Emsoft 2000: An Information System for Knowledge Integration, 1998 Environmental Conference Proceedings

Lyman F. Wible, Barbara Christel, Jerry H. Mikeal--Environmental management of pulp and paper facilities requires integration of knowledge far beyond simple regulatory compliance. In the past, most environmental managers only needed to worry about compliance issues. Success in global markets today demands that mill environmental staff have access to integrated operations and environmental management information to allow for more timely and better informed decisions. Increasingly, environmental staff are turning to environmental management software packages in an attempt to manage their information and data. One such system is EMSoft 2000. This software uses Lotus Notes TM groupware to perform powerful communication functions and draws upon, without replacing, existing data management systems to provide environmental managers with unprecedented access to company-wide information. Because EMSoft 2000 uses the Lotus Notes TM groupware platform and builds on a company’s existing systems, mill staff widely dispersed at different locations can have simultaneous access to information such as applicable regulations, environmental projects and schedules, corporate policies, training records, and emergency response procedures as well as the already-established company data systems. Managers now recognize that the best way to minimize compliance costs and business risk is to design the liabilities out of the product, to prevent pollution and minimize wastes. With increasing emphasis on environmental costs, mills are demanding that vendors provide good environmental practices up to and including the ISO 14000 standards. With these criteria integral to its design, EMSoft 2000 supports environmental management system development and ISO 14000 certification, in addition to demonstrating compliance.