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.
As a facility or plant manager, you have a lot to keep track of. Your day-to-day responsibilities are already overwhelming. Then you throw in environmental permitting and reporting requirements to stay in compliance, employee training, safety procedures… And if you have an emergency or unexpected issue, chaos ensues. Like with many things in life, you can sidestep all of this and enjoy a less stressful existence with a bit of planning. The right plan will tell you what to do and how and when to do it. All you have to do is stick to the schedule.
Feeling overwhelmed can be challenging. But it’s nothing new for facility managers, whose plates are overloaded just about every single day. It’s part of the job. But you can ease the burden. Using some key strategies, you can manage and overcome your work-related stress and anxiety. In the process, you’ll become more effective, more productive… a better manager and leader. All it takes is some time management, self-care, the power of delegation, and a few other proven techniques. You can take back control… one step at a time.
When it comes to capital improvement projects, it’s all too easy to forget a key part of the process… and when that happens it can cause major headaches. We’re talking about permit management. In many cases, I see facilities running into three significant compliance issues: 1. A facility, either the existing facility or a construction site, doesn’t have a permit in place when needed. 2. They have a permit… but it’s not the correct one. 3. They have a permit, and it’s the right one. But they did not read the permit thoroughly and, as a result, did not follow the permit conditions correctly. This can result in notices of violation, fines, penalties, maybe even a temporary shutdown. Fortunately, there is an easy way to prevent this from happening.
