Mobile Computing Improving EH&S Management
editorial:
Dear Colleagues,
If you’re reading this, the Internet has probably become a routine, possibly even
essential, part of your professional life. It’s hard to imagine that there are still a few stubborn EH&S professionals who manage to get the job done without the benefit of the Web. And I suspect that most of our industry readers have automated at least a portion of their EH&S functions.
So I was surprised when Elizabeth returned last week from the Responsible Care Conference in Orlando with tales of vast numbers of EH&S managers who not only don’t use the Internet, but have not automated any EH&S functions and have no plans to do so.
On the surface, this appears to be good news for software developers, since it seems that there is still a substantial untapped market for EH&S software products. But I can’t help but wonder why these folks are so reluctant. Elizabeth had an opportunity to explore the issue with several of the EH&S managers who attended the conference. For the most part, she got the impression that they had tried to automate some activities several years ago, had a bad experience, and concluded that it wasn’t worth the effort.
I’ve heard similar tales from clients for whom I perform environmental consulting work unrelated to software. They complain about the substantial upfront investment and steep learning curve associated with many products. Too often, these sacrifices go unrewarded when a product falls far short of expectations. And, in these times of shrinking EH&S budgets, managers are just too busy to take a risk that the EH&S software industry has improved. [But it has; just read the front-page article.]
So the messages for software developers seem to be to focus on making your software easy to implement and easy to learn, to avoid extravagant claims, and to stress capabilities over technology in
your marketing materials.
John W. Donley, Editor
industry news:
Environ.com and ESP Form Alliance
Environmental Support Solutions Environ.com and Environmental Software Providers (ESP) have formed an alliance to create a new compliance suite for the environmental industry. Together, the companies plan to create an integrated, modular, web-based environmental management information system (EMIS) based on ESP’s opsEnvironmental framework. The system’s modules will bring together data from permits, manufacturing, and support operations into a single framework that performs calculations, manages reporting obligations, and provides automated alerts.
“With their leverage in the waste, refrigerant, indoor air quality, and health and safety markets, Environ.com is an ideal partner for ESP,” said Alex Long, president of ESP. “With this combination of complementary modules, we will be able to provide the basis for a functional, user-friendly EMIS solution, within an enterprise framework, that is unparalleled in the industry.”
“We are excited to join a great company like ESP,” said Robert Johnson, CEO and president at Environ.com. “Our partnership allows both companies to concentrate on our respective expertise, while delivering to our customers the functionality and flexibility of our products in an enterprise and ASP framework. Our customers will benefit from these cost-effective methods for assuring tracking and completion of environmental requirements.”
The companies are co-developing an ASP hosted version of the modules that will be available to clients on a subscription basis. For more information about Environmental Support Solutions, visit Environ.com or telephone (800) 289-6116 ext. 1. For more information about ESP, visit www.esp-net.com or
telephone (650) 949-5900.
