Environmental Management Systems:

Systematically Improvingyour Performance

Shipbuilding & Ship Repair Sector

American shipbuilders are facing a period of intense inter-national and domestic competition. A weakened economyis putting a financial strain on customers, reducing bothdemand for new ships and budgets for repair work.Customers have started to look for new ways to stretchtheir dollars, sometimes bypassing American shipbuildingor ship repair facilities for those abroad.

Many shipyards have found a way to remain competitive inthis tight-fisted and uncertain era through the use ofEnvironmental Management Systems (EMSs). These facili-ties have taken proactive steps to ensure environmentalcompliance while reducing costs, engaging top manage-ment in environmental decision-making, and enhancinginternal and external communications.

Shipyards nationwide have already realized the followingbenefits by implementing an EMS:

• Reduced operating costs;

• Improved environmental compliance;

• Improved internal communication;

• A bolstered corporate image; and

• Enhanced environmental decision-making.

If your shipyard is looking for a proven, efficientway to improve your environmental performancewhile improving your bottom line, an EMS may beright for you.

Staying Afloat in the Face ofIncreased Competition

Environmental Management System (EMS)FundamentalsAn EMS weaves environmental decision-making into thefabric of a shipyard’s business, facilitating compliancewhile improving overall performance. Like the QualityManagement Systems used at many shipyards, an EMS’systematic approach allows shipyards to be more efficient,more competitive, and better able to meet crucial chal-lenges, such as increased security. While each EMS isunique, most follow the Plan-Do-Check-Act model.

A Plan-Do-Check-Act approach establishes a frame-work to examine the environmental aspects of your facility,then develop, implement, monitor,review, and revise the facility’senvironmental proceduresover time to promote contin-ual improvement.

Many shipyards alreadyhave components of anEMS in place that they canbuild upon, such as writtenand unwritten procedures,practices, and environmentaltraining. Your facility may also want to consider integrating safety, quality, maintenance, public relations, and other facets of your business into one integrated system.

Many shipbuilding and ship repair facilities that have imple-mented an EMS have experienced significant cost savingsattributed to:

• Lowered energy usage, resource conservation, andreduced material inputs;

• Reduced wastes and associated disposal costs; and

• Minimized redundant paperwork and reporting costs.

These cost reductions can be used to help facilitiescompete with domestic and international facilities—eitherby reducing overhead costs or by freeing up funds forinvestments in the facilities or employees. Upfront costsfor an EMS can be quickly recovered through EMS’ identification of money-saving pollution prevention initia-tives and opportunities for continuous improvement in your operations.

An EMS can identify opportunities for environmentalimprovements and help you weigh associated costs andbenefits to make an informed decision. An EMS can alsoreduce future liabilities and manage risks as potential envi-ronmental problems are identified early and resolved.According to Shaun Halvax at Southwest Marine, the ship-yard expects that “having a better vision and methods inplace for how well we’re doing will reduce our future liabil-ity potential.”

“When we did a waste minimizationplan, we discovered that our biggestcost driver is paint thinner, whichrequires hazardous waste disposal.We looked at our usage and foundthat we were wasting a lot of it. Wewent from using 20 drums of paintthinner per year to only two or three.That’s tremendous savings.”—Jackie Morris, Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co.

“When we started looking closely atreducing our impact on stormwater,we noticed that a lot of welding rods,maybe 25% of the rods we purchased,were on the ground around the yard.Not only do the rods corrode andcontaminate stormwater, but they are a huge waste of money atapproximately $2–3 each. We spend$300,000–400,000 a year on weldingrods. A 25% reduction would be$100,000 in our pocket, which willmore than pay for implementing EMS.”—Jack Holmes, FirstWave Marine

Evaluate Your Operations for Opportunitiesto Reduce Costs

American shipyards face an array of environmental regula-tions. An EMS’ systematic approach can bring a sense oforder to the environmental compliance process.

Many shipbuilding or ship repair facilities with EMSs agreethat they now have greater assurance about maintainingenvironmental compliance. As noted by Steve Lacoste ofNorthrop Grumman Ship Systems, due to EMS develop-ment, the facility “definitely has a better understanding ofour operations and associated environmental impacts, andis better able to focus in on areas that need improvement.”

By implementing an EMS, your facility can stay in compli-ance with environmental regulations, avoid violations andfines that can damage your public image, and keep aneye on the future.

“Compliance assurance has certainlybeen the simplest and most directbenefit of our EMS. We now havebetter ways of ensuring compliance,for example: better checklists; morepeople checking; and follow-upsystems that ensure thatimprovements take place. There’s anincreased sense of security.”—Kay Freeman, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

“Now that we’ve implemented anEMS, we are more confident duringenvironmental audits because ourEMS has improved consistency in ourenvironmental programs. We expectthat having better methods in placeto track and improve ourenvironmental performance willreduce our future liability potential.”—Shaun Halvax, Southwest Marine Inc.

Systematically Facilitate EnvironmentalCompliance

Effective communication among shipyard employeesplays a critical role in improving a facility’s environmentalperformance and can also lead to increased employeemorale and elevated employee retention rates.

Shipbuilding and ship repair facilities that communicatewell internally often boast more informed, involved, andproactive employees who not only implement theirassigned parts of the EMS, but who suggest other poten-tial areas for improvement or cost-saving opportunities.

Shipyards such as Bath Iron Works, NASSCO, CoastGuard, FirstWave Marine and others reported improvedinternal discussions as a direct result of their EMS. In thecase of the Coast Guard Shipyard, Robert McMenaminreported that dialogue improved “particularly between thefacility and industrial commands at the yard.”

“Through the implementation of ourEMS, we made it clear that this wasnot just the environmentaldepartment’s program. We leveragedour public relations staff and theiroutreach tools, and communicatedmessages about EMS to everyone—employees, contractors, and ourcustomers.”—Donna Elks, Electric Boat Corporation

“We increased the flow ofcommunications going out andincreased the amount of training. Ouremployees now understand whichenvironmental aspects they areresponsible for.”—Vince Dickinson, Bath Iron Works

Enhance Internal Communication toEncourage Environmental Responsibility

By sharing information about your environmental perform-ance with your community, customers, and state, youcan build credibility and trust. An EMS will help youestablish a dialogue with those directly impacted by yourfacility’s operations.

According to Vince Dickinson of Bath Iron Works, the facilitypursued EMS to give the management program morestructure, and, equally as important, to “develop a systemthat was more recognizable outside the company, especiallyto regulators and community stakeholders.”

Your shipyard can build a positive relationship with regula-tors by taking advantage of available state and nationalprograms. States such as Texas, Virginia, and Oregon andnational programs such as the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency’s National Environmental PerformanceTrack offer incentives ranging from public recognition toregulatory flexibility to facilities that consistently performbeyond regulatory compliance.

“Our EMS has absolutely improvedour image in the community—particularly at a state level. Texas haspassed a law encouraging EMS andthere are increasingly benefits tocompanies that implement them.”—Jack Holmes, FirstWave Marine

“Three years ago, we didn’t fare wellon an audit by one of our customersbecause we couldn’t effectivelydemonstrate our environmentalintegrated management program.After our EMS was planned andimplemented, we were able to showthe auditors our EMS manual anddescribe our EMS during a concisetwo-hour session. That ensured thecustomer that environmental issueswere being appropriately andeffectively managed.”—Michael Chee, NASSCO

Take a Proactive Stance on the Environmentto Bolster Your Shipyard’s Image

Your participation in the environmental decision-makingprocess can ensure that your facility’s environmental policyis relevant, that your facility is meeting its regulatory obliga-tions, and that it is applying resources appropriately. Thesenior management review process established by anEMS ensures your continued involvement in environmentaldecisions and can lead to improved operations andreduced liabilities.

Facilities that have implemented an EMS have noted thebenefit of increased senior management involvement inestablishing metrics, and plans. According to Donna Elksfrom Electric Boat Corporation, “the owners actually got moreinvolved and offered input into goals and opportunities.”

“Once our EMS was in place, our VicePresidents and Directors began topersonally interact withenvironmental staff about facility andoperational plans. There areregularly-planned exchanges ofinformation with upper managementnow, which reflects a trend thatenvironmental considerations arebecoming a regular part of ourbusiness.”—Kay Freeman, Northrop Grumman Ship Systems

“Environmental metrics are nowreviewed by Senior Management atmonthly meetings. Any variations inmetrics must be addressed byresponsible management personnel.Because of this, there is greateraccountability for environmentalissues than there was previously.”—Michael Chee, NASSCO

Lead Environmental Decision-Making at Your Yard

Now that you’ve learned how an EMS can reduce costs,improve your business processes, and enhance yourinternal and external communication, here are steps youcan take to get started.

Take Advantage of Assistance and ToolsTailored to ShipyardsThe American Shipbuilding Association and theShipbuilders Council of America are working with EPA’sSector Strategies Program to encourage shipyards toadopt EMS. If your facility is a member of either of theseassociations, contact your association representative totake advantage of the customized training resources,expertise, and support available through this partnership.You can also work with your association to ensure thatyour facility’s voice is heard in discussions with EPA aboutfuture environmental programs.

To begin developing your facility’s own customized EMS,visit EPA’s Sector Strategies Web site atwww.epa.gov/sectors/shipbuilding for an EMS imple-mentation guide created specifically for the shipbuildingand ship repair industry. You can also find many resourcesrelated to EMS development and implementation as wellas a list of Technical Assistance Providers near you onEPA’s EMS Web site at www.epa.gov/ems/. Otherorganizations, such as state environmental agencies anduniversities, may also offer EMS expertise.

Start Small and Build MomentumAn EMS is based on common sense and intuitive busi-ness decisions. Learn from the tools listed above, thenstart by taking small, doable steps and build momentumfrom there. To be effective, you’ll need proactive involve-ment from senior management, front-line workers, andsupervisors throughout your facility. Keep the big picturein mind, but define reasonable expectations, set goalsand time frames in line with your expectations, thenmonitor progress, making corrections where necessary.Capitalize on any elements of an EMS your facility mayalready have in place to advance to the next level in environmental management.

Get Started with EnvironmentalManagement Systems

Bath Iron Works Bath, Maine

www.gdbiw.com

Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company Mobile, Alabama

www.bendership.com

Coast Guard Shipyard Baltimore, Maryland

www.uscg.mil/systems/gse/yard

Electric Boat Corporation Groton, Connecticut and Quonset Point, Rhode Island

www.gdeb.com

FirstWave Marine Houston, Texaswww.fwav.com

National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) San Diego, California

www.nassco.com

Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Pascagoula, Mississippi

www.ss.northropgrumman.com/index.cfm

Southwest Marine San Diego, Californiawww.swmarine.com

Shipbuilding and Ship Repair FacilitiesAlready Implementing EMS

Photographs used on the inside pages of this business case were provided by: Shipbuilding Pictures Database, NSnet.com; Bath Iron Works; Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company; and FirstWave Marine.

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Discover what other leading shipyards acrossthe country are finding—

EMS is a Good Business

Decision

Before implementing an EMS, we weren’t sure all of theways we would benefit from the system. But duringimplementation, we have found that EMS has improvedour business by demonstrating responsible stewardship;increasing communication internally and with ourcustomers; taking a proactive instead of reactiveapproach to the environment; avoiding risk andliabilities; and ultimately we believe it will reduce ourcosts. EMS is definitely a good business decision.—Donna Elks, Electric Boat Corporation

United States Environmental Protection AgencyOffice of Policy, Economics, and Innovation (1808)

EPA-231F-03-003September 2003

Printed with Vegetable-Oil Based Inks on Recycled Paper (Minimum 50% Post-Consumer) Process Chlorine Free

EPA’s Sector Strategies Program is a cooperative working relationship among government, trade groups, and other stakeholders to

reduce pollution and ease the burden of regulation. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/sectors or contact your trade association.