning and Control Process

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EMS-DOC-08-1

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DOCUMENT AUTHOR

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DOCUMENT OWNER

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Revision history VERSION

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SUMMARY OF CHANGES

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TITLE

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Contents 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 8

2

Operational planning and control process .................................................................. 9 2.1

Overview ..................................................................................................................... 9

2.2

Process diagram......................................................................................................... 10

2.3

Process inputs............................................................................................................ 11

2.4

Process activities........................................................................................................ 11

2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4 2.4.5

2.5

3

4

Establish operating criteria ........................................................................................................ 11 Identify operational controls ..................................................................................................... 12 Implement operational controls ................................................................................................ 12 Measure control effectiveness .................................................................................................. 12 Change management ................................................................................................................ 13

Process outputs ......................................................................................................... 13

Process measurement and reporting ........................................................................ 14 3.1

Process measurement ................................................................................................ 14

3.2

Process reporting ....................................................................................................... 14

3.3

Process reviews and audits......................................................................................... 14

Roles and responsibilities ......................................................................................... 15 4.1

Roles ......................................................................................................................... 15

4.2

RACI matrix................................................................................................................ 15

4.3

Process owner ........................................................................................................... 16

4.4

Process manager ........................................................................................................ 16

Figures Figure 1: Operational planning and control process ..................................................................... 10

Tables Table 1: RACI matrix ................................................................................................................... 15

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1 Introduction A key factor in the success of [Organization Name] is our ability to create products and services that meet (and often exceed) our customers’ requirements. This includes those in the area of environmental management, in which there is an increasing awareness of the need to operate our business in a sustainable way.

The purpose of this document is to set out the process of operational planning and control used to ensure that the environmental requirements of business processes and activities within [Organization Name] are met. It includes how the operational planning and control process flows, the supporting procedures used, its outputs and how the process is measured and reported on.

The following key processes are related to this process and are covered in separate documents: • • • •

Risk and Opportunity Assessment Process Environmental Aspects and Impacts Assessment Process Compliance Obligations Procedure External Provider Management Process

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2 Operational planning and control process 2.1 Overview The operational planning and control process is shown in Figure 1.

The major environmental requirements of a business activity, product or service are defined from a number of sources, including: • • •

Significant environmental aspects Compliance obligations Risks and opportunities

These help to establish the operating criteria for the activity, i.e. the set of parameters it must meet in order to comply with the requirements.

From a clear understanding of these operating criteria, controls may be identified that together provide the means to ensure that the activity stays within the defined environmental operating limits.

These operational controls are then implemented within the activity and thoroughly tested to ensure they are effective.

Their continuing effectiveness in keeping the activity within the necessary environmental parameters is measured on a regular basis and, if necessary, action is taken to mitigate the impact of ineffectiveness and return the activity to environmentally efficient operation.

The process operates as a loop unless the activity is affected by planned or unintended changes, in which case separate actions will be taken to amend its operation, including possibly the identification of new or changed operational controls.

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2.2 Process diagram

Figure 1: Operational planning and control process

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2.3 Process inputs The following areas may act as inputs to the process at one or more stages: • • • •

Functional and performance requirements Experience of similar previous activities Statutory and regulatory requirements (non-environmental) Standards or codes of practice

These may come from a number of different sources.

2.4 Process activities The following activities are carried out as part of this process.

2.4.1 Establish operating criteria Environmental operating criteria for the specific activity is established by considering information from a number of sources, including: •

• •

Significant environmental aspects – an assessment may have previously been made of those aspects of the activity which impact, or have the potential to impact, the environment in a particular way. Those that meet specified criteria are listed as significant aspects and therefore need further consideration.

Compliance obligations – those aspects of the activity that are subject to environmental legislation, regulation or other types of compliance obligation may have very specific targets or limits on their inputs, outputs, or other factors.

Risks and opportunities – an assessment may have been made of the potential negative (risks) or positive (opportunities) environmental consequences of the activity, and specific controls may be required to mitigate or capitalise on those risks and opportunities.

Other factors may also be considered when establishing operating criteria, such as the experience of having undertaken similar activities before and applicable standards that are to be followed.

Where there are conflicts in the operating criteria, these will be discussed, possibly with reference to interested parties (e.g. legal advice, environmental advisors), and resolved appropriately to allow the operational planning of the activity to progress.

Once agreed, operating criteria will be documented.

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2.4.2 Identify operational controls Once the operating criteria have been established and documented, the controls that will allow these criteria to be met must be identified. These may take a number of different forms and, if more than one, should be designed as a coherent control set that provides the level of control required in all foreseeable circumstances.

Controls may include: • • • • • •

Engineering controls Procedural controls Error-resistant design Use of competent personnel Regular monitoring and measuring Appropriate documentation

The controls selected and the operating criteria they are intended to meet will be documented.

2.4.3 Implement operational controls Once identified, actions will be taken to put the required operational controls in place, and, where possible, to test that they provide the degree of assurance required that the operating criteria can be met. Where this is not the case, individual or multiple alternative controls may be identified and implemented.

Where appropriate, documentation of the operation of the controls will be created, and adequate training provided to all employees who will be carrying them out.

2.4.4 Measure control effectiveness The ability of the activity and its associated controls to meet the environmental operating criteria will be measured over time or at appropriate key points and reported to relevant management.

Where the operating criteria is not being met, mitigation action must be taken to correct the situation (including any clean-up required) and establish whether the current operational controls are adequate. If they are not, additional, or alternative controls must be identified and implemented to bring the activity within its required environmental operating parameters.

If this is not possible, relevant management must review the activity to decide what action must be taken, potentially including ceasing the activity on a temporary or permanent basis.

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2.4.5 Change management Changes may arise from reviews, verification and validation activities, or as a result of changes to requirements.

Where changes are planned that affect (or may affect) the ability of an activity to meet its environmental operating criteria, these will be documented, evaluated to assess their implications and any amendments or additions to the operational controls implemented.

Unplanned changes that affect the ability of an activity to meet its environmental operating criteria must be subject to management review in order to fully understand their impact and allow corrective action to be taken, including potential clean-up activities and adjustment of the operational controls in place.

2.5 Process outputs The major outputs of this process are as follows: • • • •

Documented operating criteria Documented operational controls Control effectiveness review documentation Change assessments

These outputs will be included as part of the EMS.

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3 Process measurement and reporting 3.1 Process measurement In order to establish to what extent this process is working as intended, explicit, quantified targets (Key Performance Indicators, KPIs) will be set for the following metrics: • •

Number of nonconformities against operating criteria Time to complete operational planning and control

Success against these targets will be evaluated as part of the management review process.

3.2 Process reporting In addition to those figures used as metrics, the following measurements will also be reported to management: • •

Operational planning and control progress reports Number of activities, products and services planned and controlled

These will be used to identify trends and quantify process throughput.

3.3 Process reviews and audits Reviews will be carried out by the process owner in conjunction with the process manager on a three-monthly basis to assess whether the process is operating effectively and delivering the desired results. These reviews will have the following as input: • • • • • •

Follow-up action list from previous reviews Relevant changes and developments within the subject area KPI reports from the previous period Internal and external audit reports Feedback from employees and customers Identified opportunities for improvement

Each review will be documented by the process owner and actions arising agreed and published.

Audits will be carried out on an annual basis by the internal auditing department. The scope and timing of the audit will be agreed in advance. Recommendations from the audit will be published and actions discussed and agreed with the process owner.

All actions will be followed up by the internal auditor within the agreed timescales for each action.

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4 Roles and responsibilities This section describes the main roles involved in the process, their interaction with it and their detailed responsibilities.

4.1 Roles The following main roles participate in the process: • • •

Process owner Process manager Customer

There will also be interaction with business management at various points in the process.

4.2 RACI matrix The table below clarifies the responsibilities of these roles at each step using the RACI system, i.e.: • • • •

R: Responsible A: Accountable C: Consulted I: Informed

STEP

PROCESS OWNER

PROCESS MANAGER

Establish operating criteria

A

R

Identify operational controls

A

R

Implement operational controls

A

R

Measure control effectiveness

A

R

Change management

A

R

INTERNAL AUDITOR

C

Table 1: RACI matrix

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4.3 Process owner The responsibilities of the process owner are: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Sponsoring, designing and change-managing the process and its metrics Assisting with process design Ensuring that appropriate process documentation is available and current Defining appropriate policies and standards to be employed throughout the process Periodically auditing the process to ensure compliance to policy and standards Communicating process information or changes as appropriate to ensure awareness Providing process resources to support activities required Ensuring people participating in the process have the required knowledge and the required technical, business and environmental understanding to deliver the process and understand their role in the process Reviewing opportunities for process enhancements and for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process Addressing issues with the running of the process Identifying improvement opportunities Making improvements to the process Working with other process owners to ensure there is an integrated approach to this and related process delivery

4.4 Process manager The responsibilities of the process manager are: • • • • • • • • • • •

Working with the process owner to plan and co-ordinate all process activities Ensuring all activities are carried out as required Managing resources assigned to the process Monitoring and reporting on process performance Identifying improvement opportunities Making improvements to the process implementation Co-ordinating interfaces between this process and other environmental management processes Driving the efficiency and effectiveness of the process Producing management information Managing the work of people involved in delivering the process Developing and maintaining the supporting systems

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