Intelex is happy to announce that our client iForm competition has gotten underway and some great ideas have already started rolling in!

If the competition is coming as news to you, here's the scoop:

Intelex is providing the opportunity for one of our clients to walk away with a free iForm.  All you have to do is submit an idea (or several ideas) you feel would help to improve your EQH&S compliance.  If we choose your idea, we'll build it for free! 

Set the bar high.  Think of this as your chance to make your job a little easier by enhancing your Intelex System at no extra cost to you.  Your idea could very well transform your industry.

To submit your idea, complete our online form by October 31st, 2008.  To access the submission form, you'll need a login and password for Intelex-Exchange.  If you don't already have a login, click here to get one.

For additional inquiries, please feel free to contact the Intelex Client Relations Team.

Would you like to enhance your Training and Awareness reporting?  Do so by taking advantage of brand new Training Management content available for free download on the Intelex-Exchange.  This content includes a new streamlined Training Management Dashboard along with several of the Scorecards used to build this Dashboard.  Get them while they're hot!

DASHBOARD Training and Awareness Dashboard SCORECARDS Training and Awareness – Course Hours Current Year vs. Previous Year Training and Awareness – Instructor’s Total Training Hours Training and Awareness – Training Tracking Scorecard Training and Awareness – Document Scorecard Training and Awareness – Related Configurable Reports

The National Safety Council presented its 2008 Robert W. Campbell Award to Fluor Hanford, a department of energy contractor, and Bahrain-based Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC).  The Campbell Award honors organizations that have demonstrated how implementation of environmental, health and safety (EHS) management systems can positively impact business productivity and profitability.

Previous winners of the award include Johnson & Johnson and Montreal-based Alcan Inc.

Several studies have shown that implementation of EQH&S Systems not only results in increased productivity, but they also lower costs associated with insurance, medical expenditures, fewer defective products, and workers' compensation insurance. For more information about how your business can benefit from Environmental, Quality, and Health Management systems, please contact an Intelex representative.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched the Compliance Incentives program that will enable EPA offenders to reduce their violation penalties by practicing complete disclosure.

The EPA website describes the Compliance Incentives program as "a set of policies and programs that eliminate, reduce or waive penalties under certain conditions for business, industry, and government facilities which voluntarily discover, promptly disclose, correct noncompliance, and prevent future environmental violations."  So by taking a pro-active approach to reporting environmental noncompliances, through effective internal auditing, an organization can actually save money and potentially improve their overall brand image.

Learn how your organization can practice pro-active reporting by using an internal auditing system.

Streamline your Nonconformance reporting today by downloading Intelex's new Standard Nonconformance Dashboard and Scorecards from Intelex-Exchange for free. 

DASHBOARD Standard Nonconformance Dashboard SCORECARDS Standard Nonconformance - Activity Tracking Scorecard Standard Nonconformance - Activity Tracking Stages Standard Nonconformance by Month - Current Year Standard Nonconformance - Tabs Standard Nonconformance - Related Reports Overdue Standard Nonconformance - Current Year

This week, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) levied a fine of $50,000 on a manufacturer of plastic lamination products for failing to close hazardous waste containers. Last week, an even larger fine of $157,500 was imposed on a residential developer for discharging polluted storm water from a construction site. The EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) describes itself as the “environmental cop” on the beat dedicated to improving the environment and protecting the public health. It is a 3,400 strong team of environmental professionals who monitor compliance, provide compliance information, and when necessary, initiate civil and criminal enforcement action. Last year, the EPA's enforcement program racked up a total of $63 million in fines and restitutions, along with 64 years of incarceration for cases that resulted in convictions. The EPA doesn't just hold corporations accountable for environmental violations – it can also come after individuals.

In order to carry out its mission, the EPA relies on regulated entities to provide data and comprehensive reporting on their activities. Individuals and companies that knowingly fail to comply with this requirement are subject to criminal prosecution.

Environment Canada is the equivalent Canadian agency, while in Europe, environmental regulation is enforced by individual EU member nations. Wide differences exist between levels of enforcement by member states. This situation has led to the use of environmental safe havens where companies outsource their operations to other European countries with laxer or nonexistent environmental penalties.  Last year, the European Commission proposed a directive that requires adoption of minimum sanctions for environmental crimes across member states.

Discharges of pollutants and improper disposition of hazardous materials are the types of environmental misdeeds that often receive the most publicity. Recently, attention is being drawn to less conspicuous, yet significant environmental threats. Data centers are one such threat. The giant clusters of networked computers that serve up e-mail, web pages, video and other services have quickly become one of the largest producers of greenhouse gases. The incredible amounts of electrical power required by a typical data center generates a lot of unwelcome heat, which has to be reduced by copious air conditioning, which in turn consumes a greater amount of electrical power. According to a recent study by the consulting firm, McKinsey and Company, data centers are on pace to overtake the airline industry as top greenhouse polluters by the year 2020.

Need a quick way to report on document approvals and reviews?  Download Intelex's latest Document Control Dashboard free from the Intelex-Exchange where you'll be able to do this and much more! 

DASHBOARD Document Control Dashboard SCORECARDS Document Control - Tab Scorecard Document Control - Related Configurable Reports Document Control Outstanding Reviews – Current Year Document Control – My Documents Document Control – Activity Tracking Scorecard

You'll also be able to find several new Document Control Scorecards.  Feel free to download and use them as is.  If you're feeling a little more adventurous, start customizing them to better suit your needs.  Let us know how it goes. 

The number of organizations achieving ISO 14001 certifications around the world continues to grow at a quick pace. The ISO secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland conducts an annual survey of organizations that implement ISO standards. A report detailing the results of the survey is published annually. The most recent report shows a sixteen percent increase in ISO 14001 certifications from the year before. The countries with the most certificates are Japan, China, and Spain – with China showing the quickest growth in total certificates. ISO 14001 is the most widely used standard for implementing environmental sustainable practices around the world.

Attention Audit Module users!  A new Audits Management Dashboard is available for free download from the Intelex-Exchange.  You can also download several of the Scorecards and Reports used to build it.  As always, feel free to comment on how these products have helped your business or organization.

DASHBOARD Audit Management Dashboard SCORECARDS Outstanding Audits - Current Year Outstanding Follow-up Audits - Current Year REPORT Outstanding Audit Follow-up Actions

Forbes.com has put together this list of the most dangerous jobs in America. The data was drawn from a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1. Fishers and related workers (111.8 fatalities per 100,000)

2. Loggers (86.4 fatalities per 100,000)

3. Pilots and Flight Engineers (66.7 fatalities per 100,000)

4. Iron and Steel Workers (45.5 fatalities per 100,000)

5. Farmers and Ranchers (38.4 fatalities per 100,000)

6. Roofers (29.4 fatalities per 100,000)

7. Electrical Power Line Installers and Repairers (29.1 fatalities per 100,000)

8. Drivers (truckers and salespeople) (26.2 fatalities per 100,000)

9. Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors (22.8 fatalities per 100,000)

10. Police Sheriffs and Patrol Officers (21.4 fatalities per 100,000)