If you didn’t get a chance to listen in on GreenBiz and Enviance’s webinar titled “Top Considerations When Evaluating, Choosing and Deploying EHS, Carbon and Water Tracking Software,” you missed a treasure trove of information on the Environmental Management Information System (EMIS) selection process; provided by expert sources from Arcelor Mittal, Enviance and Fujifilm.
Fear not! We’ll cover the highlights in this blog post, and if you’d like to listen to a recording of the full webinar you can find one here.
James Jensen, VP of professional services at Enviance, led things off and drilled into three critical areas of criteria when selecting an EMIS:
- Functionality: Will the solution be flexible enough to perform today’s tasks and what your organization might need in the future?
- Integration points: How is data captured? How does it move from point A to point B?
- Reporting capabilities: Are reports user-defined? Is the data accessible via a dashboard?
As you can see, Jensen’s tips encourage EMIS-seekers to look past their immediate needs and consider the big picture—how will this solution work in the next year? Five years? Will it offer the reporting ability your organization needs?
Senior Manager of Environmental Health & Safety at Fujifilm, Harold Williams, offered the audience a real-world example of how Enviance’s EMIS addresses global EHS reporting needs. With a large portion of its business in Tokyo, Fujifilm found its ability to clearly communicate information between the U.S. and Tokyo unpredictable. Prior to Enviance, manual tracking and reporting of data led to significant inconsistencies in the way the EHS data was interpreted. Automating the data collection process, through Enviance, removed the need to interpret the data at the point of entry thus mitigating potential human error.
Arcelor Mittal’s Manager of Environmental & Real Estate Information & Reporting, Paul Carpenter, also participated in the discussion, offering his insights into vendor and EMIS selection. In his opinion, it’s key to find a vendor that’s committed to service delivery. He advises that client-based solutions are typically less supportive after deployment, whereas SaaS vendors are more likely to maintain a line of dialogue as their product is constantly evolving and they keep you abreast of updates and improvements.
Overall, you’ll find that the gist of the webinar revolved around the need for a solution that is scalable and accompanied by quality service. Those looking for an EMIS must never underestimate the value of proper training, and communication—especially during the planning and implementation stages—between project stakeholders.
The return on investment may not be instantaneous, but as your workforce adjusts and facilities become more efficient, the value will build over time.
All three experts recommended maintaining a focused scope within the bounds of what will be valuable to your business. Are you trying to gather every bit of information you possibly can, or do you just want to make sure your environmental risk is reduced and you remain in compliance with the proper standards?
Keep these expert points top of mind during your selection process, and hopefully you’ll find yourself wading through the myriad options with confidence—on your way to a solution that will meet your organization’s needs not only today, but far into the future.
To listen to the full webinar, and hear all the insight for yourself, please click here.
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