Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRAL - Assignment Example

Case Study Assessment Short Answer Question Sheet Describe the detail you would include in your Communication Strategy to implement and integrate Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRAL. In order to implement and integrate Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRAL, I would include an extensive detail in my Communication Strategy. Stakeholders will be consulted and views form the part of improvement plan. The communication method that will be used will include notices put at strategic places reminding the employees of the need to save energy. These will alert employees to switch off the office lights after office hours. Only the security lights should be left on. A guard can be employed to switch on the lights at an appropriate time. Bulbs can only be switched on in dark rooms where illumination is required (Roberts and Peter 124). With an effective communication method and frequency, the organization will ensure that energy saving bulbs get installed in the offices to reduce the amount of energy consumed per day. Stakeholders will also be asked to spend on energy saving bulbs because in the long run they save the company from incurring high energy costs. 2. Describe how you would seek further improvement opportunities you may not have yet considered to add to the Improvement Opportunity Action Plan. In seeking further improvement opportunities to add to the improvement opportunity action plan, I would look into ways of minimizing use of/ saving energy. For purposes of further improvements, I will source mechanisms through research, survey, external sources (Wells and Geoffrey 96). We will also carry out a benchmarking procedure with other organizations that are popular for saving energy. This will help us save more energy. 3. The Eco-TRAL Company Director has asked you to report on the energy efficiencies that you have implemented. Describe what detail you would include in this report. I will include details of management report such as the programs and mechanisms I have suggested for improvement. The actual data to show how much is saved in every section of the organization. I will also include reports on usage of appliances such as computers, air conditioners, freezers, and televisions. Another important aspect is communication methods and strategy. I will include how employees are approached and communicated with in order to observe the new programs to save energy. Some of the new ways include encouraging electronic mails, and use of phones to avoid paper work in the organization. I will also include a general summary of unit consumptions per appliance, and improvement plan of action in the report. This will indicate our current consumption of energy, and compare to the suggested consumption for improvement. 4. Outline a discussion with the Company Director on how you could promote successful strategies and reward staff at Eco-TRAL. In order to promote successful strategies, there will be a general training on implementation of suggested improvements in office to save energy. Staff members will be given notices and reminders to remind them when lights should be off. With an effective training and monitoring, the successful strategies will be promoted in among the staff. Reward is also important in promoting strategies among staff. I will suggest rewards for those who keep the new regulations that save energy. For example, staff members who will be found with lights switched off during the day, and with their computers switched off when not in use will be given incentives. This is likely to encourage the rest of the staff members to do the same in order to receive the same awards (Wells and Geoffrey, 190). It is also important to encourage electronic communication. This includes use of emails to minimize paper work. Employees who will report minimal paperwork in their offices will be rewarded. This is because the amount of photocopying and printing will reduce in the office; hence save on energy (Jackson et al. 46). 5. Identify the Eco-TRAL stakeholders that you may have consulted during your energy use initiative. Stakeholders range from the government, employees, community, and the public in general. These are the major stakeholders that would be consulted during the energy use initiative Assessment Task 2 Which Act does the Litter legislation in Queensland relate to? Provide an example of a littering fine in Queensland and the associated penalty. The Queensland Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011. For example, when an individual or organization is found littering or engaging in illegal dumping, a Penalty Infringement Notice is normally issued in cases of violation of the act. This may be in form of a fine or punishment. Describe three resource efficiency procedures for water use in an office environment. It is imperative to have sustainable environment workplace practices for the benefit of the company. Managing the work environment is necessary to ensure safety, conservation of energy and environment conservation. Resource efficiency procedures for water use may be in form of 3Rs. 1. Reduce: office members should be encouraged to reduce water use whenever possible. 2. Reuse: water may be reused for other purposes in office such as cleaning. 3. Recycle: management should encourage water recycling, especially where it can be treated for reuse. (http://www.sd.fm.uwa.edu.au/staff/green-building/guide) Imagine you work in a business office. You are assigned a task to reduce the paper use in the office. Describe how you would seek input from your work colleagues to implement a paper reduction initiative? I would ask my colleagues to fully depend on electronic mails and phone calls for meeting schedules. I would also seek input from them by asking them to put more emphasis on use of social media and short message services in place of letters during communication. Name the current International quality assurance standard which applies to all organisations regardless of size, industry product and service. ISO9000 Describe what a benchmark is and why it is a useful tool when setting targets and goals. Use a resource efficiency example to explain your answer eg energy, waste or water use. Benchmarking is a process involved in comparing one business process and metrics of performance to the best industry practices. Benchmark is useful when setting goals and targets as it gives a reflection on what is accepted as a standard performance metric. For example, the optimal resource use may be ascertained depending on an existing optimal use with optimal result Describe five communication strategies you could adopt in your workplace to reach as many stakeholders as possible Communication strategies are important in any organization. I will adopt oral communication, written communication, and electronic communication among others such as social media. Research the Resource Smart Green Procurement Guide and state three questions you could ask suppliers when embedding sustainability in the purchasing process. What are the factors you consider in your purchasing process? What are the common challenges or shortcomings associated with the purchasing process? What is your strategic plan, any solutions to the current impediments? Using the example provided in Topic 2 for the Environmental Sustainability Officer, list the position responsibilities which relate to OH&S Make work safety policies Provide employees with protective clothing where necessary such as safety helmets. Report injuries Work with the management to come up with mitigations for injuries Energy audit worksheet assessment 3 1. Complete the Energy Audit Worksheet template using the information in the case study to determine the potential electricity cost per week and the improvement opportunities. The potential electricity cost per week and the improvement opportunities are based on consumption and the tariff used. The cost will be calculated on usage per week as indicated in the excel sheet. (See spread sheet for values) 2. Using your ‘improvement opportunities’ from the Energy Audit worksheet, complete Improvement Opportunity Action Plan template for the lights, air-conditioning and all computers. This will be shared with the Eco-TRAL staff. Conservation of energy is tantamount in saving costs of any organization. An office will usually have many electronic gadgets that are used for different purposes. Computers, printers, fluorescent tube among other items consume energy. Organizations need to limit expenditure on from energy use. Employees should be encouraged to switch off gadgets that they do not use. Computers, printers and other gadgets should be unpowered when not in use. Some of the electronic gadgets can be shared instead of having them in each office. A printer can be placed centrally in the office where employees can share it (Wilson et al. 87). An organization can also ensure that energy saving bulbs get installed in the offices to reduce the amount of energy consumed per day. Normal bulbs have a high rating in terms of watts. The bulbs consume a lot of energy thus increasing the expenditure of the organization. Energy saving bulbs is costly but in the long run save the company from incurring high energy costs. During the day, it is bright, and employees should be encouraged to switch off the lights. Leaving the lights on during the day contributes to high energy costs. Bulbs can only be switched on in dark rooms where illumination is required (Wells and Geoffrey, 96) 3. Three months have passed since you have implemented your Improvement Opportunity Action Plan. Complete a new Energy Audit Worksheet by recalculating the electricity cost based on your improvement opportunity actions after the three month period. Based on the improvement opportunity action, energy has sliced by an average from 166.64 dollars to 120.91 dollars from was initially consumed (see spread sheet for values). Works Cited Chaturvedi, Pradeep. Occupational Safety, Health & Environment and Sustainable Economic Development: Proceedings of the Safety Convention - 2006. New Delhi, India: Concept Publishing, 2007. Print. Epstein, Marc J, and Buhovac A. Rejc. Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental, and Economic Impacts. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2014. Internet resource. Esty, Daniel C, and P J. Simmons. The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2011. Internet resource. Grünewälder, Arend. Integrating Environmental Sustainability into the Companys Strategy: A Study of Contributing Factors to Overcome Barriers between Sustainability and Shareholder Demands. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2009. Internet resource. Jackson, Susan E, Deniz S. Ones, Stephan Dilchert, and Allen I. Kraut. Managing Human Resources for Environmental Sustainability. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Internet resource. Killion, Susan W, and Katherine Dempski. Quick Look Nursing: Legal and Ethical Issues. Thorofare, N.J: Slack, 2000. Print. Roberts, Peter. Environmentally Sustainable Business: A Local and Regional Perspective. London: Chapman, 1995. Print. Summers, Nancy. Managing Social Service Staff for Excellence: Five Keys to Exceptional Supervision. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Internet resource. Wells, Geoffrey. Sustainable Business: Theory and Practice of Business Under Sustainability Principles. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Pub, 2013. Internet resource. Wilson, Catherine C. G, and Lorraine Nelson. Greening Your Workplace. Croydon, Vic: Tertiary Press, 2002. Print. Read More