Everything in business – and life – boils down to communication. When dialogue stops, progress stops, as my team and I saw in action with a recent project. A New Jersey industrial/commercial equipment cleaning and servicing facility suddenly faced violations, fines, and regulators’ threats of shutdown — despite years of fully compliant wastewater discharge permit monitoring reports. When Envision Environmental, Inc. stepped in, we discovered the real issue wasn’t just wastewater… it was a breakdown in communication. Two regulatory bodies, unclear responsibilities, and neglected sewer line maintenance created confusion and conflict. By bringing both sides together, addressing operational issues, and focusing on collaboration over confrontation, the facility resolved the problem, improved compliance, reduced costs, and rebuilt trust with regulators. Effective communication turned a crisis into progress.
I’ve been working on self-improvement lately, and it got me to thinking - What if facility managers approached EH&S compliance the same way? Systematically. Intentionally. Habitually. Because let’s face it: compliance isn’t just about permits and paperwork—it’s about building solid, daily habits that stick. When your team treats documentation, SOPs, communication, and ongoing learning as second nature, you don’t just stay out of trouble—you create a culture of proactive, confident compliance. I’ve broken it all down into five personal habits that EH&S managers can use to get their “site” in shape.
The supply chain crisis has reached into seemingly all levels of life these days. From supermarket shelves to manufacturers running out of raw materials, it’s an ongoing crisis. But there is another crisis facing many American manufacturers: a shortage of workers, including at the management level. EH&S managers are especially in short supply. And not having someone full-time and qualified on staff to fill that role can wreak havoc on a company’s EH&S policies. Fortunately, there are some solutions.
As a facility or plant manager, you might feel like you have an adversarial relationship with local, state, and federal regulators. And when they are scheduled to come on-site for an inspection, it could send you into panic mode as you try to “fix” everything before they arrive. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, you can have a facility where an inspection is like a mere formality because the regulator won’t find much of anything amiss. Getting to that point requires some prep work and thinking proactively about how you and your team deal with EH&S issues.
