Management systems cleaned up

 

Viridor says the decision to upgrade its key legislation register with the help of online legislation specialists Cedrec has enabled the company to record and note amendments or changes to legislation in a way that can be understood better by those with responsibility for ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 and see how these will impact on their particular area of operation within the business.

 

The firm employs more than 3,200 people and operates from a number of strategic sites in the south west, south east and north of England and Scotland which provide a range of services that fall within the company’s business management system incorporating the highest environmental, quality and health and safety standards.  

 

It is critical for the company’s compliance team to be able to stay abreast of a whole raft of legislation covering waste, water, pollution prevention control, land contamination and PPE among other things. This helps to ensure that Viridor’s waste operations and services are properly controlled and responsibly managed, ensuring that local communities, wildlife and the countryside are protected.

Viridor, which has been working with Cedrec since May 2013, linking directly to the firm’s database located at its head office in firm, sees the value of the expertise provided as integral to enhancing its own key legislation register, which provides authorised personnel access to the latest information and news.

Regulatory and policy advisor Petra Stapp, who is responsible for overseeing health, safety and environmental legislation at Viridor, says she has seen significant benefits since starting to work with Cedrec.

 

The Sunderland-based experts provide support through the production of registers of legislation, subscription bulletins and advice on other relevant issues which provide clarity regarding the maintenance of, and compliance with, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 systems. 

“The system we used previously was far too text heavy, cumbersome and difficult-to- use. 

“We have seen a huge difference since bringing onboard Cedrec, whose expertise and ability to provide easy-to-understand, easily digestible interpretation and analysis of complex and highly technical legislation is without parallel and means we are fully compliant with legal requirements.

“The summaries and subtext breakdowns they provide are clear, comprehensive, well indexed and up-to-date; and can if necessary be expanded out further by the user to reveal more detail and analysis. All this ensures that teams are now more aware of the legislation and better armed with the right advice that can be applied in their day-to-day work.”

Proactive advice from Cedrec also enables Viridor to stay a step ahead of the statutory landscape and contributes to its legal compliance abilities. This includes, for example, easy-to-follow ACOP guidance surrounding the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH). “Cedrec’s ACOP advice is very good, explaining how changes will impact on our business, how we must comply and the consequences of doing so,” said Petra Stapp. 

The extended support and highly personalised service Cedrec provides is something that’s also caught the eye according to Petra Stapp.

“We recently contacted Cedrec for advice on legal issues surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials. They were extremely responsive replying very quickly with a comprehensive summary which included a number of sections personally marked-up to highlight some critical factors.”

Cedrec has ultimately improved our ability to comply with health and safety and environmental legislation, concludes Petra Stapp: “They have made legislation understandable and accessible to everyone within the company. Furthermore, we have been impressed by their expertise and ability to deliver quickly, while the team is always helpful, professional, approachable and fun to work with.”