Monitoring and Measurement
The first element in this phase is monitoring and measurement.
EMS Implementation Overview
This means that you track and measure specific parameters that help:
- Document that you are implementing the EMS,
- Determine if you are meeting your objectives and targets,
- Achieve operational control,
- Calibrate monitoring equipment, and
- Ensure compliance.
At this point, be sure to focus on what you found was significant during the initial planning phase. Examples of items that you might measure include:
- chemical additions and concentrations in processes
- temperature changes and extremes
- percent of widgets meeting quality specifications
- amount of hazardous waste generated
- amount of solvent used for parts cleaning
- use of checklists to determine compliance with applicable regulations
You may want to use databases to track production data. Employees can use a computer or complete daily or weekly logs that are then provided to administrative personnel for data entry. It's a good amount of work, but it supports the production quality program as well as the EMS.
How to Use Data
You might ask who looks at all of this data and how is it used. Supervisors and managers use it for a variety of purposes, including determining if the company is in conformance with the EMS. The data is also useful to plan for purchasing raw materials, staffing, and similar items.
You could also post key data on a bulletin board to show how well the company is doing; sharing information with staff helps keep the EMS moving in a positive direction.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
6-2. In the Checking and Corrective Action process, you track specific EMS parameters that help _____.
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