The topic of managing environment, quality, and safety business processes under a single management program has become a popular topic in 2008. More and more, organizations are recognizing the reciprocal relationship that each of these business areas has on the other. In a 2008 whitepaper entitled Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Environmental, Health, Safety, and Quality Programs the author uses the following example to illustrate this point:

"… changing a process or procedure in one area without considering the impact on all areas could improve performance where the change is made but actually harm performance in other areas. For instance, replacing a chemical sanitizer in the laundry processes at a hospital with a less-toxic organic alternative might win points in the environmental category, but if the alternative is less effective at sterilizing linens and a spike in infections results, then quality has been diminished"

Simply put, environment, quality, and safety business processes should never be addressed in isolation of one another. Every organization, regardless of whether it manufactures a product or provides a service, works toward the goal of continuous improvement.  Each business decision presents an opportunity to replace inefficiency with productivity, waste with value, and status quo with leadership.  One of the surest ways to achieve this goal is by implementing an integrated management system specifically designed to drive continual improvement and improve your bottom line across all areas of your business.

You can obtain a copy of the whitepaper mentioned in this post by submitting a request to Intelex.

Dashboards have become virtually indispensible to workers and managers. They provide graphical information in the form of charts and graphs as opposed to spreadsheets and reports, thereby enabling a big-picture view of an enterprise.

Despite the obvious benefits, dashboards can tend to become counterproductive if not properly deployed. There is a risk of information overload if care is not taken to select only the necessary indicators.  Privacy concerns and employee morale issues can also arise if details of individual worker performance are widely accessible.

Here are a few suggestions for successful dashboard implementation:

1. Keep it Simple. Avoid overloading your dashboards with every conceivable metric related to your business.  Information overload will lead to distractions and keep the focus away from your organization’s vital stats. 
2. Participate in the Development. The design and implementation of dashboards is often left to consultants and IT personnel. It is important to include the managers and employees who will be using the system in the development cycle. 
3. Don't micromanage. One of the dangers of being able to instantly track every facet of a business’ operation is a tendency to micromanage.  Managers obsessed with the minutiae of their employees activities can be tempted into micromanagement which then reduces productivity and places unprecedented pressure on workers.