Hands & Associates, Inc. has the optimum combination of people to work with your group to achieve your ISO 14001 EMS certification, with value added.

Hands & Associates, Inc. has demonstrated experience in working with facilities to implement ISO 14001 and equivalent environmental management systems. Our preferred involvement is to work with appropriate team members through a mentoring, training and awareness process so that your team has the skills and resources to develop and to implement the system. The more direct involvement from individuals within the facility, the stronger the system becomes because it becomes "owned" by the facility, not by the consultant.

We work with facilities  to develop a robust ISO 14001 system within the constraints of the facility. Projects can be as limited as initial training to the core players, or we can work with the facility continuously from the initial training through final certification by an outside Registrar or a project scope consistent with your needs. 

Assumptions and notes on providing ISO 14001 Consulting Services

To ensure the success of an ISO 14001 consulting engagement, we make the following clarifications:

The HANDS team will provide:

The HANDS Team has a great deal of experience in the development of Environmental Management Systems. Our strength lies in the awareness training, mentoring, and implementation aspects of environmental management systems. Our philosophy is that implementation of any type of environmental management system is directly related to the education and training of employees such that they feel empowered to develop and implement the system.

Project experience as related to ISO 14001 elements includes:

We developed and presented an introductory course in ISO 14000 environmental management system standards sponsored by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce in June of 1996. In addition, we provided training programs through the Engineering Society of Detroit, West Michigan Safety Conference, Michigan Safety Conference, Jackson Area Manufacturers Association and Kettering University.

We have assisted a number of customers to develop and implement an EMS based on the ISO 14001 format. The projects involved working closely with plant personnel to understand the process and develop procedures for environmental management that had not previously been documented. To streamline the process and avoid duplication of effort, the facility’s existing ISO 9000 procedure format was utilized for the EMS documentation.

We developed and performed multi-media "mock inspections" for a number of utility field stations. This work would fit into elements 4.5.1, 4.5.4 and 4.4.2 of the ISO 14001 standard. In addition to testing the level of robustness of the environmental-management system at the stations, this work resulted in a much better understanding by the station operators of the environmental aspects of their operation. This program was designed to minimize fear and maximize learning. Each participant was able to use the system to successfully deal with an inspector. Each participant saw the process as valuable to his or her understanding of the issues.

Develop software solution

We worked with a software company for corporate-wide installation of material safety data sheets and SARA right to know modules for a gas transmission company. This could be a component of element 4.5.3 of the ISO 14001 standard.

We have worked closely with a number of facilities to develop Integrated Contingency Plans to provide a procedure to deal with multiple types of emergencies. This work is a critical component of element 4.4.7 of the ISO 14001 standard.

We worked closely with a solvent blending operation to assist the operation to develop a process safety management program. We provided training and mentoring of the customer’s core team, an understanding of process safety management requirements, regular core team meetings, and listening and recording skills. This project was not successful. We did not enroll the customer and its staff to fully engage in the process. We did not enroll the customer’s management to provide regular and visible support of the process. While the project was not successful, we learned tremendously from this effort and continue to provide services to this customer.

Our File-Logic™ systems are installed at many other companies including Double Eagle Steel Coating Company, PVS Chemicals, Inc., Honda Motor Company, Tecumseh Product., and Pharmacia & Upjohn. This system acts as a "catalyst" for an EMS and has proven very effective for document control purposes. It can act as a key component to satisfy the requirements of element 4.5.1 of ISO 14001.