ISO 14001 and manufacturers

ISO 14001 from day to day

Europropulsion achieves its ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 objectives

Europropulsion, a subsidiary of the Snecma S.A. and Avio s.p.a. Groups obtained certification for ISO 14001* (environmental safety) and OHSAS 18001** (occupational health and safety) in July 2004.

This certification procedure was the result of the converging interests of the Guiana Space Centre, keen to preserve its exceptional site, the Snecma and Avio groups which wanted keep environmental control of all their activities and Europropulsion with its strong safety culture due to its pyrotechnic activities.

With this experience of pyrotechnics behind it, implying an acute awareness of the need to avoid risks, Europropulsion wished to keep strong links between occupational health and safety and the environment as a whole. It was therefore quite natural that it should undertake the two certification procedures in parallel, which was the case from March 2003. The efforts made by all of the personnel led to a certification audit in February 2004 with the two certifications being awarded on 05 July 2004 for OHSAS 18001 and on 13 July 2004 for ISO 14001 respectively.

Another purpose of these objectives was to develop tools to take advantage of this safety culture in the pyrotechnics field to better control chemical risks and waste management. They made it easier to integrate the environmental and safety requirements of Europropulsion’s partners in the Centre. They also made it easier for firms to keep up with changes in safety and environmental regulations.

Europropulsion thus became the first firm at Kourou to obtain the double ISO 14001 / OHSAS 18001 certification at the Space Centre and one of the first belonging to the Snecma and Avio groups.
* ISO 14001: International Standard Organisation (Environmental Management Systems)
** OHSAS 18001: Occupational Health and Safety Assessment series 18001

For Regulus, the approach led to actions on the ground

This Franco-Italian enterprise, which runs the propellant plant in French Guiana , was one of the first at the Space Centre to begin an ISO 14001 certification procedure, in 2000, and to obtain certification in 2001. However the procedure was not limited to environmental issues, because at the same time Regulus obtained ISO 9001 and BS 8800 certification.

"Our approach was to combine Quality, Safety and the Environment" explains Luciano Gamba, director of Regulus. "We decided to proceed in an integrated fashion with the same message concerning the three fields, quality, safety and environmental protection. We consider that they are bound up with each other."

Since it operates a plant covered by the Seveso II Directive, Regulus is obliged to follow special regulations, concerning both the safety of individuals and the environment.

However, the company has gone even further along this road, as Mr Gamba explains: "We wanted to promote the Quality – Safety - Environment approach in all of our activities. Since one aspect of ISO certification involves constant improvement we must seek to progress every year, to think harder about processing our industrial waste, about reducing water and energy consumption and so on. This is why we decided in 2001 to build a purification unit to treat perchlorate-contaminated water, specifically for the water polluted by the ammonium perchlorate used in the production of solid propellant segments for the Ariane 5 and Vega booster stages. The procedure we’ve adopted was developed over several years by SME (SNPE Matériaux Energétiques) from an original idea for treating ammonium perchlorate waste biochemically using a wet process. This project became a reality in February 2005 when the four large tanks needed for the station arrived in French Guiana , and the unit was up and running by the summer of 2005. I’d like to stress that this was the first such unit in the world, which makes us very proud." 

This project could also be extended to other pollutants produced by activities at the plant. "Our parent company, SNPE, is engaged in long-term research on reprocessing pyrotechnics waste physico-chemically, which will enable us to eliminate open-air burn off of spillage, which is the current method" says Jean-Emmanuel Quebre, the plant’s Industrial Director.

This is precisely the kind of constant improvement objective required by the ISO standard. As Luciano Gamba explains:
"Since ISO 14001 certification in 2001, we have analysed the entire range of waste produced in our plant and applied the environmental approach throughout. This is the current trend in our profession. But the approach can perfectly well be used in daily life, by acquiring the reflex for selective waste disposal, thinking harder about using household cleaning agents that are toxic for the environment and so on. The procedure has taught us not only about cleaner industrial methods but also about individual responsibility towards the environment."

Apart from waste, action has also been taken to reduce consumption of energy, water and paper, which also helps reduce costs. Extending computer resources and the internal messaging network, assessing consumption monthly, changing the car fleet to reduce fuel consumption and pollution: by using the total quality Cartesio + method, the Management of Regulus encourages its teams to think pragmatically about all these subjects in order to find solutions for lasting improvement.

Endel: "asking questions every day"

The regional agency of the Endel Group was awarded ISO 14001 certification in 2001. This approach, initiated by the Director at that time, increased the awareness of environmental issues amongst all the personnel.
According to Véronique Tromelin, Quality Manager for Endel "This certification meant we all had to ask ourselves every day what becomes of our waste. What we can do to reduce consumption. What we need to do to eliminate pollution and consume less.”  Concerning the transport activity, Endel analysed the waste produced by vehicle servicing and cleaning. The result was the adoption of selective sorting, with some waste being processed before its return to mainland France, thus reducing the risk of pollution. Tanks for recovering polluted substances or pollutants like used engine oil were also installed.

The certification procedure also meant “paying close attention to the regulations", as Véronique Tromelin explains "And the laws aren’t always very easy to understand, particularly as they are constantly changing. We had to accept the idea that there are very strict rules on these matters. We had to apply them even if certain particularities of our geographical situation or the Guianese climate didn’t make things easy. Take noise pollution, for example: the regulations require that buildings such as workshops be insulated, but closing a building out here means installing air-conditioning which isn’t necessarily compatible with the activities carried on in it.”

It should be said that the regulations covering potentially dangerous industrial situations go together with worker protection arrangements. This means that the company accepts two commitments: to protect its personnel while protecting the environment. This requires an excellent knowledge of the risks. "To this end, we provided all our staff with safety data cards for each of the substances they use, explaining the measures to be taken for reducing risk”  says Véronique Tromelin. "These measures meant investing in the purchase and storage of individual protective equipment, for instance. But in fact, the procedure is exactly the same whether we’re talking about protecting people or protecting the environment. The regulations are sometimes so complex and change so fast that it becomes difficult to maintain a high level of alertness. We need to avoid hiding behind the laws and forgetting to assess the matter of risk permanently by ourselves. If people get too used to being told what to do, they can get out of the habit of thinking for themselves. Risk avoidance is very often just common sense."

This approach requires a very firm commitment on the part of the company’s management to make sure that these concerns are shared with all personnel, whether about the environment, safety or quality. "The personnel must acquire a certain number of reflexes. It’s that much more difficult when the other firms we work alongside have not necessarily adopted the same approach.”

And Véronique Tromelin concludes: "Our contribution to the environment through ISO 14001 certification is a source of pride for us all, making us feel more useful and increasing job satisfaction. This is where environment management is so important."