Handbook Of Pollution Control And Waste Minimization - Chapter 5 docx

5 Information Systems for Proactive Environmental Management Steven P. Frysinger James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia 1 INTRODUCTION Environmental computing is a very broad topic, and to some extent defies taxonomy. However, in the interest of providing an overview of this field, environmental information systems can be described generally as either environ- mental management information systems (EMIS) or environmental decision sup- port systems (EDSS). The former will be defined as systems which provide access to information, such as records and reports, while the latter include systems which provide access to tools with which to operate on information in order to arrive at an environmental management decision. There is clearly a great deal of overlap between these two definitions, and many systems might straddle the definition uncomfortably. Nonetheless, it will be useful to address this broad topic in the context of this dichotomy. Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (EMIS) As corporate environment, health, and safety (EH&S) organizations endeavor to become world-class operations, they must deal with a remarkable variety of processes which have evolved over many years, largely in response to regulatory events. Integration of these various processes into a cohesive and efficient management system is a necessary part of their quest to make more forward- looking, comprehensive decisions impacting EH&S stewardship. An integrated management system has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of the EH&S organization by facilitating awareness of hazards or opportunities across regulatory boundaries. Likewise, integration can reduce the cost of EH&S operations by encouraging the sharing of knowledge and effort across these same regulatory lines. For example, a single activity which maintains inventories of chemicals stored at company facilities might serve the needs of both Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication and Super- fund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) Title III compliance.* Thus, an integrated environmental management system (used here to describe all aspects of environment, health and safety management) is a prerequisite to a world-class EH&S organization. Integrated environmental management requires integrated environmental information management. While there is more to environmental management than information, there is virtually no aspect which does not depend heavily on the availability and accessibility of correct and current information. Many, if not most, EH&S processes are themselves essentially focused on information man- agement, in the form of record keeping, reporting, permitting, or training. Therefore, it is difficult to conceive of an integrated environmental management system which does not stand on an integrated environmental information man- agement system. While integration of diverse software tools has been going on for a long time in environmental decision support systems (to be discussed later in this chapter), the integration called for by EH&S management refers to data rather than software integration. So-called enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have the goal of spanning all aspects of a company’s operations and integrating data management across organizational boundaries, but even the most widely implemented ERP systems have only recently begun to include EH&S informa- tion management. These systems typically require such an intrusive implementa- tion process that many firms decline to pursue them, preferring instead to develop their own versions based on existing business models. Unfortunately, EH&S data *Regulatory references throughout this chapter are based on the laws of the United States. Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. management is rarely considered in this process because the EH&S organization, as a cost center, is not perceived to add value to the firm, and therefore rarely attracts such an investment. The EH&S organization is then left to manage its data on its own, even though much of the information on which it depends is in fact owned by line organizations within the company. 2.1 The Need for Integration The many processes of the typical EH&S organization are usually supported by as many diverse environmental management information systems, many of them manual (i.e., with little or no computer support). These information systems have evolved in response to individual needs, generally without regard to inter- dependencies between processes and their information management needs. Apart from the obvious inefficiencies which result from such cir- cumstances, this ad-hoc structure has resulted in redundant and inconsistent databases—multiple databases store the same piece of information, and they sometimes disagree on its value. For example, several EH&S information systems may use facilities data from different databases which conflict with one another. This sort of inconsistency ultimately threatens compliance. 2.2 An Integrated Solution There is an approach which improves the situation by developing the framework for an integrated environmental information system (IEIS), an important special case of EMIS. It is important to note that the term “information system,” as operationally defined here, is much broader than the computer hardware and software which might support it. It includes a data model incorporating the structure, definition, and relationships between data elements, as well as the processes and procedures by which these data are created, modified, used, and destroyed. While much of this can and should be supported by computer systems, this fact has little relevance to the conceptual definition of the information system. Once the IEIS is defined, a systems engineering activity can readily determine the design and structure of the hardware and software systems which will support it, about which more will be said later. 2.3 Conceptual Framework The IEIS approach is predicated on the notion that one can usefully separate data from the management processes that use them. That is, most or all data of use to EH&S are descriptive of objects, while the various management processes undertaken by EH&S professionals are focused on these objects. An object- oriented approach to EH&S information might start with the definition of such high-level objects as employees, customers, buildings, vehicles, services, and Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. products. Each of these can then be decomposed in a similar fashion, as appro- priate, with the terminal objects described by a data structure. The various EH&S management processes can generally be viewed as operating on the data objects suggested above. For instance, SARA Title III Section 312 reporting is focused (by regulation) on buildings, while OHSA training requirements are focused on employees. Furthermore, each process may be supported by one or more software applications. In general, the software applications serving EH&S processes are the agents which interact with the data required for these processes (Figure 1). Thus, there is envisioned a clear separation between data, processes, and applications: 1. A datum may be used by multiple processes; e.g., Building Address is used for SARA Title III reporting and for OSHA accident reporting. 2. A process may be served by multiple applications; e.g., one software application might support the SARA inventory maintenance activity by site personnel, while another application is used to generate the SARA reports. 3. In some instances, applications may be used by multiple processes; e.g. the software used by site personnel to maintain chemical invento- ries may serve the purposes of both SARA and OSHA compliance processes. Data Object 1 Software Application 1 Process 1 Process 2 Software Application M Software Application 2 Data Object 2 Data Object L Process N … … … FIGURE 1 An exemplary relationship between data, processes, and software applications. Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In essence, this approach addresses our need to understand this relation- ship between our information and our processes so that we may ensure the availability of the correct data and the correct software applications to interact with those data. 2.4 The Path to Integration There are four essential steps to achieving an integrated environmental informa- tion system: 1. Develop an integrated data model. 2. Map the integrated data model onto corporate databases of record. 3. Define high-level requirements for the IEIS. 4. Implement the foundation of the IEIS. While some of these can be executed concurrently, it is imperative that we recognize the precedence implicit in their ordering. As with any systems engi- neering activity, in this activity the what has to lead the how, rather than the other way around. It will be advantageous to look ahead to current and future system implementations to help us to achieve an understanding of requirements, but particular discipline must be applied to prevent us from erroneously finding a requirement in what is merely a habit. This discipline will be encouraged by a phased approach, in which we first define an IEIS for the set of processes as they currently exist, admitting that the model will be revisited as a result (and indeed in support of) efforts to reengineer those processes. 2.5 Model Development The first step in the project is the development of an integrated data model which correctly describes the firm from an EH&S point of view. The initial (baseline) data model must include all data items required by the current set of EH&S processes, but must be orthogonal to these processes so that data objects and fields which are common to multiple processes occur only once in the data model, to be shared by the processes requiring them. This is critical to the identification of shared information and the elimination of redundant databases. Once such a baseline data model has been developed, it can and should be refined and revised as appropriate to reflect the ongoing reengineering of the EH&S organization’s structure and processes. 2.6 Mapping the Model onto Databases The integrated data model so developed will then be analyzed to determine the appropriate owner for each of the data categories and elements. In many cases, this will be the so-called database of record for the company, and will not be under the control of the EH&S organization. For example, much informa- Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. tion about corporate facilities might be maintained by a real estate organization within the firm but outside of EH&S. Identifying our stake in such external databases is essential since, as customers of these databases, we will need to be recognized and have a voice in the implementation and management of the data. There may also be data items of importance to EH&S which should and could readily be maintained in these external databases; we will want to be in a position to lobby the appropriate organizations for such extensions. Furthermore, interfaces to these data sources must be engineered so that the data truly will be shared, rather than simply copied into yet another system, further contributing to data redundancy. 2.7 Defining IEIS Requirements The third step is the definition of high-level requirements for the integrated information system. The integrated data model and analysis described above form the foundation for this. What must be added are the functional requirements for the integrated system. For example, if EH&S information must be globally accessible by EH&S leadership, this requirement should be articulated clearly. 2.8 Implementing the IEIS Foundation The fourth step addresses the implementation of the IEIS. Implementation includes the interaction and negotiation with other organizations whose informa- tion assets have been identified as a subset of the EH&S data model in step 2. It also includes the planning and acquisition and/or development of software required to realize the IEIS from the starting position of our existing information management systems. The result of this step is not necessarily a single software system; in fact, this outcome is highly unlikely, given that the software to be used by individuals and groups engaged in the various processes will have to satisfy functional requirements which may be peculiar to those processes. As long as the ensemble of computer systems finally in use by the EH&S organization (a) im- plements the integrated data model developed in steps 1 and 2, and (b) satisfies the high-level requirements defined in step 3, then we will have achieved an integrated environmental information system and will reap the benefits thereof. This, perhaps, is the point of departure of this approach from conventional thinking about integration—we seek to achieve the benefits of integrated infor- mation while valuing diversity of software applications and vendors. Once these four steps have been executed, the design and implementation of the integrated system using an appropriate combination of existing and new platforms can proceed through conventional information project management and systems engineering activities. In fact, it might be hoped that through effective communication, any ongoing procurement and development activities underway during the execution of these steps can be appropriately guided so as to minimize Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. changes or disruption once they are complete. For example, an early intermediate result will be the identification of data common to the first key processes to be evaluated. This knowledge can surely be used during the procurement of support- ing systems to anticipate the results of the integration effort. 2.9 EMIS Summary This approach to integrating environmental management information systems into an integrated environmental information systems serves to illustrate the issues attending these systems in general. Whether this approach or some other is used, however, the critical element for proactive environmental management is that integration be achieved in the interests of eliminating compliance-threatening redundancy and removing substantial inefficiencies. 3 ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS (EDSS) As the complexity of our environmental management problems has increased, so has the need to apply the information management potential of computing technology to help environmental decision makers with the difficult choices facing them. Environmental information systems have already taken many forms, with most based on a relational database foundation (as described in the previous section). Such systems have helped greatly with the day-to-day operations of environmental management, such as chemical and hazardous waste tracking and reporting, but they have two critical shortcomings which have prevented them from significantly improving the lot of environmental scientists and planners tackling more strategic decisions. Traditional environmental management information systems generally ig- nore the crucial spatial context of virtually all environmental management problems, and they offer little or no support for the dynamics of environmental systems, both manufacturing and otherwise. Fortunately, a relatively new cate- gory of system, called an environmental decision support system (EDSS), shows real promise in both of these areas. 3.1 What are Environmental Decision Support Systems? Environmental decision support systems are computer systems which help humans make environmental management decisions. They facilitate “natural intelligence” by making information available to the human in a form which maximizes the effectiveness of their cognitive decision processes, and they can take a number of forms (1). As defined here, EDSSs are focused on specific problems and decision makers. This sharp contrast with the general-purpose character of such software Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. systems as geographic information systems (GIS) is essential if we are to put and keep EDSSs in the hands of real decision makers who have neither the time nor inclination to master the operational complexities of general-purpose systems. Indeed, it can be argued that most environmental specialists are in need of computer support which provides everything that they need, but only what they need. This point becomes more critical when it is understood that many important “environmental” decisions in design and manufacturing, for example, are not made by environmental specialists at all, but are instead made by professionals in other disciplines. 3.2 The Need for Environmental Decision Support Systems The development of environmental policies and generation of environmental management decisions is currently, to a large extent, an “over-the-counter” operation. Technical specialists are consulted by decision makers (who may or may not have a technical background), to assist in gathering information and exploring scenarios. Because of the inaccessibility of data and modeling tools, decision makers must consult their technical support personnel with each new question, a time-consuming and inefficient process. If the data and analytical tools could be placed within reach of decision makers, they would be able to consult them more readily, and would therefore be more likely to base their decisions on a technical foundation. In some instances, the availability of environmental decision support determines whether or not a product design or manufacturing process will indeed be “environmentally con- scious.” This is the premier reason why environmental decision support systems, of a sort described in part herein, are necessary if we are to achieve higher quality in our environmental management decisions and obtain more protection with our finite resources. 3.3 Foundations Environmental decision support systems address a problem domain of remarkable breadth, ranging from selection of an appropriate light switch for an automobile to the determination of community risk associated with stored chemicals. The character of environmental decisions and their surrounding issues is central to the design of a successful EDSS. 3.4 The Nature of Environmental Management Decisions To understand environmental management decisions, we must first identify the decision makers. The stereotypical image of an environmental manager is an environmentally trained business manager given the responsibility for avoiding Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. fines and other sanctions, and perhaps pursuing “beyond compliance” goals, all within the constraints of finite (and generally tight) budgets. Indeed, many environmental decision makers fit this description. However, these individuals also have their counterparts in the regulatory arena (such as agency compliance officers). Furthermore, critical environmental decisions are often made by market researchers, product designers, and manufac- turing process developers. Naturally, the level of environmental expertise these individuals possess is highly variable. Nonetheless, all of them can and do make critical environmental decisions. It is therefore incumbent upon the toolbuilders— including EDSS architects—to craft systems and processes that will help to bridge the gap between technical expertise and the decision maker, so that the benefits of this expertise may be realized. 3.5 Characteristics of the Problem Environmental decision makers are clearly a diverse group of people faced with a diverse group of problems. The breadth of their problem domain, in fact, defines the need for eclectic individuals with tools to match. In general, environmental decision problems are Spatial, in that most human activities and their environmental impacts are associated with a place having its own characteristics which influence the decision Multidisciplinary, requiring consideration of issues crossing such seem- ingly disparate fields of expertise as atmospheric physics, aquatic chemistry, civil engineering, ecology, economics, geology, hydrology, toxicology, manufacturing, materials science, microbiology, oceanogra- phy, radiation physics, and risk analysis Quantitative, because the constituent disciplines themselves are highly quantitative, and because the costs and ramifications are generally so significant, that objective metrics are desired to help mitigate controversy Uncertain, in that while the elements are quantitative, the sparsity of data and nascent state of the constituent disciplines leaves many unknowns Quasi-procedural, since many environmental decisions are tied to a regu- latory or corporate policy framework which specifies the steps by which a decision is to be reached, and because the threat of liability dictates a defensible audit trail for the decision process Political, reflecting the fact that environmental management is driven by public policy, influenced by such considerations as economics, social impacts, and public opinion The diversity of these characteristics of the problem domain make effective environmental decision support extremely challenging. Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3.6 Implications for Environmental Decision Support Because of these factors, it is not practical to contemplate a generic decision framework for environmental management. Even if it were possible to capture all of the elements necessary to address the great variety of decisions to be under- taken, the system so built would be virtually unusable. Environmental managers are already confronted with a vastly complex problem space; one of the first jobs of the decision support system is to simplify this space, offering them everything that they need to make the decision at hand—but only those things. Therefore, while our definition of EDSS includes the integration of multiple supporting technologies (such as simulation and GIS), we further restrict this definition to stipulate that EDSSs are focused on a particular decision problem and decision maker. Thus, they are not general-purpose tools with which anything can be done—if only you knew how to do it. Rather, they are particularly tailored to the problem facing the analyst, and offer a user interface which is optimized for this problem. The focused nature of such EDSSs improves the user’s interaction with the computer system, allowing the user to concentrate on the problem at hand and the information and tools needed to solve it. It also dictates a software architecture that facilitates the development of sibling systems embracing different decision problems with an essentially common user and data interface (2). Such a family of focused EDSS siblings offers user interface simplicity, in that the siblings share interaction style, organization, and fundamental approaches (where appropriate), while maintaining the focus each sibling has on its particular decision problem. 3.7 Task Analysis of Environmental Decision Making The focused approach to EDSS design advocated here dictates the use of a human factors engineering technique, called task analysis, to support the specification of a particular EDSS for a particular problem. As defined in the human factors community, “task analysis breaks down and evaluates a human function in terms of the abilities, skills, knowledge and attitudes required for performance of the function” (3). The EDSS designer must endeavor to understand the decision problem, and all of the factors which must be considered in solving it. In addition, the “social history” of the problem must be understood, since there will (in general) already be a number of different approaches to solving a given environmental management problem. For a system to support an analyst in arriving at a credible decision, the various competing approaches must be considered, and possibly accommodated. A major stumbling block in task analysis is the fact that very few individ- uals can accurately explain the way in which they actually arrive at a particular decision. They can tell you how they think they should do it, and they can often develop a post-hoc analytical rationale for their decision, but people are generally Copyright 2002 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. [...]... systems as defined in this chapter This section will introduce the most prominent of these, with a special focus on the particular areas of intersection and contribution This treatment cannot be construed as a fair representation of any of these disciplines as a whole; rather, it is intended to provide a sense of the interdisciplinary nature of EDSS, and to illuminate some of the opportunities for interdisciplinary... resolution of the layer The name raster is related to the raster display of modern cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays, which are composed of rows and columns of pixels However, there is no actual correspondence between a GIS raster layer and a CRT’s pixels: the data in one cell of a GIS raster layer can be drawn using one or more CRT pixels In a raster representation of a soils map layer, each cell of the... Yorker’s view of the World.” This is evident in studies examining human perception of risk, and applies to probabilistic judgments more generally Quantification of uncertainty has been widely acknowledged as a critical issue in risk assessment (see, for example, Ref 6) A variety of methods for managing uncertainty have been studied (7), most of which are beyond the scope of the present chapter One of these,... Reserved The first of these, a lack of empirical data, is easy to understand; we routinely live with imperfect knowledge of the current state of systems, owing to lack of data (in a usable form) This and the second (errors in the data) are the ones typically addressed in scientific and engineering studies when the goal is to reduce uncertainty The usual approach is to collect more data, and to attempt... environmental problems is the complexity of the system in question And here is where an interesting human factor emerges As mathematical models are expanded to attempt to account for more of the fine details of the natural system under study, the mental models of the analyst become inadequate While humans are capable of recognizing and apprehending in a gestalt sense the breadth of complex systems, they are ill... increase by a factor of 9 The chief advantage of a raster data structure is the ease with which one can perform calculations oriented toward the intersection of two or more layers For example, if one defines septic-suitable areas as those which have a sandy loam soil and a slope of less than 10%, one can produce a new layer by performing a cell-by-cell comparison of the soils layer with a slope layer (which... Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) requires annual reporting of the quantities and whereabouts of hazardous materials, with the intent of ensuring the safety of emergency responders in the event of fire or other disaster This simple and arguably worthwhile requirement can result in a great deal of expense to a company whose information management and decision tools are not integrated It is typical for such... including such expensive decisions as the design of a product and its associated manufacturing processes Ultimately, the environmental effectiveness of the product throughout its life cycle, in terms of protection of human health and reduction of environmental risk, depends on these results However, these modeling studies are unavoidably visited by uncertainty of various types, ranging from conceptual model... chemistry, mathematics, and physics in the context of environmental protection and management There is a distinctively applied, anthropocentric orientation to environmental science; it differs from such fields as ecology in that it approaches the study of our environment with an eye toward human needs and use of the environment, and therefore addresses the science, engineering, and management practices... solubilities of chemicals in water, the partitioning of a chemical between the vapor or aqueous phases, the chemical equilibrium of carbon dioxide and water, or the physics of radioactive decay In others there is a distinctly environmental angle, such as the adsorption of chemicals on soil particles, or the avian toxicity of a pesticide The line between these two cases is blurred, which is one of the reasons . diversity of software applications and vendors. Once these four steps have been executed, the design and implementation of the integrated system using an appropriate combination of existing and new platforms. first of these, a lack of empirical data, is easy to understand; we routinely live with imperfect knowledge of the current state of systems, owing to lack of data (in a usable form). This and the. if one defines septic-suitable areas as those which have a sandy loam soil and a slope of less than 10%, one can produce a new layer by performing a cell-by-cell comparison of the soils layer with