International Organization for Standardization 14001: Sutton Chemicals Limited - Case Study Example

?ISO 14001: Case Study Sutton Chemicals Ltd. For any organization, environment management is a vital issue that needs to be effectively handled for continuous success. By following certain international standards set by ISO 14001, it is possible by any company or organization to minimize impact of the environment. ISO 14001 is globally renowned as its set standards are highly influential in reducing environmental impact. ISO 14001 covers every aspect of environmental issues and their management. It offers practical applications to be implemented so as to identify and assess the environmental impacts and to enhance environmental performances of organizations. ISO 14001 lays down certain tools and principles for efficient management of the environment and also can provide certificates to authenticate an organization’s adherence of principles. It does not enforce any compulsory rules for effective environmental activities, but provides a framework that can guide an organization towards achieving an effective system of environmental management. The principles set by ISO 14001 can be applied by any organization irrespective of its activity or sector. A company or organization that uses ISO 14001 can ensure proper assessment of environmental impacts and improvement steps can be duly taken. This can have a favorable impact on the management body of the company, its employees and external stakeholders. There are various advantages attached to ISO 14001. It can ensure effective management of environment impact which results in reduction of waster disposals and energy consumption. It can also enhance efficiency in the activity level of business thereby minimizing costs incurred for running of the business. It also paves the way for developing opportunities needed for expansion of business. ISO 14001 can help the organization to abide by legal obligations and this can attract more stakeholders and gain high trust level of the customers. Finally, it prepares the organization to confidently adapt to changing structure of the business (ISO-14000 – Environmental management, 2013). Sutton Chemicals Ltd. I. Sutton Chemicals Ltd. manufactures chemicals and this is a hazardous activity. The company has a previous bad record of accidents and poor health and safety management. Problems relating to safety measures are not only present in the production area, but also members in the administration departments have been facing several accidents and mishaps. In many cases employees had to take three days leave from work in order to recover from injuries sustained during the accidents. Among the various reasons that have been attributed to the accidents in the administration departments are poor ventilation, incorrect chairs and badly adjusted computer monitors. For Sutton Chemicals Ltd., it is advisable to use the environmental standards set by ISO 14001. This will help the organization to assess and monitor environmental issues and their impacts, and likewise reduce the risks arising from the environment. Misuse or inefficient management of chemicals can cause many environmental perils. Chemicals can pollute the air and cause bad odour leading to respiratory problems and dizziness among workers. By adopting the ISO 14001 standards, organizational activities can be more effective with reduced risks which can benefit the company because costs can be curbed and profits can be enhanced. The environmental policies and regulations that are laid down by the ISO demand that “companies set specific, measurable and timely objectives and targets” (BSI helps to reduce..., n.d.). ISO 14001 can guide Sutton Chemicals Ltd. to fulfill its mission of securing a cultural environment in the workplace with minimum risks related to health and safety. Also, the chemicals produced can be preserved and sustained with efficient management. It is essential in a chemical factory that chemicals be handled in safe manner as it is good not only for the workers and other employees but also good for the business. Proper and sustainable management of chemicals will not only ensure health and safety of workers but also will increase cost savings through wastage of chemicals. Wastage of chemicals can be reduced by effective working methods such as proper storage system, correct handing of chemical carriers, and proper usage and disposal measures. These working patterns will also reduce any kind of potential harm to the environment. According to directives issued by ISO 14001, employers are needed to assess the potential risks to employees where there are hazardous materials like chemicals. Assessment should be done to know how much severe harm or ill-health can be caused by mismanagement of chemical usage. Chemicals are regarded as hazardous materials as they have the capacity to cause physical injury to workers or can cause damage to the environment by giving rise to fumes or odor. Working conditions should be such that workers are exposed to the chemicals to as low level as reasonably possible, and all safety precautions and arrangements must be in proper order so that prompt measures can be taken in case of accidents and emergencies. The employees should be provided proper training and knowledge about the dangers arising from over exposure to hazardous materials, and also health programs should be made available to the workers. Other than these, there are also standards indicated by ISO 14001 for the employees. The employees need to cooperate with their employers for compliance of ISO standards so that they are duly followed. Employees need to make proper use of all safety measures and equipments, and should be duly reporting of any defects in the equipments to the employers. In case of any accidents, however minor it is, if caused by release of the chemicals should be reported to the employers immediately. It is also very important that competent persons be available so that workers who are not sure of any element of chemical management can access to proper advice and information. To enhance safety of those who handle chemicals in the post production process like delivery, it is necessary that the containers be labeled properly with the chemical’s identification and the associated risks. It is advisable for the members of the risk management body to communicate with the employees to discuss regarding the matter of risk control measures. This will help the employers to decide the appropriate measures to be taken for health and risk control. Although the application of ISO 14001 standards is not legally compulsory, it is however beneficial for Sutton Chemicals Ltd. if its employers and employees abide by the standards. II. In spite of all the health related risks in the administration departments of Sutton Chemicals Ltd., there is reluctance among the employees to follow the regular safety measures. Many of them do not agree or are not able to wear the safety equipments like boots, goggles, masks and overalls because they are either broken of do not fit them. Accidents are common occurrences in the production area, and because in a chemical factory accidents are mostly caused by fumes and odors generated by the chemicals, many of the workers or employees who were exposed to the fumes experienced serious burns and respiratory problems. There is also an example of a separate incident cause by a female employee who did not have proper training regarding use of chemicals. She caused the release of toxic fumes by mistake as a result of which she was admitted to a hospital. Although she got duly released later on, her lungs have been badly affected permanently. There are also incidents where employees burn their hands or get injured while cleaning chemicals, which causes rashes to develop on the burned skin that later get infected. Another common scenario is that employees often take leaves for two months because of illnesses caused by stresses of working in a chemical factory. As high as seventy employees take leave on any single day on the pretext of minor issues. In such cases, major factor is low morale among the employees. Moreover, not all these accidents or leaves taken by employees are properly mentioned in the accident record books in the administration departments. Manufacturers of hazardous materials like Sutton Chemicals Ltd. must be able to recognize and reduce the possibility of any dangers and risks in manufacturing process so that products are safe for consumers to use. Products that carry health risks like ejection of fumes or odors must be properly labeled with the associated warnings. This will ensure the safety of those who are responsible for packaging, transportation and delivery of the chemical products. In order to cover all aspects of health and safety measures, Sutton Chemicals Ltd. must abide by all the regulations set by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. This Act provides rules and regulations that are made legally compulsory for all manufacturers to comply with. According to the Act, a manufacturer is required by law to “undertake a risk assessment of all the stages of product manufacture, to ensure the safety of workers and prevent industrial accidents” (Design and Technology, 2013). There are many specifications indicated by the Act. It is required that all the safety measures that are undertaken must be displayed in the manner that everyone will be able to see. All the workers must have proper training and sufficient knowledge about the machines and equipments that are necessary for production of chemicals. In addition, the workers must wear protective clothing and accessories like goggles, masks, gloves while they are in their workplace. This will ensure that they are not physically injured from spillage of chemicals. All the risks that are associated with chemical production must be duly controlled and monitored. Within the workplaces, there are certain legal regulations which are made compulsory by the Act. For the safety of the workers, the safety rules need to be duly followed. The areas where chemicals are dealt with must be properly ventilated and workers must be wearing masks to protect them from fumes and odor. Any worker or workers who have long hair must tie them back, and there must always be one person attending a machine at a time (Design and Technology, 2013). For the management of Sutton Chemicals Ltd. it is absolutely necessary that they implement all the necessary precautions to ensure safe working conditions for both employers in factory and for members in the administration. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is an appropriate legislation for the company. In addition, the management should be showing concern for the workers by allowing reduction of part of the working days lost by a worker due to illness and injury caused by the chemicals. Employers should also ensure that competent people should be working as supervisors so that workers’ activities are monitored and control measures are adequately applied. Employers must also ensure that necessary equipments like fire alarms and fire fighting equipments be readily available in case of accidents or fire caused by chemical explosion. III. Sutton Chemicals is a factory that produces specialist chemicals. It is situated in Sutton Cornfield on the northern outskirts of Birmingham and has five hundred workers. The board of directors consists of one chief executive officer (CEO) and six other senior managers, and also a number of departmental managers. There are eight line managers working under the supervision of the production manager, and all the line managers are white and male. Among the unskilled workers on the factory floor, most of them are of Afro-Caribbean origin along with two females of white ethnic origin and two females of Indian ethnic origin. The mode of payment is traditional and has developed over the years with payment being made based on the employee’s position in the factory. The workers are not given incentives that will motivate them to work harder and show greater loyalty to the employees. Unlike the factory workers, the operators in other shop-floors are paid a basic wage which is calculated according to the working hours, and the hourly wage includes overtime rate. All the employees who are paid salaries hold the positions of senior management, junior management and clerical and administrative staff. There are many perquisites for the members of the senior management depending on the profitability of the business like company pension, a car, sick pay, expenses and additional bonuses. The rate of salary is fixed by the board of directors and the rate is determined according to industry rate for respective positions. Each member of junior management gets paid an annual salary, sick pay and company pension. Payment is made every month, and the amount is reviewed every year by the senior management. The clerical and administrative staff is paid a fixed salary the rate of which is decided by the senior management according to the current market rate which generally is twenty five per cent higher than the minimum legal rate of clerical and administrative salary. In any production sector, it is necessary that the management focus on recruiting skilled labors who have the efficiency to adapt to changing environments and also with changing technologies. There should be scope for modifications in all kinds of management policies to provide the workers necessary incentives, promotions and increments according to their skill, dedication and productivity. The pay and benefit plans must be designed in the manner that will induce workers to give their optimum performance. The incentive plans must be able to infuse loyalty in workers so as to ensure long term positive relationship with employees. It is important that the management recognized the needs, desires and demands of workers so as to provide them with satisfactory terms and conditions regarding their labor. Focus should be on providing incentives and promotions to appreciate the best performance of workers. Management should acknowledge the fact that workers look for job securities which they consider the most important condition of working and can be highly productive if they are assured of long term opportunities for promotions and monetary benefits. The salary and wage rates should be enough so that the workers can afford to maintain a minimum standard of living. Extra benefits like retirement benefits and health benefits can also increase worker productivity. It is the responsibility of the management team to look after the needs of workers and provide them with both job and monetary satisfaction so that the workers in return can display loyalty, hard work, commitment and integrity towards the company. As part of management team, I will deal with the major issues of workers in a positive manner. To encourage workers to work harder, I will set the level of minimum wages and maximum working hours of individual employees. To increase the production level and procure best performance from workers I will ensure that wages and other perquisites are not discriminated on the basis of race, sex, religion and country of origin. I will also make sure that the workers get suitable and safe working conditions, and the workplace standards are in compliance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. I shall also issue citations and impose penalties for non-abidance of the Act. Another major issue that I will address is the future security of employees. I will be providing them with pension plans so as to help the employees make enough savings for their future. Conclusion Chemicals are required in substantial quantities in virtually all factories across the globe. Therefore, the risks attached to the production and consumption of chemicals are unavoidable. So, it has become an urgent task that a systematic approach be established for safety of workers and employees. The environmental impacts caused by chemicals are inevitable and for this purpose ISO 14001 has laid down principles for an efficient environment management system. Although such principles are not legally applicable, it is however prudent for manufacturers to abide by the principles to ensure safety of workers. References 1. BSI helps to reduce world-leading transport operator’s energy consumption by 31%, n.d. bsigroup. [pdf] Available at: [accessed June 30, 2013] 2. Design and Technology: Consumers, Maintenance and Safety, 2013. BBC, [online] Available at: [accessed June 30, 2013] 3. ISO-14000 – Environmental management, 2013. ISO. [online] available at: [accessed June 30, 2013] Read More