Implementation of Environmental Management System: A Case Study for Construction Companies in the Philippines ^†

Abstract

This study aims to design an environmental management information system (EMIS) by integrating all necessary environmental documents for project implementation based on ISO 14001:2015 and using an exploratory sequential mixed method of research. The agile project management methodology was also used to speculate how a project must be managed using environmental information. The problems with the current operation in compliance with ISO 14001:2015 were addressed using EMIS with the participation of IT professionals. The end-users assessed the functionality, efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability of EMIS. A computer system is required for EMIS for accurate and effective document storage and updates. EMIS can be developed based on coding and simulation to make it simpler to save, retrieve, and update documents. EMIS needs to have functionality, efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability.

1. Introduction

Many construction companies are experiencing an industrial revolution. The construction industry adheres to the international standards for regulating measures, whereas other businesses are bound only by their areas of operation [1]. Realizing environmental threats is a top priority in the construction industry, yet others focus on day-to-day operations. Environmental risks are neglected and given low priority in other industries. Construction companies must determine internal and external issues of the business environment which affects a company’s ability to achieve the intended results or outcomes of an environmental management system.

A management system is the method an organization uses to coordinate the various aspects of its operations to accomplish its goals. The techniques for carrying out the business are defined by the policies and procedures [2]. It is important to have a reliable, user-friendly, and efficient management information system to improve the accuracy of environmental reports and efficiently monitor projects related to the environment [3,4]. Most businesses require fast and reliable management information systems for processing and monitoring their environmental requirements [5]. Companies continually need to follow the standards for the environment. Thus, there is a demand to establish an environmental management information system (EMIS) for construction companies [6] to offer differentiated services from small- to large-scale infrastructures [7].

Construction companies must refer to documents for the environmental issues provided by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which are the following: Environmental Compliance Certificate, Certificate of Non-Coverage, Permit to Operate Air, Certificate of Conformity, Hazardous Waste Management Permit, Water Quality Management Permits, and Self-Monitoring Report [8]. The reports of monitoring, evaluation, health and safety, and project performance of every project must be submitted. Therefore, it is important to use a system to manage these documents effectively [9]. In this regard, it is necessary to build a system to integrate the environmental documents into a single system that incorporates the necessary processes.

2. Methodology

2.1. Framework of Study

Figure 1 shows the agile project management methodology (APMM) used to develop the environmental management information system (EMIS) in this study. The framework is easy to use and organizes the development of EMIS [10].

APMM is composed of five phases: requirements, design, development, test, and implementation. APMM illustrates the development process in iteration in a productive environment. The iterative phases in APMM are as follows.

1.

Requirements and Planning Phase

• In this phase, the environmental requirements needed for every project are identified for the company to acquire. This can be completed by conducting a focus group discussion with the engineering and operation departments. Solutions are offered for the identified requirements. The solutions may be in the form of tasks or activities considering the provisions of ISO14001:2015 [11] from the planning phase to the closing phase.

2.

Design Phase

• Software is used in designing the templates of the expected reports in the proposed system, following the standards in the information technology for software and hardware component requirements for the system. Detailed design of the system is created using flowcharts, diagrams, and other modeling tools.

3.

Development and Testing Phase

• Software for the coding and simulation of the proposed system is indispensable. Simulation is conducted to ensure the system is error- and bug-free.

4.

Deployment Phase

• The developed system is installed in the company for utilization. The system’s functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability are assessed.

The process shows the behavior of the flow from one to the other phases. This process was created in this study to manage the changing requirements of the system without impacting the outcome of the company.

2.2. Software of EMIS

EMIS was constructed for construction companies in the Philippines. The system provides a simple, reliable, user-friendly, and efficient management system for users to access all environmental documents necessary for a project. The procedure to access the EMIS for construction is shown in Figure 2.

The first step is to collect data from the user, which includes a username and password. The information is sent to the database. If the information matches the data in the system, the user is granted full access to the system, as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the EMIS project folder with forms and templates. It provides a compilation of reports needed in the initiating stage, delivery stage, and closing stage of every project in compliance with legal and other requirements. Each template records and responds to user actions in the database. All templates needed from the initiating stage to the closing stage of a project are based on the requirements of the client and/or government.

Figure 4 shows the initiation stage subfolders, which compile reports needed in the initiating stage of every project. The initiating stage subfolders consist of the EHS DOLE requirements, EHS programs and plans, and risk assessment templates.

Figure 5 shows the delivery stage subfolders. These subfolders contain the forms and templates that compile reports needed during the delivery stage of every project. Delivery stage subfolders comprise the following: 1. EHS OTP procedure, 2. compliance obligation procedure, 3. safety control procedure, 4. emergency preparation procedure, 5. near misses procedure, 6. chemical control procedure, 7. energy management procedure, 8. atmosphere control procedure, 9. noise control procedure, 10. water management procedure, 11. plant land usage procedure, 12. waste management procedure, 13. communication control procedure, 14. hirac form and procedure, and 15. monitoring report.

Figure 6 shows the closing stage templates that compile reports needed during the closing stage of the project. The closing stage templates include the final evaluation report, root cause analysis, and lessons learned.

2.3. Project Evaluation

The evaluation of EMIS involves assessing the tools and techniques required for project management. EMIS was evaluated by top and middle management as well as the pollution control officer (PCO) of twenty construction companies in the Philippines, as shown in

Table 1. Respondents of this study.

Respondents	Percentage of Respondents
Top Management (President/Board of Directors/Project Sponsors/Program Managers/Project Directors)	30%
Middle Management (Project Managers/Supervisors/Project In-Charge)	30%
Pollution Control Officers (PCO)	40%
Total	100%

.

Table 2. Rating scale and description for the system evaluation questionnaire.

Rating Scale	Verbal Interpretation	Description
5	Very Satisfactory	The EMIS is highly functional, efficient, compatible, usable, reliable, secure, portable, and maintainable in providing environmental processes relative to the client and government’s requirements.
4	Satisfactory	The EMIS features are enough to provide a functional, efficient, compatible, usable, reliable, secure, portable, and maintainable system. A few limited features need to be upgraded and updated.
3	Moderately Satisfactory	EMIS shows fair specifications and physical features. There are still a few important functions that require improvement and enhancement.
2	Poor	The respondents are not satisfied with the demonstration and testing of the EMIS. Some parts malfunctioned.
1	Very Poor	The EMIS is not applicable, not reliable and not useful.

shows the rating scale and criteria for the system evaluation questionnaire. The degree of acceptability of the respondent for each statement was selected in the evaluation to effectively collect sufficient quantitative data for evaluation. The evaluation questionnaire was created to assess the level of satisfaction with the system in terms of functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability.

3. Results and Discussion

EMIS provides the methods and results of compilation, computation, and evaluation of every project and allows the user to open, create, update, print, and store the environmental reports of the project. The embedded mixed method was used for qualitative and quantitative assessments for recommendations and the evaluation of the decision support system for the company. The invited IT experts evaluated the design and development of the EMIS. The current environmental practice of construction companies in the Philippines was analyzed based on RA 6969, “ An Act to Control Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes, Providing Penalties for Violations thereof, and other purposes”, RA 9003, “An Act Providing for an Ecological Solid Waste Management Program, Creating the Necessary Institutional Mechanics and Incentives Declaring Certain Acts Prohibited and Providing Penalties, Appropriating Funds thereof, and the other purposes”, RA 8749, “Philippine Clean Air Act: An Act Providing Comprehensive Air Quality Management Policy and Program, which Aims to Achieve and Maintain Healthy Air for All Filipinos.”, RA 9275, “Environmental Management Bureau: An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Water Quality Management and for other purposes”, and PD 1586, “Presidential Decree for Establishing an Environmental Impact Statement System, including other Environmental Management Related Measures and for other purposes”. The solution to the existing system is described under ISO14001:2015’s Environmental Management System [11].

The design of EMIS was assessed in terms of the hardware, software, and templates. For the hardware, the weighted mean of the score was 4.90, which implied that the existing hardware was highly sufficient with the features of the system. For the software requirements, the weighted mean score was 4.94, which showed that the software design was highly sufficient with the features of the system. The templates were designed according to common templates of the companies and adopted from the Department of Environment and National Resources. The weighted mean score was 4.66, which showed that the proposed template was highly sufficient with the legal and other requirements.

The development of the EMIS was described in terms of coding and simulation. The EMIS was coded based on the limited use of global, standard headers for different modules/forms, naming conventions for local variables, constants and functions, indention, error return values, and exception handling conventions. A simulation was conducted to obtain feedback. The developed EMIS was assessed in terms of functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability. Functional suitability and usability shine were the most important criteria, as the respondents rated the system very satisfactory, with a weighted mean score of 4.80. However, for reliability and performance, the score was 4.66. Compatibility was scored 4.64. The portability and security were scored 4.58, and maintainability was ranked eighth with a weighted mean score of 4.52. Overall, the system scored 4.66, which was equivalent to the rate of very satisfactory. The results showed that the EMIS for construction companies in the Philippines is highly recommendable based on the evaluation results.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations

The current environmental management system of the construction companies in the Philippines requires a computer system to aid in the storage, retrieval, and updating of relevant documents. The ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management System standard was adopted to retrieve, create, modify, and update environmental documents and records in the EMIS. The EMIS was designed with high sufficiency in terms of hardware and software for each project and developed using coding and simulation standards. The EMIS facilitates easier storage, retrieval, and the update of pertinent documents in terms of functional suitability, performance efficiency, compatibility, usability, reliability, security, maintainability, and portability. The EMIS can be implemented in companies to improve project processing. A separate unit or team is needed to manage the EMIS to monitor the project in terms of the initiating to closing stages. The EMIS can be used to assess other projects before implementation to avoid unnecessary delays and problems. Further study is needed to provide additional features of the EMIS to enhance the system.