EMS are meant to formulate practices and procedures that would reduce negative environmental impacts. ISO 14001 Environmental Management helps the Company to reduce release of harmful wastes and lower costs associated. This international standard allows also, the firm to set up a complete and effective EMS that will make operations better. As an ISO 14001 certified Six Construction Company will have a number of benefits which can only be enjoyed by an ISO 1400 certified firm. It is for this reason that the Company has come up with a vast methodology of ensuring compliance with the standard. The following are the components of the system (Eng Ann, et. al 2006).
The management will have to come up with a policy that is sustainable, cheap and easy to maintain. This calls for the self-sustaining methods that are environmentally friendly such as recycling of waste products into more useful products that the firm can sell and generate income. The carbon released, for example, can be harvested and processed to coke which is a useful product in the soft drink manufacturing companies. This form of relationship will ensure that Six remain as ISO certified and its EMS is sustainable, cheap and easy to maintain.
Six Company also shall establish and monitor procedures that identify the environmental aspects of its activities and services which can be controlled and over which it can be expected to have control. A fully integrating EMS is the one that the Company has total or absolute influence over so that its implementation will fully be determined by the management of the firm. If the control is from without the system is not likely to be implemented fully.
In addition, also, the Six construction Company, has a duty to observe all the rules concerning the environment such as the protection of the environment operation Act of 1997 and energy and utilities administration Act of 1987. The rules are meant to ensure that construction firms such as SIX do not contribute to pollution of the environment. Other rules include Waste avoidance and resource recovery Act 2001 and dangerous goods (Road and Rail Transport) Act 2008 among many other more.
There are a few people who play an important role in the Six construction Company. Each one of them has got a different need and interest as outlined in the following section.
These are the people or institution that shall be supplying construction materials such as cement, sand, doors, iron sheets and other items that are used in the construction sites. Their major interest is to be paid right on time and continual honoring of the terms of engagement as stated in the contract. These terms include quantity, quality and related aspects of the product. In addition, they are interested in the success of the firm for this will mean continued supplies.
They facilitate handling of cash in various processes of the firm such as paying employees and suppliers as wee as receiving monies on behalf of the Company. Their needs are the continued flow of cash in and out of the business for this translates to the constant use of the firm`s account. They are also interested in situations where the Company will have to borrow from them as they shall do so at a given rate of interest which forms their profits.
They include the trade unions and other consumer federation unions. Their major need is to see the safety of the employees working in the sites as well as that of those who shall be using the structures once complete. In addition, they also advocate for increased salaries for the staff and betterment of working conditions. For example, provision of social security funds and other benefits that employees must be entitled to.
They are independent contractors who are engaged by the Six Company to install electricity into the building as well as other electrical appliances. Their main need is to be paid on time once their contract is complete. They also need to be provided with materials that they need for the implementation of the laid out plan. Also, they require directions from interior designers and the client on a possible location of specific electronic devices in order to allow ease of use and access.
These are the persons or institutions that have contacted Six Construction Company. They need to see the value of their investment through quality work. They also require the work to be completed on time. In addition, they need the firm to ensure safety and security of those who shall be using the 2facility. Also, they need to be constantly updated on the progress of work (Jolevski, A., 2013).
Several processes take place during the construction process. These processes include; preparation process, the foundation process, the construction process, the decoration process and clean & inspection process.
.it is the first process of construction which basically is involved with the cleaning up the exercise of the site. The land is properly cleaned and leveled while final drawings are confirmed to ensure they are as needed. In addition, the facility is prepared by availing of the necessary materials required for construction.
It is the second stage which is involved with the footing of the foundation. The trenches are dug all around the prospected building and necessary materials laid down. The depth of the foundation depends on the height of the building and the geographical location of the site. Some places require a deep foundation while others require a shallow one.
It is the stage that deals with the actual erection of the structure. It entails a number of sub-processes such as laying of the floor slab, construction of the walls and the roofing. In addition, the ceiling and the floor are put in place as the final sub-process of this stage. It is the latest process that is likely to last for some days or months depending on the size of the building and the materials used in construction.
It is the second final process of the construction process that has three sub-processes namely; installing doors, installing windows and painting of walls. All these are done to enhance the appearance of the building thus the name decoration. The process is vast but just like other processes; it requires careful planning especially on the blending of colors (Olateju, & Kumar, 2013).
It is the final process of building premises. It is basically involved with the cleaning of the site to remove any unwanted debris or remains of materials as well as checking the quality of the structure. This is to ensure the site is now ready for use without any hazards that could be as a result of the negligence of the contractor such as the Six Company.
Each of the above processes has certain environmental aspects that are of concern. We can illustrate these aspects using the construction process and the decoration process.
Material transportation and subsequent storage, for example, cement, concrete, and sand will cause air pollution through the dust particles present in them. Therefore, the dust-proof net is required during transport and storage of these materials. Secondly, use of vehicles which emits greenhouse gases. Thirdly, construction waste disposal especially those that have a chemical substance which could damage the groundwater and water table. Finally, the noise from construction and building machinery causes noise pollution which is harmful (Lee et al 2014).
The process has some environmental aspects which are of great concern. They include painting which uses a volatile substance that pollutes the air. Secondly, roof work entails the use of waterproof material usually bitumen, which is a substance that could cause air pollution. In fitting operation, the heavy trucks and other vehicles generate noise and affect the surrounding environment. In addition, windows and doors are a source of wood and glass cuttings usually caused by poor cutting and wrong measurement thus increasing solid waste.
The processes have got several negative impacts on the environment. For the purpose of this report, I shall expound more on the construction and the decoration processes to prove these effects.
Dust pollution is mostly the major environmental impact. It normally occurs during the transportation of materials and their storage, especially cement. There is also air pollution caused by vehicles coming on the site as well as the fuel consuming machinery that is on one way or another used in the construction process. In addition, there is a lot of noise caused by the machines and vehicles coming on the site. Finally, there is consumption of fuel by both the machines and the vehicles and these are not environmentally friendly.
Although the process appears as if it has little or no environmental impact, the fact is a number of negative effects can be linked to it. These include the use of paints which are normally toxic when released into the environment. It may kill organic matter and other creatures in the flora and fauna (Melnyk, et al., 2003). Loading the windows and the doors caused a lot of noise and the subsequent roofing. Also, the bitumen used in the roofing cause air pollution while the possibility of leaving broken glass is high.
Several environmental objectives can be instituted by Six Construction Company to ensure appropriate use of the natural resources. These objectives include; in material transportation and storage we can cover them with a dust-proof net to avoid them causing air pollution. In using the motor vehicles, we can minimize their number and this will lower fuel consumption. Also, we can decide to use environmentally friendly vehicles such as the ones powered by solar energy (Eng Ann, et. al 2006). In deciding on the waste disposal aspect, a good objective should be coming up with ways of recycling them or re-using them.
In addition, building machinery should have their efficiency increased to lower the noise and unnecessary emission of gases. Noise can be reduced also by avoiding making it at night. While painting use environmental friendly oil paint especially the one that has less odor. The waste from the exercise should also be properly disposed off. Efficiently using bitumen is also important in lowering pollution Shah, et. al, 2010). While making the windows and the doors, ensure efficiency and accuracy in measuring to avoid leaving behind wastes which are actually environmentally harmful. In handling solid wastes, ensure the industrial solid wastes is translated into a specific area where they can cause little or no hazards.
Environmental Targets
In the entire objective stated above, have got specific targets that they aim at. This is well explained below. The issue of covering the materials with the dust-proof net aims at reducing 95% of dust emissions during transportation. Minimizing the number of vehicles targets to reduce fully loaded vehicles as possible while the use of environmentally friendly vehicles aims at reducing 25% of the emissions. The target of the use recycled material as much as possible is to ensure there are minimal wastes being released into the environment. The aim of increasing the efficiency of the building machinery up to 20% ensures noise pollution is minimized (Boiral, 2007). The noise can also be reduced up to 20% by using soundproof methods.
In using environmentally friendly paints, we aim at completely changing the oil paint to better quality that has little or no harm. Carefully disposing of all the painting wastes is the target of disposal of waste products efficiently. A target of zero waste of bitumen is the aim of efficiently using bitumen. Also, the target of zero waste of woods and glasses is as a result of the need to ensure efficient and accurate loading of door and windows. Finally, the objective of ensuring the waste products are translated into specific areas is to ensure zero waste of solid waste littered thus a friendly environment.
In achieving all the above-mentioned targets, some activities need to be undertaken. These activities are well explained below. Firstly, in targeting to reduce 95% of gas emissions, we need to cover the materials with dust the-proof net, slow down the vehicles during translation to prevent dust emission and use large tracks instead of many small vehicles. Secondly, in targeting fully loaded vehicles, we need to reasonably arrange the transportation and prevent the use of vehicles that exhaust gas emission below the stipulated limits. Use of environmental friendly vehicles also is an activity that is aimed at reducing the gas emission. The target of using recycled materials as much as possible involve two activities namely, the setting of standards for wastes that can be used in building and arranging a staff who is expected to inspect the recycled material, make sure it is within limits.
The target of increasing efficiency will involve undertaking two activities, training of the staffs and shifting works to place them where they are more adaptable. Setting up noise barriers and using low-noise equipment can be the activities necessary for reducing 20% of the noise. In addition, preventing work at night as well as implementing no noise work at night are the examples of activities that are aimed at no noise at night. The target of chafing the paint to environmentally friendly ones can be achieved by using environmental friendly oil paint and stopping the use of harmful paints.The separation of garbage disposal and avoiding direct discharge of wastes is an example of methods of carefully disposing of the paint wastes. The target of zero waste of bitumen is achieved by using an alternative material instead of bitumen or increasing the efficiency of its use. Finally, the target of zero waste of wood and glasses is achievable through increased efficiency of their use as well as proper training of staff. Assigning a designated person can be helpful in ensuring solid waste is littered.
In ensuring all the above objectives are achieved and the activities recommended are performed with ease and efficiency, there should be some monitoring measures that need to be performed. These measures are explained in the following sections.
This measure is aimed at getting the analysis of the wastes being disposed so as to facilitate the recycling process. If proper analysis is done, the recycling process shall be log lasting and shall produce desired results that will eventually be part of a good EMS.
Using air quality monitoring equipment in the construction sites is a good real-time monitoring measure. The concentrate of harmful chemical in air should be regularly checked using these equipment. Further, in order to get accurate results, the equipment must be well maintained with proper checks (Link, & Naveh, 2006).
The use of air quality monitoring equipment at the site is a good real-time monitoring method compared with standards (.Melnyk, et. al. 2003). Also, the equipment should be to be well checked in order to get accurate data. Also, avoid making a lot of noise at night or early morning and instead, reasonably arrange for the work to be finished before 10pm.
Thia is another measure that is more appropriate for checking the progress. Arrange designated persons who shall be monitoring dust or solid wastes disposal on the floor during transportation (El-Gayar, Omar; Fritz, Bril, 2006). This will result to having someone accountable who shall be held liable in case of a mishandling of wastes. In addition, let the persons be aware the wastes must be transported to the specific area and they be conversant with the place.
Training the workers regularly and arranging exam to test them is another measure that can be instituted to make sure all the workers are qualified and ready to perform their duties well at all times (Sroufe, 2003). This will help to accelerate the working efficiency and reduce the rate of mistakes often linked to poor training or unpreparedness to work. In addition, the staff will be showed on the proper waste management system so as to promote a good and properly working EMS.
References
Boiral, O (2007), ‘Corporate Greening Through IS0 14001: A Rational Myth?’, Organisation Science, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 127–146.
El-Gayar, O. and Fritz, B.D., 2006. Environmental management information systems (EMIS) for sustainable development: a conceptual overview. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 17(1), p.34.
Eng Ann, G., Zailani, S. and Abd Wahid, N., 2006. A study on the impact of environmental management system (EMS) certification towards firms’ performance in Malaysia. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 17(1), pp.73-93.
Jolevski, A., 2013. Benefits of ISO14001 certification in the Republic of Macedonia. International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 12(2), pp.168-183.
Lee, S., Speight, J.G. and Loyalka, S.K. eds., 2014. Handbook of alternative fuel technologies. crc Press.
Link, S. and Naveh, E., 2006. Standardization and discretion: does the environmental standard ISO 14001 lead to performance benefits? IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 53(4), pp.508-519.
Melnyk, Steven A.; Robert P. Sroufe & Roger Calantone (2003). “Assessing the Impact of Environmental Management Systems on Corporate and Environmental Performance”. Journal of Operations Management. 21 (3): 329–51.
Olateju, B. and Kumar, A., 2013. Techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification (UCG) in Western Canada with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) for upgrading bitumen from oil sands. Applied energy, 111, pp.428-440.
Shah, A., Fishwick, R., Wood, J., Leeke, G., Rigby, S. and Greaves, M., 2010. A review of novel techniques for heavy oil and bitumen extraction and upgrading. Energy & Environmental Science, 3(6), pp.700-714.
Sroufe, R., 2003. Effects of environmental management systems on environmental management practices and operations. Production and Operations Management, 12(3), pp.416-431.
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