ApplyIT’s Aurora software solution is helping to ensure effective management of industrial incidents affecting surrounding communities at one of the country’s most environmentally sensitive regions just south of Durban.
By using the Environmental Line, supported by the Aurora solution, members of the community can participate in the reporting, monitoring and resolution of environmental incidents to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
Umbogintwini Operations Services (UOS), who is responsible for managing the Environmental Line, provides utility services to 13 manufacturing companies in the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex (UIC), a large, well developed and sophisticated industrial site with a predominance of chemical industry. UOS is also responsible for interfacing with the surrounding community on matters of mutual interest.
The UIC is situated near the holiday town of Amanzimtoti and is surrounded by residential property that includes several schools, hospitals and an old-age home. The boundary of the complex runs within 500 metres of the coastline.
The UIC has implemented an Environmental Line which facilitates communications between the public and the Complex relating to environmental odours, noise pollution, dust, spillage and sea discolouration.
The Aurora complaints handling system, designed and implemented by process industry software specialist ApplyIT, is responsible for managing all calls received on the Environmental Line. When a complaint is received, UOS conducts preliminary investigations to try to identify the source of the complaint and notifies the company responsible. The company then feeds back the results of its own investigation and outlines corrective and further preventative actions taken. UOS communicates these findings to the complainant. UOS also compiles a monthly environmental report, which is circulated to all companies on site as well as community representatives.
“The environmental line is key to effectively monitoring and managing the impact of the UIC on the surrounding environment. It helps to protect surrounding communities and ensures transparency and accountability on the part of industry in the area. Effectively managing the environmental line proved to be a significant challenge however,” says Joey Singh, SHEQ Manager at UOS. “Standard forms were used for recording the details of complaints when they were received. The process we had in place then involved these forms, together with the resultant correspondence, being routed back and forth between the various parties (UOS, complainants and the companies responsible). This resulted in large volumes of paperwork, costs incurred through photocopying and faxing, and time delays awaiting feedback. The generation of reports and collation of statistics for distribution at the end of each month was a manual process that was both laborious and time-consuming.”
The Aurora complaints handling system was implemented to manage the entire process. When complaints are received, they are logged into the system and the details of the complaint are automatically e-mailed to the company responsible. All correspondence with the company and the complainant is logged and tracked by the system. The final investigation findings and details of corrective and preventative actions are recorded and can be automatically forwarded to the complainant. Statistics and detailed reports are easily drawn directly from the system and circulated for review at the end of each month.
“We are finding many opportunities to utilise our technology solutions to make a substantial impact on the way manufacturing companies handle environmental incidents that can have a measurable impact on their operations and ultimately the sustainability of their business. In this particular instance we were able to bring our in-depth experience and knowledge of the Chemicals industry and information technology to make a ongoing contribution to the control of plant operations and quality of life in the region” says Gavin Halse , MD of ApplyIT (Pty) Ltd.
“ Aurora has provided us with an effective management tool to track all calls received via the environmental line. We can now provide better response to the community and a more professional service to the companies on site. Most of the paperwork involved has been eliminated and communication is handled more efficiently. Details of past complaints are easily accessible. We can for example see at a glance all the odour complaints for any particular month in the past several years. The time taken to compile our monthly reports is reduced, as all the information we need can be drawn directly from Aurora ,” adds Singh.
Some 500 calls a year are received on the environmental line. By ensuring that complaints are thoroughly investigated, and the causes properly identified, the UIC is able to continuously improve environmental performance over time. By examining the information in Aurora , trends can be identified and proactive measures taken to better manage environmental incidents and improve the quality of life for the surrounding communities.