EMS success story at Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania: How an EIMS supports effective EMS implementation

EMS Success Story atNaval Air Station inWillow Grove, Pennsyl-vania: How an EIMSSupports Effective EMSImplementation

Russell Turner and Paul GrecoThis is a success story about a U.S. Navy concurrent implementation of anISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) and a World WideWeb (Web)-based environmental information management system (EIMS)under a pilot program at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) inWillow Grove, Pennsylvania. The EIMS is a unique approach within DODto take advantage of Knowledge Management (i.e., the collaborative sharingof work products, data, procedures, reports, and communications to make bet-ter business decisions faster).

The challenge of complying with Executive Order (E.O.) 13148, requir-ing EMS implementation by October 2005, was complemented by the desireto capture and leverage knowledge to improve systems accuracy, reliability,and accessibility so business decisions could be made better and faster. Work-ing with the NASJRB Willow Grove Environmental Division, the projectteam developed a concurrent approach to the EMS and EIMS implementationas a pilot program for the U.S. Navy Reserve Force Command (COM-NAVRESFOR) based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The EMS implementationfollowed the approach used by industry to comply with ISO 14001. Modifi-cations to a typical ISO 14001 EMS implementation approach were made toadapt to Navy chain-of-command issues and to comply with a well-developedinstitutional environmental program (Navy Operations Instructions andRegulations-OPNAVINST 5090.1B).

Federal Facilities Environmental Journal/Summer 2003 101© 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/ffej.10076

Russell Turner has 28 years’ experience offering general management, industrial engineering,information management, and environmental program management support in pharmaceuti-cal chemicals and to the Department of Defense. He works for Tetra Tech NUS, Inc.(www.ttnus.com) at their Program Management Office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, andcan be reached at [email protected]. Paul Greco is responsible for managing the Environ-mental Division at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB) in Willow Grove, Penn-sylvania. He can be reached at [email protected].

102 Federal Facilities Environmental Journal/Summer 2003

EMS Success Story at Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

The EIMS consists of several components housed in one moderately pow-erful Web server at the Air Station. One part of the system taps unwieldy“legacy” databases to prepare routine and ad hoc management reports forusers on demand via a simple Web browser approach. Another component ofthe EIMS consists of a knowledge-based decision support system using com-mercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software to perform Environmental Divisiontask assignment and tracking, project financial control, document manage-ment, and scheduling/planning on a shared calendar. Information housed inthe EIMS, including administrative/management functions, is available toEnvironmental Division employees and can be made available to collaboratorsand higher level Command users over the Internet using simple Web browseraccess. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

INTRODUCTION In January 2000, the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base (NASJRB)

Willow Grove Environmental Division initiated development and ex-ecution of a concurrent approach to environmental management sys-tem (EMS) and environmental information management systems(EIMS) implementation as a pilot program for the U.S. Navy ReserveForce Command.

The EMS implementation followed the approach used by industryto comply with ISO 14001. Modifications to the typical ISO 14001 EMSimplementation were made to comply with Navy chain-of-commandstructure and to comply with a well-developed Navy environmentalprogram (OPNAVINST 5090.1B). All activities under the EMS imple-mentation are supported and documented in the EIMS via a Web-based Intranet application called EnviroManager. The NASJRB WillowGrove EMS program is currently underway with approximately tenenvironmental management programs (EMPs) identified and underexecution at any time to promote continual improvement against a listof significant aspects identified by the EMS process. EMPs range fromensuring that no methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is present indrinking water supplies at the air station, to an effort to reduce the useof pesticides/herbicides, and a program to systematically reduce theuse of toxic compounds on the Air Station.

The EIMS implementation at NASJRB Willow Grove has led to anadvanced approach within the Department of Defense (DOD) to takeadvantage of Knowledge Management (i.e., the collaborative sharingof work products, data, procedures, reports, and communications tomake better decisions). Knowledge management technology is an ex-tremely powerful tool that is being applied to harness the wide rangeof technical information, communications, periodic reports, and datacommon to environmental management issues facing managers in theNavy, private industry, and commerce.

The EIMS (EnviroManager) consists of three parts, housed in onemoderately powerful Web server at the Air Station. One part of the sys-tem taps unwieldy “legacy” databases to prepare routine and ad-hocmanagement reports for users on demand via a “thin client” Web

Knowledge managementtechnology is an ex-tremely powerful tool . . .

Federal Facilities Environmental Journal/Summer 2003 103

Russell Turner and Paul Greco

browser approach. The routine reports were formerly prepared by adatabase administrator and distributed at great cost of time. The sec-ond part of the EIMS consists of a knowledge-based decision supportsystem that uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to makeuse of GroupWare and enterprise repository software to perform doc-ument management, text search and retrieval, document approvalrouting, and subscription and notification services using standard Webbrowser access. The third part of EnviroManager is an Internet-basedhome page, or virtual desktop, with a configurable calendar/plan-ner/scheduler, and a “Task Manager” used by Environmental Divisionpersonnel to assign tasks and track performance (e.g., NASJRB EMSEMP assignment and performance tracking is centered here).

Accomplishments of the EMS/EIMS implemented at NASJRB WillowGrove over the past two years include the following significant items:

• E.O. 13148 requirements have been met and audited success-fully, well ahead of the mandated schedule.

• Benefits of the continual improvement process encouraged byISO 14001 have become evident, e.g.;• Creating a facility-wide environmental policy and striving

to adhere to it• Identifying environmental aspects and rating significance• Setting objectives and targets for continual improvement as

part of EMP development• Ensuring continued interest through management review

• Development and implementation of Web-based EIMS fea-tures have been equally beneficial, if not more so, than the ben-efits from the ISO 14001 EMS implementation. EIMS benefitsinclude:• The EIMS links NASJRB Willow Grove Environmental Di-

vision users, clients, and decision makers to collect, organ-ize, share, collaborate, reuse, and refine Environmental Di-vision knowledge from documents, Web pages, e-mail,enterprise “legacy” database systems (such as the NavyHazardous Substance Management System (HSMS)), andother sources.

• The EIMS is the site to track EMS implementation contin-ual environmental management systems performance im-provement.

• The EIMS provides a simple audit location for all EMS fea-tures such as Policy Statement, Procedures and Worksheets,Identification of Aspects, Ranking Significance, Setting Objec-tives and Targets as well as tracking results of EnvironmentalManagement Programs (EMPs).

• The EIMS is in the process of becoming a link for uppermanagement review of EMS performance. The Web-based nature of the electronic systems lends itself to shar-ing of information with higher command entities as well

Benefits of the continualimprovement process en-couraged by ISO 14001have become evident . . .



as with other colleagues/collaborators (e.g., sharing in-formation over the Web with Reserve Force Command inNew Orleans and/or with other Naval Air Station JointReserve Bases).

There is a unique feature to this EIMS implementation. Generally,changes within the Navy that are potentially wide-ranging are initiatedat the upper command level. In this case, an approach to automatingbusiness operations that can propagate upward as well as laterally hasbeen initiated in a lower-tier operating unit. The level of resistance toEMS systems offered at NASJRB Willow Grove has been low, and lineoperators have been more accepting of each new function as it has beenprovided. Exhibit 1 illustrates the EIMS sharing concept.

EMS DevelopmentThe EMS in operation at NASJRB Willow Grove began as a NASJRB

Willow Grove Environmental Division initiative. The Environmental Di-vision manager wanted to capture the enhanced benefits an ISO 14001EMS can provide when applied to an existing environmental manage-ment organization. An important lesson learned from early implementa-tion and EMS planning is that existing organizations (like the NASJRBWillow Grove Environmental Division) generally have existingprocesses in place to deal with environmental issues such as complianceand pollution prevention. In this case, there was an extensive array ofprocesses already in place and functioning to ensure compliance with

Exhibit 1. EnviroManager EIMS Concept



Navy regulations. All work proposed for EMS implementation atNASJRB Willow Grove has therefore (eventually) been tailored to theseexisting operating parameters and existing resources have been usedwhenever available. In addition, several new NASJRB Willow Grove En-vironmental Division-specific procedures and worksheets have been de-veloped to comply with the ISO 14001 Standard.

Overview of Steps TakenPlan, Do, Check, and Act are the essential elements of a continuous

improvement process. In the case of EMS implementation at NASJRBWillow Grove, the corresponding steps included:

• Advance planning/identification of implementation team(cross functional team (CFT)).

• Establish roles and responsibilities.• Write an environmental policy for the Air Station.• Identify environmental aspects and rank aspect significance.• Develop Environmental Management Programs. Individual

“Program Managers” are assigned to develop and implementEMPs for each of the significant aspects.

• Monitor progress of EMPs (identify non-performance and im-plement corrective action).

• Audit performance and ensure management review.• Renew the cycle periodically (at least annually) for continual

improvement.

Advance PlanningIn the rush to get any EMS implementation project underway,

meeting with the core implementation team and managers to discussadvance planning is the single most important process not to neglect.In the NASJRB Willow Grove EMS implementation advance planningand environmental aspect identification and ranking were the two areaswhere we received our greatest lessons learned.

There are as many ways to approach EMS implementation as thereare diverse organizations wanting to implement EMS. A typical expe-rience with an industrial concern where ISO 14001 certification maybe mandated by the customer organization (such as suppliers to theautomobile manufacturers) may be characterized by management’sdesire to obtain ISO 14001 certification for the lowest cost possible.Unlike that common industrial firm approach, the NASJRB WillowGrove Environmental Division manager was not as concerned withISO 14001 certification itself as with improving the reliability and ac-curacy of existing systems and processes. Therefore, we needed to de-velop an understanding of the Navy-mandated environmental pro-gram, defined by OPNAVINST 5090.1B, and tailor our EMSimplementation plan to account for the Navy’s way of ensuring envi-ronmental management and compliance with regulations.

There are . . . many waysto approach EMS imple-mentation . . .



Establish Roles and ResponsibilitiesClearly defined roles and responsibilities and the make-up of the

implementation team are essential to the success of the EMS imple-mentation. In the case of the NASJRB Willow Grove EMS implemen-tation, a CFT approach was originally selected. However, due to diffi-culties obtaining commitment across Department of Defense (DOD)commands operating at the Air Station, it was found to be impossibleto rely on CFT members outside of the Environmental Division. Theresult was a scaled-down implementation team consisting of the entireEnvironmental Division. All members report to the NASJRB WillowGrove Environmental Division manager. In future years, an EMS goalof bringing a wider (CFT-type) involvement could become an EMP.

PolicyCommitment, involvement, and direction from the highest authority

in any organization are necessary for a new program to succeed. Thecommanding officer of the Air Station signed an environmental policystatement for posting and distribution to all Air Station workers. The en-vironmental policy was reproduced, mounted, and posted in prominentlocations around the Air Station. Communications aids employed in-cluded EMS presentations to Air Station standing management bodies,and distribution of EMS promotional materials (e.g., tri-fold color pam-phlets). The policy, communication aids, and promotional materialswere also posted to the EIMS to be available for reference and reuse bythe project team and other interested parties. This information will alsobe available for EMS continuous improvement audits.

Identify Environmental Aspects and Rank SignificanceAn inventory of environmental aspects was prepared to provide a

listing of any element of the NASJRB Willow Grove activities, prod-ucts, by-products, or services that can interact with the environment.Initially, a “cross functional team” (CFT) approach, using representa-tives from across the Air Station operating organizations, was used to

Exhibit 2. Significant Aspects for Improvement (Cycle Number One)

Significant Aspect Program ManagerHazardous Waste Gil DunderdaleImpact of Deicing Operations on Storm Bill HeilWaterPossible TRI Releases Gil DunderdaleSelected Chemicals Gloria AbarcaAircraft Lavatory Waste Disposal Jack FoxPesticides Rich KimmelPossibility of MTBE in Well Water Jim EdmondCommunications/Tracking Eileen Dobrowolsky



identify a broad set of environmental aspects. A smaller group, AirStation Environmental Division Program Managers (PMs), ranked as-pects by relative significance for potential impact to the environment.Worksheets and procedures developed and placed on EnviroManagerwere used by the CFT to identify and rank aspect significance. Ex-hibit 2 lists the significant aspects selected for the first NASJRB Wil-low Grove EMS continuous environmental performance improve-ment cycle.

Significant aspects were selected by consensus among the Environ-mental Division Program Managers and the Environmental DivisionDirector. The top-ranked aspects were assigned to the PMs (indicatedin Exhibit 2) to develop EMPs related to the significant aspects. TheEIMS was used during the planning process as the repository of “inprocess” and “final” procedures, documents, worksheets, and reports.

EMP DevelopmentEnvironmental Management Programs were developed for each of

the significant aspects selected for improvement in cycle number one.Development of an EMP for a significant aspect could include the fol-lowing features:

• Set objectives and targets for improvement.• Identify training requirements.• Establish roles and responsibilities.• Implement operational controls.• Identify non-conformance.• Implement corrective action.

Responsibility for implementation of the approved EMPs falls onthe PMs within the Environmental Division. However, continuous im-provement of environmental aspect management depends on allworkers at the Air Station. An EMP may include new work instruc-tions or forms to be maintained. Significant aspect improvement canbe documented, monitored, and audited via the Web-based EIMS.Measuring and monitoring programs to track progress against the de-sired EMP program improvements are initiated and maintained by thePM and documented on the Environmental Division wide area net-work-based knowledge management server. At any time, workers andEMS participants can access the information on EnviroManager.

Monitor ProgressEnviroManager has emerged as the tool Air Station management uses

to monitor general EMS progress with the goal of promoting continuedenvironmental management improvement. More than that, however,EnviroManager has evolved to become the NASJRB Environmental Di-vision’s electronic virtual department, containing the division calendar,task manager, financial project control system, standard forms and oper-ating procedures, etc.

. . . continuous improve-ment of environmentalaspect management de-pends on all workers atthe Air Station.



Beyond the development of the EnviroManager desk top and man-agement tools, there has not been very much progress against EMPsassigned over one year ago. This has been a result of the lack of resolveon the part of PMs to proceed.

Audit and Ensure Management ReviewPeriodic auditing of EMP status has provided the information needed

to verify compliance with the goal of striving for continual environmen-tal performance improvement. Navy internal environmental programpolicy requires a self audit annually and independent environmentalprogram audits every three years. Audits have been performed accord-ing to a policy written for implementation of the EMS (taking into ac-count OPNAVINST 5090.1B) and stored in EnviroManager.

Two EMS audits have been performed to date with satisfactory results.In fact, due to the documentation available through EnviroManager, theauditors have been able to easily access the records needed for the audit.Audit results have been complimentary of the record keeping functions.

Future audits will likely note the lack of progress against EMP goals.

Renew the CycleGenerally, a review and renewal of the continuous improvement

cycle should be performed at least annually, but there is no reason notto continuously assign the next ranked significant aspect as currentEMPs end or program-manager time becomes available. After evalu-ating the performance of the EMS to date, NASJRB Willow Grove isexpected to restart the EMP development and implementation/con-tinual improvement cycle in fiscal 2003.

EIMS DEVELOPMENT/ENVIROMANAGER IMPLEMENTATIONConcurrent with implementation of the EMS, the Air Station de-

sired to take advantage of recent technology developments in WorldWide Web (Web)-based information management tools. The Internet-based EIMS implementation at the Air Station Environmental Divisionprovides a set of powerful collaborative management tools to collect,organize, share, refine, and reuse existing information, reports, struc-tured data (in databases), communications, and other informationsources. The EIMS provides a shared workspace for the Air Station en-vironmental management organization to use existing resources andemerging information management technology to continually im-prove environmental performance. The EMS implementation has beenmerged with the EIMS development. The EIMS provides shared elec-tronic space for record keeping, communications, and review of EMSprogress, as well as serving to provide a predetermined audit locationfor evaluation of EMS progress.

Hardware and SoftwareReliable hardware and software system components were selected

to ensure near 100 percent reliability. As technology continues to de-

. . . a review and renewalof the continuous im-provement cycle shouldbe performed at least an-nually . . .



velop (this process is not likely to stagnate soon), constant mainte-nance upgrade is necessary to keep the Web-based systems compati-ble with the dominant technologies available in the IMS market. Forexample, our Web-based EnviroManager products have recently beenupgraded to perform perfectly with active server pages (ASP) andSQL Server technology on the Internet.

Internet Web-Server ConfigurationThe NASJRB Willow Grove system hardware consists of a Pentium

III RAID (redundant array of independent disks)-5 server, operatingfrom a dual processor environment with an uninterruptible powersupply (UPS) placed into operation within the existing Navy Reservewide area network (WAN).

EnviroManagerSystem software consists of Tetra Tech’s EnviroManager envi-

ronmental information management system software. EnviroMan-ager is an Internet-based information management system, consist-ing of three main subsystems—a document/communicationsmanager, a calendar/scheduler/task manager, and a databasereader/report writer. Jointly, the three subsystems provide a pow-erful collaborative shared electronic workspace to collect, organize,find, refine, share, and reuse work products from electronic docu-ments, Internet web pages, e-mail, and information from databaserepositories.

User AccessIndividual users participate in the shared workspace from any per-

sonal computer (PC) on the Navy Reserve Force WAN via a Webbrowser over the Internet. The user’s PC can be located anywhere com-munications links (e.g., phone lines or radio communications) with theWAN are available. This limitation to the COMNAVRESFOR WAN-only is by the choice of the Navy. EnviroManager is completely Web-based and as such would be accessible by any computer with securityrights from any location over the Internet. With this system and accessto the Internet, the computer in your office, the computer in your home,the laptop you carry with you, or the work station you borrow whiletravelling in Tibet, are all equally capable of connecting you to your pri-vate and public workspace, project folders, and collaboration resources.

The NASJRB Willow Grove Environmental Division EIMS acts as a“paperless” and “virtual” office where co-workers can meet, plan, or-ganize, and collaborate on projects or programs they are working ontogether. The project or program actually resides on the shared elec-tronic workspace.

User InterfaceUsers log onto the Internet via a Web browser to access the NASJRB

Willow Grove, Environmental Division EnviroManager home page, or

Individual users partici-pate in the shared work-space from any personalcomputer (PC) on theNavy Reserve ForceWAN . . .



virtual desktop (called Dashboard). From the desktop, users have di-rect access to a configurable calendar/planner/scheduler and taskmanager that can act as a useful organizational and personal businessmanagement tool, a project financial approval system, e-mail, and“Group Memory” where the knowledge database resides. Enviro-Manager requires a user name and a personal password each time auser logs on. Initial daily user contact begins from the desktop. Exhibit3 shows the Dashboard.

Each user has a “personal page” configured, revised, and main-tained according to the needs and preferences of the individual. Inaddition, all users have access to a series of electronic cabinets andfolders in Group Memory, configured by the administrator but re-vised and maintained by all users. Access to the EIMS is as intuitiveas the Web browser function running on the user’s computer. Work-ing within the knowledge management environment is equally intu-itive. To a great extent, users determine the customized system or-ganization and security access they are comfortable with for eachproject or program within the EIMS.

User Personal PageEach user has a personal page within the EIMS that is customized

and maintained by the user according to personal preference and(changing) requirements of the types of projects and programs theuser collaborates on. Within the personal page is a list of personal in-formation (e.g., phone number, e-mail address, and biographicalsketch) the user wishes to make available to other users. The user’s

Exhibit 3. NASJRB Willow Grove EnviroManager Dashboard



personal page is where personal workspaces can be set up. Landmarkswithin the EIMS can be referenced, project folders (or links to folders)can be placed in the personal page, automatic notification of changesin EIMS folders can be received here, and results of automatic EIMS orWeb searches can be received here.

Document ControlShared files, documents, electronic work products, and communi-

cations comprise Group Memory. Group Memory consists of a seriesof virtual cabinets with subfolders within. The types of electronic filesthat can be stored here include all popular applications includingWord, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Word Perfect, e-mail (via requiredSMTP), and other documents. Documents can be “checked out” to en-sure no changes can be made, or access policies can be used for docu-ment version control. An automated document approval process canroute documents for approval and comment. System security is con-trolled by the access policy assigned to each document or folder by the“owner” or system administrator.

Retrieval and Use of Structured DataStructured data found in typical relational database products, such

as Oracle, SQL Server, and Microsoft Access, are collected and organ-ized by the database reader/report writer to prepare ad hoc and rou-tine reports. In the case of NASJRB Willow Grove, this function hasbeen particularly attractive. As with many other DOD facilities run-ning the Hazardous Substance Management System (HSMS),NASJRB Willow Grove was looking to reduce the huge amount oflabor required to produce periodic reports and to respond to “datacalls” from Navy command. Implementation of this function withinthe EIMS has simplified the process of preparing and distributingthese reports, thereby saving valuable system administrator time formore productive endeavors.

Search CapabilitySeveral search options are incorporated into the EIMS. When a new

document is added to Group Memory, the document can be assigneda document type (e.g., report, schedule, meeting minutes, proposal, ornews article). A subsequent search can then be limited only to thattype of document to improve the specificity of the search. Likewise,there are five other specialized searches built into the EIMS, includingsearches for a person, a news feed, a project folder, a “best practice”(an item in Group Memory that has been assigned the attribute BestPractice), an Internet search, and an e-mail address search.

In addition to these pre-programmed searches, a general search canbe made to find any item located in Group Memory. All entries inGroup Memory are indexed and available to a search. This includes allwords in a document (not just “key words” or major section headings)and includes the content of e-mail.

All entries in GroupMemory are indexed andavailable to a search.



SecurityLevels of security, from “originator only” access, to “read only”

rights for some users, to “read/edit” rights for some users, to unre-stricted document availability on the Web, are available in the EIMS.Appropriate combinations of security, requiring user identificationand passwords, or allowing unrestricted access, can be assigned by thedocument owner or system administrator. �