Owens Corning - Starr, SC + Duncan, SC
Environmental Safety / ISO 14001

THE OVERVIEW
Sometimes collaboration is the key to success for small companies. While it may not seem appropriate to include a large company like Owens Corning in a story about collaboration among small companies, for three of Owens Corning's South Carolina facilities, the collaboration factor made a big difference in their quest to obtain ISO 14001 compliance.

THE CHALLENGE
Although Owens Corning is a $5 billion global manufacturer, these three South Carolina plants had already felt the impacts of a down-turned economy when they looked to SCMEP for help. Owens Corning Anderson, Owens Corning Manufacturing Solutions, and Owens Corning Duncan approached SCMEP as a group with the same goal, to achieve certification by the end of 2001, but each had different needs for a tailored implementation plan. SCMEP delivered the guidance and customized implementation that each facility needed, while keeping the overall corporate goal in mind.

ISO 14001 provides a model for creating an environmental management system (EMS), or the part of an enterprise-wide management system for planning, implementing, reviewing, and continually improving an environmental policy.

THE SOLUTION
SCMEP offers a JumpStart program that expedites a company's preparation for ISO 14001 certification. A process that usually takes about 18 months to complete, SCMEP helps companies prepare for certification in only four months. During those four months, SCMEP technical specialists and third-party resources are on-site at the client's facility a few days each month to help the company identify areas where they need to focus their improvement efforts.

For Owens Corning, SCMEP began to help each facility scrutinize its existing environmental processes and identify impacts each had on the environment. Vivian Harper, SCMEP technical specialist, then assisted each plant in setting targets to reduce any negative environmental impacts. "SCMEP helped us define the program parts we didn't understand, including identifying our facility's environmental impacts," said Steve Tenry, environmental health & safety manager for Owens Corning Anderson.

Harper enlisted the assistance of Frank Degar of Pillar Management Associates, an independent third-party resource. The two of them spent an average of seven days on-site at each of the three Owens Corning plants, teaching their staff how to implement and manage an environmental program suited to their site's activities, products, and services. This kind of hands-on knowledge transfer is critical to the ongoing success of an internal EMS.

SCMEP worked hand-in-hand with each facility to document their environmental procedures. "SCMEP's approach provided us with a more streamlined set of procedures," noted Tenry.

SCMEP also cross-trained internal auditors at all plant locations so they could easily review processes company-wide if necessary. Then internal audits were performed, ensuring that each facility was ready for the ISO certification process.

THE IMPACT
The project was successful for all three facilities. Each plant earned ISO 14001 certification by December with zero non-conformances during the review process. "We met all of their goals," said Harper. "We reduced environmental impacts, earned conformance certification, and transferred the necessary knowledge to Owens Corning's staff so they could effectively manage their respective programs long into the future."

Although it is too early to quantify environmental impacts, Tenry says he expects to see future savings through improved environmental management systems.

George Sanders, an "A" Biological Waste Water Treatment Operator, obtains samples from the Anderson plant's aeration basin.