The Problem

Owens Corning Safety personnel conduct routine safety inspections for each of the departments within the corporation. As a result of downsizing and reduced operating budgets, the company needed to streamline the work required to conduct the audits, issue Work Orders to correct any problems found, follow up to insure that the issues were corrected and produce reports summarizing the audit activities within the company.

The Solution

REAL Controls engineers developed an Environmental, Health and Safety Audit and Inspections Database using Microsoft Access 97. The new database significantly simplifies the documentation tasks required by these inspections and the tracking of progress for correcting problems. Any issues found are entered into the database on an exception basis. Once the data is entered and saved, a Work Order is automatically created and displayed for review. The user may edit the form, print it out or e-mail it to the appropriate facilities department for processing. A separate e-mail is also sent to the person responsible for overseeing the corrective work. Reports summarizing the results of the audits can be viewed on the PC screen or printed for distribution. Reports can be summarized by location, by type of issues found, by date or by a customized query feature. Minimal training is required in order for personnel to start using the product. REAL Controls has also developed a number of database management tools which assist in keeping employee and company information in the EHS database up to date. Using these tools the Group Leader is able to import up to date information from electronic reports directly into the EHS Database thereby, insuring that all of the information is current.

The Result

The new EHS Audit and Inspections database provides the Health and Safety Engineers with all of the tools they need to fully document, monitor and report on the safety inspections being conducted. This single application streamlines the recording of inspection activities, automatically issues corrective Work Orders, and produces summary reports of all EHS audit activities.