Internal Auditor ISO 14001 Training Course
Please answer the questions below and familiarise yourelf with the Company extract and Site Map.
Please bring your these with you to the course.
PRE-COURSE PREPARATION
The following activities are intended to help you prepare for the course so that you will gain maximum benefit. As with most things thorough preparation is the key to success.
The pre-course work is also intended to help bridge the gap between the "real" and the "training" world.
Before attending the course, we recommend that you discuss with your manager this pre-course work, and establish what benefits you need to gain by your attendance and what you will be doing on your return to build on the skills taught.
Pre-course activity
Activity 1
If possible, review ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 19011:2011.
Activity 2
If possible, familiarise yourself with the quality system auditing procedures for your organisation and any environmental auditing procedures.
Activity 3
If possible, take part in or observe an internal audit of your EMS. Make notes on your experience of the audit. What would you say is the most important aspect of the auditors' task? What is the easiest?
Activity 4
Your answers to the following questions will be referred to in course discussions. At first you might find them difficult to answer. Do not worry about this. It is the process of thinking about what the answers might be that is important. There will be adequate opportunity to discuss and refine your answers during the course.
These questions are intended to reinforce your knowledge of the standard.
a What are the main elements of ISO 14001?
b What are the key differences between EMAS (European ECO Management and Audit Scheme) and ISO 14001?
c What are the key differences and similarities between environmental and quality management systems?
d What procedures and records are required by ISO 14001?
e Which clause specifically relates to auditing?
f What is the relationship between a management review and an internal audit?
The following are typical examples of findings raised during an Environmental Management Internal Audit. Decide which clause of ISO 14001 has not been complied with. You should also comment on the adequacy of the nonconformity statement, eg the sufficiency of information given to enable corrective action to be taken.
g Contractor ABC Ltd was not aware of the site environmental policy as required by company induction procedure EP 45
Clause?
Adequacy?
h Monthly management reviews not all recorded, eg May this year
Clause?
Adequacy?
i Corrective action for areas of nonconformances noted during the last audits carried out 1 month ago have not all been completed
Clause?
Adequacy?
j No evidence of formal procedures for waste management
Clause?
Adequacy?
k No issue status on individual pages of procedure EP8
Clause?
Adequacy?
Extract from Company Profile
Minter Limited is a UK company with two core businesses:
- Car retail and leasing
- Servicing, repair and body shop operations
The company was started by Peter Minter in 1976 when he took over the franchise of a Nexus dealership, comprising a showroom and repair shop, in Ipswich, UK. Nexus competes strongly within the luxury car market and currently has the third largest market share in the UK after Mercedes and BMW.
Since 1976 Peter Minter has successfully opened a further 22 showrooms throughout East Anglia and has expanded the servicing and body shop operations into a profitable part of the business. All Minter dealerships service and repair Nexus cars; however, provision of body shop services is limited to 14 of the sites.
Ipswich Site Location and Description
The site is located in a commercial/residential area near the edge of Ipswich, which principally comprises office buildings, shopping facilities and residential houses. Some light industrial units are also located in the vicinity.
The site covers approximately 5 hectares and is divided into the showroom and forecourt and the servicing, repair and body shop (SRB shop) and administration offices (both site and corporate). There is a landscaped area to the side and front of the forecourt to encourage customers by providing an attractive environment. The SRB shop is located to the rear of the showroom, out of site of prospective car buyers.
Operations at the site focus on sales, car servicing, supply of parts, mechanical repairs and body repairs and restoration. Servicing and mechanical repairs are limited to the Nexus range; however, body shop operations are undertaken on all makes of car.
The Ipswich site is also the location of the head office and all administrative duties associated with running and managing the company are conducted in the first floor offices (see also 1.5 Staff). The showroom sales and leasing operations are fully administrative with no manufacturing or processing activities.
Centralised control of purchasing is managed by the Ipswich site and all dealerships are linked by a computerised system. This automatically tracks stock volume and identifies ordering needs. Additional orders can also be logged directly into the system by the stockroom supervisors at the dealerships.
The SRB shop has seven car workstations and three spray booths. Full servicing and repair capability is available and the body shop specialists are qualified in all aspects of bodywork repair and respray, including panel beating.
Service and repair operations focus on all aspects of car maintenance, including replacement of tyres and fitting new exhausts. Old parts are either returned to Nexus under their 3R scheme (reduce, reuse or recycle), sold to scrap dealers or disposed of as waste.
In the SRB shop damaged vehicles are taken in and damaged parts removed or reshaped and new panels fitted, as necessary. The damaged areas are sanded and filler applied, whilst undamaged areas are protected and masked, prior to the vehicle being prepared for painting.
Paint spraying is conducted in one of the three on-site booths. The areas to be painted are treated with a degreasing agent and sprayed with two or three coats of primer. The area is then smoothed and two or three top coats of the appropriate colour are applied. Between coats, the paint solvent is allowed to flash-off, and there is a final low bake in the booth for about 30 minutes at 600°C. During the bake sequence, the heated air is recycled without the introduction of fresh air.
Whilst paint spraying is in operation, air is drawn into each booth via an inlet in the roof and passes down through the heat exchanger and oil-fired heater unit and then through filters mounted at high level. Exhaust air is drawn out beneath the vehicle, passes through a waterwash and is discharged via a chimney on the roof.
The vehicle is then brought out from the booth, re-assembled, waxed and cleaned. The spray gun is cleaned in an enclosed cleaning machine within a separate paint mixing room. The paint mixing room is mechanically vented to atmosphere.
A total of approximately 20 tonnes of organic solvents are used per year and the spray booths are serviced quarterly by the manufacturer. There is also a vehicle washing area on the site which comprises a fully automatic vehicle wash and a manual jet wash. This is used by both the site and the public.
