Policies and procedures

Managerial information environmental policies and procedures prioritization of waste-management concerns automated or computerized waste-management systems inventory and distribution procedures maintenance schediiling practices planned modifications or revisions to existing operations that would impact waste-generation activities and the basis of source reduction decisions and policies... 

Management Operating policies and procedures Training for vapor release prevention and control Audits and inspections Equipment testing Maintenance program Management of modifications and changes to prevent new hazards Security... 

Similarly, the Site B contractor s SSAHP provided corporate policy and procedures for permit-required confined space entry but lacked the site-specific detail necessary to describe the application of the corporate policy to procedures at the site. For example, the SSAHP did not identify specific components of the thermal treatment unit that presented confined space hazards, nor did it describe the specific circumstances or procedures that would require employee entry into these areas. In addition, the plan stated that the contractor would maintain an onsite employee confined space rescue team, but did not identify the members of this team. The SSAHP for Site F also contained a generic confined space entry program but did not identify the specific location of confined space hazards present at the site. 

Establish the criteria for training the contractor/subcontractor. Review the completed contractor/subcontractor prequalification forms and provide an evaluation of the contractor/subcontractor s ability to meet the host organization s health and safety policies and procedures. Contractors/subcontractors must demonstrate their ability to meet established criteria, to the satisfaction of the health and safety professional, in order to be considered for prequalification. 

Have the ability and willingness to perform work in compliance with host organization policies and procedures, where those procedures go beyond regulatory requirements. 

Contractors are required to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local regulatory requirements, in addition to host organization requirements as described in company policies and procedures and the site-specific health and safety plan (H S plan). 

We will comply with NMLs policies and procedures for quality assurance activities. In addition we will develop our own ideas to improve upon NML requirements. We will set quality targets and objectives in line with corporate standards. In support of achieving customer satisfaction we will seek to achieve product conformity by carrying out quality assurance activities at all stages of vehicle manufacture - from planning through to vehicle sales. 

A signed statement by management without its approval to the quality system documented policies and procedures will indicate that it is not committed to honoring the policies and procedures. Managers need to approve the documents within the quality system that prescribe activities for which they themselves are responsible. This serves to demonstrate that they agree with the manner in which the policy has been interpreted and are prepared to provide the resources needed to implement the documented practices. 

Primarily, the designated person is the system designer for the quality system. This person may not produce the policies and procedures but operate as a system designer. He/she lays down the requirements needed to implement the corporate quality policy and verifies that they are being achieved. It is also necessary to have someone who can liaise with customers on quality issues, who can coordinate the assessment and subsequent surveillance visits, who can keep abreast of the state of the art in quality management. The person should be an adviser to the top management who can measure the overall performance of the company with respect to quality. 

The 1987 version of ISO 9001 required the quality policy and the quality system procedures and instructions to be documented, clearly identifying three levels of documents in practice, organizations produced an intermediate level between the quality policy statement and the procedures which addressed the requirements of the standard and cross-referenced the associated procedures. This intermediate level together with the quality policy statement was often referred to as the quality manual. However, some manuals merely paraphrased the requirements of the standard, some described the quality system, and others confined the manual to the organization s operational policies. The guidance given in clause 5.3.1 of ISO 9004-1 suggests that the quality system documentation consists of policies and procedures. Clearly these policies are of a somewhat lower level than the corporate quality policy addressed in Part 2 Chapter 1. 

The reason for an Exposition is so that there is a description of the system showing how it works and how it controls the achievement of quality. This is different from the policies and procedures. The policies are a guide to action and decision and as such are prescriptive. The procedures are the methods to be used to carry out certain tasks and as such are task related. They need to be relatively simple and concise. A car maintenance manual, for example, tells you how to maintain the car but not how the car works. Some requirements, such as those on traceability and identification, cannot be implemented by specific procedures although you can have specific policies covering such topics. There is no sequence of tasks you can perform to achieve traceability and identification. These requirements tend to be implemented as elements of many procedures which when taken as a whole achieve the traceability and identification requirements. In order that you can demonstrate achievement of such requirements and educate your staff, a description of the system rather than a separate procedure would be an advantage. The Exposition can be structured around the requirements of ISO/TS 16949 and other governing standards. It is a guide or reference document and not auditable. 

There are a number of ways to show traceability between policy and procedures ... 

Keep the policies and procedures up-to-date with the latest industry practices and technologies. 

Keep staff training up-to-date with current policies and procedures. 

Change policies and procedures to prevent the recurrence of problems. 

Keep the resources required to implement the policies and procedures compatible with the actual resources available. 

To keep your policies and procedures up-to-date with the latest industry practices you should provide a means of identifying new developments. This can be done by scanning journals, attending seminars and conferences, and generally maintaining an awareness of developments in quality management and technologies relevant to your business. 

The quality system developed to meet the requirements of ISO/TS 16949 is likely to be a generic system, not specific to any particular product, project, or contract other than the range of products and services which your organization supplies. By implementing the policies and procedures of the documented quality system, product, project, or contract specific plans, procedures, specifications, etc. are generated. ISO 9001 contains a series of quality system requirements, not product quality requirements. For a given product, project, or contract there will be specific product, project, or contract requirements and it is these requirements to which this clause of the standard refers. 

Ensure that your documented policies and practices specify all the documents that need to be produced and are used to produce products and service that meet the specified requirements. Any document not referred to in your published policies and procedures is therefore, by definition, not essential to the achievement of quality and not required to be under control. 

Ensure that all documents not traceable to the published policies and procedures are removed or identified as uncontrolled. 

You need to develop documented procedures that define your subcontractor evaluation and selection process and in certain cases this may result in several closely-related procedures for use when certain conditions apply. Do not try to force every purchase through the same selection process. Having purchasing policies that require three quotations for every purchase regardless of past performance of the current subcontractor is placing price before quality. Provide flexibility so that the policies and procedures complexity match the risks anticipated. Going out to tender for a few standard nuts and bolts would seem unwise. Likewise, placing an order for lm of equipment based solely on the results of a third party ISO 9000 certification would also seem unwise. 

The related results are the results produced by implementing the policies and procedures. They include documents, decisions, products, and services. It is not enough for internal audits to verify that procedures are being followed. They need to verify whether the outputs of these procedures comply with the prescribed requirements. 

All the arrangements made by the supplier to achieve the customers requirements. They include the documented policies and procedures and the documents derived from such policies and procedures. 

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the Superfund Act, requires EPA to create new processes, policies, and procedures, and develop new technical capabilities for treating and containing hazardous substances. 

The relationship between broad goals and specific objectives is comparable to the difference between policy and procedures. Goals help establish what your company expects to achieve, while objectives delineate how those goals will be met. 

For example, a facility manager may be confident that PSM policies and procedures are in place, but line personnel may indicate in the same survey that they are unaware of them—suggesting a gap that your implementation plan should address. 

Other organizations present their policies and procedures in a less formal marmer and/or with considerable variation. In some companies, each functional area, division, or business unit may have its own preferred format in others, the format depends on the topic presented. In cases such as these, it is particularly important to identify the "process owner," since this determination may drive the form of the team s work product. 

To carry out the work of the project, a temporary team is usually assembled. This necessitates developing an organization, assigning duties and responsibilities, and training people in their duties. Frequently, policies and procedures are required to clarify how the team is to function during the project. 

Table 64.2 provides examples of hazardous chemicals that require investigation when a catastrophic release occurs or when one could have happened. These OSHA guidelines should be used in conjunction with site-specific procedures. For a complete listing of the reportable chemical used in your plant, refer to the site Hazardous Materials Policy and Procedure Manual. 

If a vesicant is prescribed as an infusion, it is given through a central line only and checked every 1 to 2 hours. The nurse keeps an extravasation kit containing all materials necessary to manage an extravasation available, along with the extravasation policy and procedure guidelines. 

Again, you can reassure everyone that this is highly unlikely. However, should it occur, it will be taken very seriously and dealt with by the company s existing policies and procedures concerning such matters. 

Policies and procedures for risk management decisions must be estabhshed and be clear and simple if the massive, but necessary, workload of risk assessment and management is not to cripple the chemical industiy s worldwide competitive position and consume inordinate resources through inefficiency. 

Procedures should be established to periodically monitor all operations that may have an environmental impact, and similar scheduled periodic checks should be made to ensure that procedures and operations are still in line with regulatory and other requirements. If equipment is involved in the monitoring process then procedures should also be in place to ensure correct calibration. Procedures are also needed to record any preventative or corrective actions identified and to ensure that they are completed to schedule. The whole EMS should be audited periodically to check that it is consistent with the planned policy and has been properly implemented. The details of audits should be discussed and reviewed by management at the highest level with a view to continuous improvement through the modification of both policy and procedures. 

---