Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsJoin Freer Consulting, Hal Calbom, and Sustainable Media Partners for our Town Halls on Best Practices and Integrated Compliance Systems on October 26 and 27. The October 26 Town Hall will be held at the Port of Morrow Riverfront Center in Boardman, OR. The October 27 Town Hall will be held at the

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsIf your business uses Microsoft Excel to manage and process data, you could be incurring risks such as inaccurate financial statements, client overcharges, and nonconformance to standards. These risks often go undetected and can ultimately harm your business. To find out how Freer Consulting can help you improve your risk management, download our

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsThe Washington State Department of Ecology has issued a revised Phase I Municipal Stormwater Permit that will go into effect on August 19, 2016. Developed as part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), the Phase I permit regulates stormwater discharges from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) in incorporated cities with

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsIncreasingly, businesses are implementing a quality management system (QMS) that meets the requirements of the ISO 9001 standard, since potential customers often require certification in ISO 9001. If your business has a QMS, it’s worth considering a shift in focus from maintaining a QMS to developing a business management system (BMS). Doing so

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsConstruction activities can have a significant impact on stormwater discharges. Stormwater flows through construction zones pick up sediment, oil and grease, heavy metals and other pollutants, which are ultimately deposited into receiving waters. In order to limit pollutants in stormwater, construction that disturbs one or more acres of land requires permit coverage, either

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsIf your business stores oil on site, you may be subject to the EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Rule. The intent of this rule, established in 1973, is to prevent oil spills from reaching navigable waters and nearby shorelines, as well as to mitigate any direct spills in water and shoreline

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsInternal audits, while necessary, are often dreaded by companies that conduct or receive them for a few reasons: • The auditor’s responsibilities are time consuming—they schedule, conduct, and provide a detailed report of each audit to management. • The auditees often feel interrogated by the auditor. • It can be difficult to find

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsMany companies struggle with implementing ISO 9001 without upper management’s leadership. Businesses seeking certification in the latest revision of the ISO 9001 standard should understand the importance of top management being committed to the standard and maintaining compliance with it. Section 5.1 of ISO 9001:2015 stipulates the ways in which management should exhibit

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsThe Washington Department of Ecology has reissued the Construction Stormwater General Permit, which will take effect on January 1, 2016. If you’re a business engaged in construction activities like excavating or grading, your activities disturb one or more acres of land, and you discharge stormwater, you must be covered by the permit. In

Freer Consulting Blog: Compliance, Standards & Environmental InsightsThe International Standards Organization (ISO) has now published the final versions of the ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 standards. A quick summary of the changes is in our July blog post. For more information, please see the ISO website. If you have questions about ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 or would like to know