The Value of Automated Planning for Compliance Audits

Companies that aspire to be better stewards of the environment and their workforce invest in strong environmental, health and safety management, otherwise known as EH&S.  EH&S affects all levels of an organization, from plant manager to CEO.  EH&S compliance has always been important from an operational perspective, but now it has become increasingly important in benchmarking, brand reputation, sales, marketing, sustainability, and more.  

While often driven by regulations, EH&S in manufacturing is the right thing to do.  Sound EH&S practices also bring financial benefits to the table.  A safe, healthy, and environmentally-sound work environment impacts a project's bottom line both directly and indirectly.  Direct costs associated with incidents (Lost costs, worker's comp claims, insurance costs legal fees, etc.) are minimized by good EH&S management.  Indirect costs that follow incidents include the lost productivity occurring when people spend time dealing with an incident.  In the end, a safe work environment boosts employee morale which, in turn, increases productivity, efficiency, and profit margins.  When people feel like they have a safe, healthy, and environmentally sound work environment, they feel like they can make a difference.  There are fewer staff absences, less staff turnover, and an imporved quality of work.

Over time, companies developed a systematic way of complying with EH&S regulations.  Corporations began tracking key measures and looking for ways to improve their performance.  Then, in the 1990s, improvements in data technology mamagement made it easier for an organization to analyze its operations.  Around that time, corporations began to merge oversight for EH&S to drive EH&S progress across all operations.