Concerned about health and safety on the job?

Are you one of those concerned about health and safety on the job? You’re not alone. Across the length and breadth of the US, the millions of workers who are employed in the various sectors, be it manufacturing or services, or technological or agricultural, are prone to injury at the workplace. Not one kind of job or working condition or employment or workplace is free from the potential to cause injuries or illnesses. This is why there is every reason to be concerned about health and safety on the job.
Yet, there are a good number of security safeguards that have been put in place in the form of legislations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA has been primarily enacted with the purpose of giving employees rights to a safe workplace. Why every employee needs to be concerned about health and safety on the job is best answered by these disconcerting statistics:

OSHA is about dispelling concerns about health and safety on the jobConsidering the damage that concerns about health and safety on the job can cause to the workforce as well as to the economy, the US legislated OSHA way back in December 1970. The main intention of this historic piece of legislation was to ensure safety of workers at the workplace not just through suggestions, but through actionable steps.

The hallmark of this legislation is that it empowers employees to demand a safe workplace. If an employer is seen to be violating the provisions of OSHA or if the employee feels that there is some form of potential danger to her physical wellbeing at the workplace; she has the right to complain to OSHA without fear of being retaliated against. A host of rights to assuage concerns about health and safety on the jobAmong the main features of OSHA is that it requires the employer to publish employee rights about their safety at the workplace. This enables them to allay concerns about health and safety on the job, as they have a ready reference to which they can go back in case of a doubt about the implementation aspects of any provision of OSHA. Employees who are concerned about health and safety on the job have the following rights:

Click to Continue Reading

Risk Management in the Global Economy and outlook for 2017

Risk management in the global economy is a highly challenging field for risk managers from any part of the world. With most of the world’s countries almost becoming part of the global economy in this era of globalization; it is emerging that risks that apply to one part any one nation’s or group of nations’ economy could affect many more in a chain reaction, or domino effect.
The Judge Business School of Cambridge University, in its estimate for risk management in the global economy for 2017, has a rather bleak outlook for the global economy. The report analyzes that no fewer than 25 dozen of the world’s urban centers could face close to two dozen different kinds of major shocks of primarily an economic and also of a political and social nature.
This is going to likely impact these important nodal cities of the global economy to the extent that the world’s GDP is going to shrink by as much as 1.5% percent till 2019. This translates to something in the order of $ 1.2 trillion.
Factors determining risk management in the global economy in 2017The report pins down a few important factors that have contributed to the need for risk management in the global economy in 2017:

• • The world is producing more than it ever did in its history. This is because of the high level of human population, which is the highest ever recorded in history, and the economic, agricultural and industrial growth of many underdeveloped economies
  • There has been an unprecedented increase in crises and disruptions in the geopolitical, financial and technological fronts, making risk management in the global economy for 2017 an important area to be addressed by the political and financial leaders around the world

• The financial sector has come under greater strain in the past few years following the slowdown of 2008 than it had in the few preceding ones, making the prospect of a global meltdown any time in the future a possibility, if not a certainty
• Added to these, risk management in the global economy for 2017, like in any other year, does face prospects that are of a natural order, such as natural disasters and wars.

Global economy will bear the brunt All these factors would not have had the same impact as they are likely to have in the current scenario and in the immediate and intermediate future, if not for globalization. The world’s shift towards globalization is now certain and irreversible. The interconnected nature of the global economy has ensured that a shock in one part of the global economy is sure to cause ripples of either a minor or major nature in any other part.
Other important factors for risk management in the global economy in 2017

Click to Continue Reading

An understanding of Risk Management and Analysis for Medical Device Manufacturers

Risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers is an essential set of approaches to quality in the field of medical devices. Implementing these is of absolute importance and criticality to the field, as the products in this industry are high-specialty ones that deal with human lives. A small error at any stage can send the product, and with it, the reputation of the manufacturer and even the healthcare provider, into a tailspin.
From its beginnings a few decades ago as a “nice to have” feature or discipline that used to come into the picture only when there were issues; quality has grown into an indispensable element of a medical device product. A medical device product into which quality does not get intertwined at every stage, right from procurement of the raw material to the use it is put to by the consumer and beyond, is unthinkable today.
The primary driver of this metamorphosis is risk management. Risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers has been the lynchpin among the agents of change brought about into this field. Quality has evolved as a result of the change in the import regime in the US in the seventies, when products from around the world used to deluge the US market.
the consequences of this trade policy have led to the emergence of the creation of quality approaches such as Six Sigma and kaizen among many others, and global standards, of which ISO 14971 specifically relates to Quality Management Systems and methods for medical devices. Root Cause Analysis is at the root of each of these methodologies and standards.
So, what is risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers?
In the context of medical devices, risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers means applying a set of processes, policies, methods and practices into their manufacturing systems in alignment with respective and relevant standards as set out by global standards such as the ISO. The aim of these standards and practices is to analyze, assess, control and monitor risk. The ISO 14971 has been revised many times and each time this is done, the latest one becomes the extant version. This and other standards and practices prescribe steps and processes that need to be implemented at all stages of the product lifecycle.

The need for risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturersThe need for risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers is simple: To ensure that the medical device meets quality requirements and is manufactured according to standards and specifications and methods prescribed in these standards. Standards such as ISO 13485, various Quality Systems Regulations (QSRs) such as 21 CFR 820 and a few European standards work in tandem with ISO 14971. The core purpose of requiring medical devices manufacturers to meet these requirements is to ensure that safety and quality are built into a medical device from start to finish. The time at which to carry out risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers
Risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers is to be carried throughout the lifecycle of the medical device. A set purpose is set out at each stage of the manufacturing process. For example, medical device manufacturers are required to identify and eliminate potential hazards at the initial stage using the concepts of product optimization, and use the principles of risk elimination at all the next stages, and to use the methods prescribed during a product recall.
The ways of carrying out risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturersThe ways by which risk management and analysis for medical device manufacturers are to be exercised form an important part of quality. The ISO 14971 standard is pretty flexible in this regard, allowing the manufacturer to adapt any existing standard or approach that he thinks is best suited for his organization.

Click to Continue Reading

Benefits of Risk Management in all Industries 2018

The benefits of risk management can be felt across all industries. Risk management is a process that needs to be applied if the risks have to be mitigated and contained, if not fully eliminated. The benefits of risk management in all industries came into greater focus following the financial debacle of 2008.
Firstly, why does an organization need to implement risk management strategies? Simple: Risks can offset the potential benefits and convert them into drawbacks. The benefits of risk management in all industries always outweigh the drawbacks of non-implementation of risk management strategies. In addition to helping the upper management get a better idea of the state of affairs of the company, benefits of risk management in all industries also help to reduce the financial burden for the organization and to meet regulatory requirements.
It needs to be understood that risk management is a set of processes that need to be implemented extremely stringently and diligently at every possible stage. Risk management is a journey, not a destination. For the benefits of risk management in all industries to be felt thoroughly, it is important to understand that it is intuitive.
Each industry has its unique risksRisk management is not a standard set of processes or exercises that can be applied into every industry. For example, the benefits of risk management in the finance sector could be different from those of the manufacturing industry. Likewise, the benefits of risk management in all industries in the life sciences sector could be way different from the risk management that is implemented in say, human resources.
Yet, even though the dynamics of risk management are different across all industries and are unique to each of them; the benefits of risk management in all industries are there to be felt and experienced.
Look out for the sleeping monstersEven though risk management is implemented in accordance with its own set principles or standards; there is still a possibly that some risk that was not obvious at an earlier stage could spring an unpleasant surprise later. This makes the benefits of risk management in all industries all the more worthy of consideration.

If the benefits of risk management in all industries need to be felt; the most important quality for risk managers is to inculcate the ability to see what is called the “unknown unknowns”. In simple terms, this is a phase used to describe the ability to foresee beyond the known factors.
The ability to see beyond the obviousA few factors could become manifest in clear ways, but it is the obscure and latent ones that need greater attention. It is not always possible for even the most farsighted business risk manager to sometimes grasp the dormant risks that could crop up out of nowhere and pose a threat to the business. Developing this ability helps to realize the full benefits of risk management in all industries, because this is a quality of risk management that is common across all industries.
In order to realize the benefits of risk management in all industries fully, risk managers need to be on their guard all the time. This is obvious and goes without saying, but in the light of the fact that some risks can become enormous and uncontrollable at later stages, it is best for risk managers to understand ways of deriving the benefits of risk management in all industries.

Click to Continue Reading

Ways of managing risk in construction projects

The ways of managing risk in construction projects need to be drilled down into the systems that are used in construction projects. Managing risk in construction projects entails not just ensuring the physical safety of the workers involved in the construction project, but goes much beyond.
Projects that are executed on time and in compliance with safety regulations go a long way in contributing to the creation and building of infrastructure projects that are vital to an economy and for ensuring the smooth movement of goods and services and the overall conduct of life for people in the country. On the other hand, delays and cost overruns in construction projects, which are a direct result of not managing risk in construction projects, set the project backwards, leading to higher cost on the project, added labor costs and delays in implementing infrastructure.
Inherent risks in construction projectsA proper grasp of the inherent risk is often the first means to managing risk in construction projects. Some of the risk factors in construction include:

Implementing risk management in construction projectsIn line with risk management principles laid out in many other industries; managing risk in construction projects also involves taking a few steps and implementing processes and safety standards.
It is important to note that like in many other industries, when managing risk in construction projects, one has to take the important factor of variables into consideration. That is, risk factors keep changing over the duration of the project, meaning that risk factors are hardly ever static.
The process of managing risk in construction projectsLike in most other industries in which systematic application of risk management principles is called for; managing risk in construction projects also requires professionals in this industry to do the same. The steps start with:
Risk assessmentBeing the foremost among the means of managing risk in construction projects; risk assessment is a comprehensive set of steps which starts with understanding the hazards. Hazards, as we know, are all pervasive in the construction industry, and are the precursors to a risk. While a hazard is the possibility of an adverse event; a risk is the actual occurrence of that event. So, managing risk in construction projects involves looking at the issue from the hazard stage.
It involves the following:
Risk assessment:

Project controls:

Risk mitigation Viewed from the overall perspective of ensuring safety and quality and also in view of the importance of the industry to the economy; managing risk in construction projects is a major exercise that needs to be handled with care and precision.

Click to Continue Reading

How is Risk Management Important to Project Success?

The answer to how risk management is important to project success is best illustrated by the fact that no project has ever succeeded without proper risk management. In other words, project management into which risk assessment has not gone in is as good as a doomed one.
Risk management’s importance to project success can never be overstated. Success at any project is unthinkable and unimaginable without proper and critical risk management. Risk management is a means by which the risks that accrue into a project are foreseen, assessed and mitigated, so that the project does not run into hitches at later stages, from where it would be all but impossible to rectify the same.
Understand what risk is, first
The answer to the question of how risk management is important to project success has to start with a basic understanding of risk. In the context of project management, risk, as we all know, is the occurrence of a danger or an unwanted, undesired event in a project. It succeeds or is the next stage of a hazard, which is described as the potential for or the possibility of an event to cause danger.
How risk management is important to project success is to be understood from the standpoint of the fact that absolutely every activity, not only something concerning project management, has a risk. There are risks in simple and completely mundane activities such as brushing one’s teeth or putting a baby to sleep.
Diligence and thoroughness are important elements of risk management
In order to manage a project successfully, the first step is carrying out risk management thoroughly and diligently. Risk management, if done properly, is the first and most fundamental aspect of success in a project. It is mainly about taking identifying, analyzing and mitigating risks in a business vis-à-vis its strengths and weaknesses.
It is accepted in the discipline of risk management that risks cannot be completely eliminated. However, having a sound risk management plan helps to anticipate and be prepared for risks. The ways in which this is done mainly depends on the kind of project which the organization is carrying out, and the risk manager’s ability to understand it in its fullness and implement risk mitigation strategies effectively.
Palpable benefitsRisk management’s importance to project success is illustrated by the following benefits of carrying out a Risk Analysis:

The stages of risk managementGiven the importance of risk management to project success; it is important to understand and implement risk management in its stages: Planning:This involves understanding the importance of risk management to project success by planning the risk management in terms of its size. It is generally true that the bigger the project from the operational, logistical and financial perspectives; the greater the risk, and vice versa.
Preparing: The next stage of risk management is to prepare for it. The right knowledge of the project in all its detail helps project managers to prepare for any exigency and for taking steps to mitigate its effects.
Measuring the result: Judicious and farsighted project managers measure the fallout of a risk management activity by what it fetches. If a risk management activity has accrued a certain expense that cannot be justified in the light of the benefit it brought, then such a risk management action is not effective and has not understood the importance of risk management to project success.
Evaluating the impact: A risk management plan may have been planned, prepared and executed very diligently, but risk managers ask what impact such an action had on the project, and eventually, on the organization. How many resources did it consume? How much time did it take? What kind of risk did it mitigate and what was the impact of this risk, had it been allowed to continue? These are some of the questions insightful risk managers ask. This perceptiveness is a result of their sharp understanding of how work management is important to project success.

Click to Continue Reading

Risk management methods and tools in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries

Understanding and implementing risk management methods and tools is crucial for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries in view of the fact that errors in this area can lead to dangers for human life. Since any mistake in any chain of in this industry can lead to serious consequences; the FDA and other regulatory agencies have created a number of risk management methods and tools for these industries.
A few commonly used risk management methodsIn the pharmaceutical and life sciences area, a few commonly used risk management methods and tools for organizing data and using these to help in decision-making include the following:

• Flowcharts
• Checklists or check sheets
• Mapping of the process
• Fish bone diagram or Ishikawa diagram.

A few popular risk management methods and toolsIn the field of pharmaceuticals and life sciences, these can be said to be some of the more popularly used risk management methods and tools:
Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)FMEA is a popular one among the risk management methods and tools mainly because it provides a methodology for assessing a potential failure mode for the process that goes into the manufacturing of the pharma or life sciences product and helps to analyze their possible impact on the product’s ability to perform to its required standard.
Identification and establishment of failure modes are taken as the basis for using risk reduction techniques for eliminating, containing, reducing or controlling the possible failures. Since FMEA depends on a deep understanding of the product and the process; its main steps include dissembling complex processes into simpler and comprehensible ones. For this reason, FMEA is considered a potent risk management method and tool.
Failure, Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA)Extending the concept of FMEA a little farther, the Failure, Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) takes into account the added feature of the extent of gravity of the consequences of a fault or failure, along with the possibility of their occurrence, as well as the chance of their detection. While this is the slight extension that the FMECA brings to FMEA; it is similar to it in other respects, namely:
FMECA too, like FMEA, uses identification and establishment of the process specification to identify risks and failures
FMECA too uses the method of breaking down difficult processes to easier ones to enable better understanding of the failures and risks.
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA)Fault Tree Analysis is another of the risk management methods and tools. What this tool does is that it takes up a single fault at a time for analysis, but links the chains that cause the fault. This is why it gets its name, wherein the results of the analysis are represented in a shape of a tree, in which each level of fault is described with possibilities. A sharp and incisive analytical bent of mind is required to create the FTA.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)HACCP is yet another important one among the risk management methods and tools. It takes a systematic and proactive approach in ensuring the following in a product:

It is considered a comprehensive risk management method and tool because it addresses all the issues relating to risk management methods and tools, applying scientific principles and methods for carrying out the following: Controlling of the risk or the negative outcomes of hazard, which could be due to any of these:

Supporting statistical tools
While all the risk management methods and tools described above are a snapshot of some of the major ones, a few supporting statistical tools, too, are used to engender quality risk management. These are some of them:

• Design of Experiments (DoE)
• Control charts
• Process capability analysis
• Pareto charts
• Histograms

Click to Continue Reading

It is important for organizations to validate their own Excel Spreadsheet Application

Organizations that validate their Excel spreadsheet applications stay compliant with FDA requirements,avoid 483’s and save two-thirds of the cost and time on validation.
A critical requirement from the FDA is validation of electronic records. These electronic records have to be compliant with the set of FDA Code of Federal Regulations, the 21 CFR Part 11.
The industries in which this is needed are the following:

• Pharmaceutical
• Biotech
• Medical device
• CRO
• Life sciences or related FDA-regulated organizations

Being knowledgeable about configuring an organization’s Excel spreadsheet application becomes a key requirement for organizations to not only meet FDA requirements, but avoid 483’s as well.

A word about 21 CFR Part 11

Complying with 21 CFR Part 11 is a quintessential part of validation of Excel spreadsheet application. 21 CFR Part 11 is a set of FDA requirements. The FDA requires compliance with this Part if the kinds of organizations shown above are to be considered as being compliant with their electronic records. These electronic records could be used for a variety of purposes, and hence their genuineness and authenticity is very crucial to ensure that they are the same as paper records.
Validation of Excel spreadsheet application is important because electronic records are prone to various kinds of manipulation. Staying compliant with 21 CFR Part 11 is what validation of Excel spreadsheets essentially means.
Since globally, organizations are graduating to electronic records and phasing paper records out; implementation of electronic records is inevitable. The long-term impact of paper records and the speed of communication make this even more so. It is estimated that when organizations validate Excel spreadsheet applications using appropriate and well-designed validation templates; they save up to two-thirds of the validation time and costs.

What does compliance entail?

The first step to this is configuring the organization’s Excel spreadsheet application as prescribed by the FDA. A risk-based validation approach is the right step, as it reduces and can even eliminate risks.
Coming to the validation of Excel spreadsheet applications, the organization should devise a methodology by which it creates these kinds of documentation into their Excel application:

Click to Continue Reading

What is Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)?

The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is a significant milestone in the detection and prevention of hazardous chemicals. The US Congress enacted this law in the wake of the Bhopal disaster in India. It seeks to involve the local community in its efforts.
The core aim of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is to help local communities organize their activities and prepare for chemical emergencies. Because of the nature and consequences of chemical disasters that can have profound consequences for the local community; the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act focuses on the reporting aspect.
Involvement of the local communitiesOne of the major requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act is that of industries, which have to report storage, use and release of harmful chemicals to the local bodies, as well as the state and even federal governmental agencies, so that they allow residents to take the necessary steps for the preparing for the emergencies these substances may cause.
Background to the enactment of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 
The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, which was authorized by Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA); is rooted in the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984, which happened thousands of miles away, in distant India. The widespread loss the gas leakage caused to life alerted the US authorities about the dangers of not having laws to regulate the handling of dangerous chemicals and implementing the laws.
Making note of the severe deficiencies in the ways in which a substance as dangerous as methylisocyanate at the Union Carbide plant, which caused the huge loss to life was stored and used; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was determined to prevent such a disaster in the US. The US Congress incorporated several key provisions in the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act which make it mandatory for industries to report on the usage and storage of chemicals to the local communities.

The SERC as the ombudsman
As a step towards implementation of the EPCRA, each state is required to appoint a State Emergency Response Commission (SERC). The EPCRA requires these SERCs to divide their states into Emergency Planning Districts. Each SERC has to also name a Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for each of the districts. The federal, state and local governments, as well as the industry and tribes are now under the ambit of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. One of its main provisions, the “Community Right to Know” provision states the conditions and means by which to report chemicals and other hazardous substances. The aim of this provision is to heighten the public awareness of and access to information about these substances, their use and their release, in the local community, so that a disaster can be averted. In case a disaster still happens, its fallouts can be contained.
Key provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know ActThe Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act has a few important provisions. These are the key provisions:

Click to Continue Reading

OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems

Respiratory protection safety management system is a need for people who work in areas that require respiratory systems. Such people are exposed to various types of contamination, because of which they will be required to put on protective systems. The aim of OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems is to set out Quality Systems for respiratory safety management that offer engineering control measures.
OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems is set out in 29 CFR 1910.134. This standard describes the guidelines aimed at protecting workers who are required to work in hazardous environments. OSHA prescribes a respirator in the event of a person being required to work in conditions in which pollutants that cause respiratory issues are present.
Conditions in which respirators are required
These include mists, dust, fog, gases, sprays, vapors, etc. An employer who employs people who work in these conditions is expected to provide respirators to such employees. The employer may either provide these respiratory systems or allow the employee to use one of his own, so long as the product is of satisfactory quality standards. OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems has a lot of detailed information about all aspects of the respirator. One of the requirements of OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems is that the respirator should be NIOSH-certified.
OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems deals with important aspects of a respirator, such as why it is necessary, how to wear one, the respirator’s abilities and limitations, the medical condition of the personnel required to use it, how to clean it, how to repair it, how to recognize situations in which it will not be able to deliver its optimal performance, and so on.
Onus on the employer
One of the highlights of OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems is that it requires the employer to put in place a respiratory protection program. Each employer whose workplace has conditions that are hazardous to the respiratory system has to establish a written document that specifies what kind of respiratory system protection he has put in place at the facility. Procedures that are specific to the facility or workplace have to be described in this program.

A program administrator, who is a qualified person, will be in charge of administering OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems. Only someone who is qualified, experienced and well versed in the use of respirators will be appointed to this position. This official will be tasked with carrying out and overseeing the implementation of respiratory systems as part of OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems. Respirators for Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) need to be provided whenever and wherever necessary. The conditions that necessitate the issuance of IDLH respirators are spelt out by the OSHA’s standard on Respiratory Protection Safety Management Systems:

Click to Continue Reading

What is an Environmental Impact Statement?

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is an important tool that has the objective of making certain federal and other activities more responsible towards the environment. Created in the background of increased awareness of the profound awareness of lifestyles and the workplace of Americans in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, when a series of laws and regulations were framed in these areas; the Environmental Impact Statement is a tool that assures better utilization of the environment. It synergizes the environmental, business, and social and cultural aspects.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is a statement that is prepared to describe and explain the impact an activity has on the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers an “impact” in this context as any activity that results in some kind of consequence to the environment. So, what is the environment according to the EPA? It includes any or all of these:
The last of these is the biggest differentiator between this and other legislations in this area. The Environmental Impact Statement is the culmination of thought that has gone into Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The cultural and human aspects of any activity on the environment are considered its most important aspect.
When an impact is made on the environment, it is natural to associate the word “impact” in this context with something that is negative. But it is not so for the EPA. An environmental impact can be either positive or negative, and the activity that causes either has of these has to report it.
Apart from defining what an impact is; the EPA also describes what is to be done to mitigate a negative impact.
The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) brought about the Environmental Impact Statement. The NEPA was promulgated in 1969. The highlight of NEPA regulations is that they take the whole spectrum of human activity on the environment into consideration, and as such, require the appropriate federal agencies to discuss the effects of a proposed action on the environment.
NEPA also offers a broad scope for fairly reasonable alternatives in an EIS. It requires those involved in any activity that comes under the scope of the NEPA to include comprehensive information in the EIS so that the Environmental Impact Statement reviewers have enough material to evaluate the merits that each alternative offers.
Elements of an EISAn Environmental Impact Statement needs to have the following elements:

• Cover sheet, which includes information about the activity and its stakeholders and contact details
• Summary, in which the scope of the activity is to be mentioned, along with the areas of dispute or contention
• Table of contents
• Purpose and need statement, which explains the need and nature of the activity
• Alternatives, which explain the various alternatives that can be taken up
• Environment that gets affected
• List of persons, organizations and agencies to which the Environmental Impact Statement was sent
• Appendices if required

Supplement to the EISThe Environmental Impact Statement may have a supplement added to it in the event of the following:
Current situation of the Environmental Impact Statement and prospectsThe Environmental Impact Statement is hailed as an important tool that goes a long way in taking the human, social and cultural aspects an activity has on the environment into consideration in a more holistic manner than other laws. Yet, given that the Environmental Impact Statement concept came into being many years before the advent of the Internet; there is sufficient scope for improving its functions and utilities in the years to come. With the Internet having spawned many technologies and tools such as spatial data and GIS; the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement has got expanded further. The EPA has a greater opportunity coming up with the use of these technologies.

Click to Continue Reading

What is Accounting Fraud and How to Prevent Financial Statement Fraud

Key Takeaway: An understanding of what is accounting fraud and how to prevent financial statement fraud is an important lesson for managements across the world, in any kind of business. In the simplest terms, accounting fraud is the practice of manipulating accounting records so that the actual financial condition is hid from the investors, the public or the other stakeholders and a false picture, which shows the company to be in a falsely healthy condition, is presented in the books.
Financial management can go haywire if the proper steps for preventing accounting fraud are not taken. Companies need to have a solid understanding of how to prevent financial statement fraud, or else their hard work and effort go down the drain, and making up for lost financial gains becomes a herculean task.
Accounting fraud is perhaps as old as accounting itself. However, with the American corporate sector having committed financial misdoings of an unprecedented scale starting from about the late 1990’s, the need for an actual congressional legislation was deemed necessary to prevent the onslaught of these financial scandals, most of which were the result of accounting frauds carried out on the financial statements of the companies that carried out these scandals.
A long list of corporate frauds 
Manipulating the balance sheet has been at the core of most accounting frauds that shook the American corporate sector and culminated in the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act:

• The Waste Management scandal
• Enron
• WorldCom
• Tyco
• HealthSouth
• Freddie Mac
• AIG
• Lehman Brothers
• Bernie Madoff
• Halliburton

Accountants can manipulate their financial statements and carry out a number of fraudulent activities that can be termed as accounting fraud. These are some of the practices that are common among accounting professionals who got caught by these famous scandals:

Internal controlsInternal controls in the form of deep and thorough scrutiny of the accounts records is the surest means for ensuring that the financial statement fraud does not take place. Staying compliant with the provisions of the SOX Act is another step in the right direction. Many companies supplement these by putting sound investigational techniques in place. Companies can keep many checks and controls in place in the form of internal controls. They can ensure that the financial statements are vetted at various levels, starting with the accounts clerk and going all the way to the CFO. Not all types of accounts may need intervention from the CFO, but those that don’t can be handled by those in Finance who report to the CFO.
Making accounts pass through more than one sourceCrosschecking or double-checking accounts is another means of preventing financial statement fraud. The company can make a rule by which financial statements such as purchase records get checked by more than one person, with the aim of putting curbs on passing bills. When bills have to go through more than one person or level, there is a good chance of immediately detecting a fraud or a potential one. These employees can collude and cause a fraud anyway, but this is comparatively difficult, as in theory and practice, everyone through whom the bills get passed has to be involved to commit the fraud.
AuditsAudits, both internal and external, are another means of preventing financial statement fraud. When audits are carried out internally and checked by an independent, outside agency; a check is put in place, making financial statement fraud that much more difficult to commit.
Whistleblowing 
When organizations put a good whistleblower culture in place, it can be a very strong deterrent at preventing financial statement fraud. This is not the easiest of practices to implement, but is strong one when it is implemented well. Ensuring security and protections for the whistleblowers, plus fixing rewards for their act is a means for motivating employees to take part in whistleblowing. To prevent misuse, the management can also put a system in place where wrongly called out whistleblowing results in penalties.

Click to Continue Reading

What is a Performance and Talent Management System?

Performance and talent management systems have been acquiring importance of late as management systems that help track employee performance in a more comprehensive manner than human resources management systems (HRIS). Where a performance and talent management system differs from an HRIS is that while the latter takes the physical aspects of the employee records into consideration; a performance and talent management system goes beyond just the numbers and incorporates the qualitative aspects of tracking everything from recruitment to retirement.
A performance and talent management system is meant to help overcome the shortfalls of an HRIS. An HRIS is primarily meant to input physical values relating to the employee, such as time in and time out, payroll, deductions and such other items. A performance and talent management system is more of a strategic inputter for the enterprise. It helps to locate, invite and nurture talent, and then helps HR to measure and quantify these and arrive at reasonable decisions.
The four cornerstones of a performance and talent management systemSince a performance and talent management system is more detailed and of a slightly different nature from an HRIS; it is built on a few cornerstones of its own. These pillars of a performance and talent management system, which help to round up the product and make it what it is, can be summarized into the following:
RecruitmentThe first important feature of a performance and talent management system is the one relating to recruitment. The performance and talent management system should have software that tracks everything about the employee’s recruitment, starting from the time she was a candidate, to the time of onboarding. It usually has an interface that tracks everything from the ad calling for the position to be filled up to the actual joining. The recruitment feature of a performance and talent management system also offers the opportunity to upload ads on the social media and the web. It is thus an important feature that helps to streamline and document all stages of the recruitment.

Learning and developmentAnother important element of a performance and talent management system is the way it helps to keep track of the employee’s training programs. It helps to identity the training needs of each employee based on the feedback HR gets from the reporting manager. It then documents the training that took place after the program was planned and executed, and finally, also the extent to which the training met its purpose. A performance and talent management system should have a learning module that familiarizes it with the latest learning trends in the particular industry and should help it initiate training needs that are best suited for the employee and the organization. Performance managementOne of the other core features of a performance and talent management system is the one that helps management evaluate the performance of the employees. Employee performance is the most important criterion for judging an employee’s abilities, strengths and weaknesses. These days, the traditional annual appraisal methods are making way for specific task and goal-oriented assessments, because many organizations think that it makes sense to give a person a task to carry out and judge her abilities in relation to how she carried it out, rather than waiting for a whole year to do so. A performance and talent management system aligns perfectly well with this concept, as it keeps track of employee performance management during a defined training program or task, as well as in relation to a timeframe.
CompensationLike performance, the direction of compensation too, is changing to a more task related nature. A few organizations are no longer waiting for a whole year to add bonuses to employees who show exceptional qualities at work. They are quick at offering rewards more for specific tasks than over fixed durations of work. This is another area in which a performance and talent management system comes in handy, since it measures compensation on a task-to-task basis.

Click to Continue Reading