Many 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 leadership with […]

The 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 particular, construction […]

The 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 more about […]

Although fall is still a few weeks away, it isn’t too early for Washington stormwater permittees to prepare for the rain to return. This is particularly important due to this year’s exceptionally dry summer in the Pacific Northwest. Dry conditions cause pollutants to build up, which creates the potential for a “first flush” effect—high concentrations […]

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) plans to issue revisions to the 9001 and 14001 standards by the end of 2015. These standards relate to quality management systems (9001) and environmental management systems (14001). Organizations certified in either of these standards must attain compliance by the end of the transition period, which is three years […]

The EPA uses the 2015 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP), a part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), to regulate pollutant levels in stormwater discharges from industrial facilities. The MSGP applies to areas of the United States where the EPA is the NPDES permitting authority; in most parts of the country however, state governments […]

Customers expect consistent delivery of high quality products and services—an ongoing challenge for every business. It is important that each employee, from management to the front line, understands their duties, and the proper way to accomplish them. For this reason, many businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies implement Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). SOPs ensure consistent quality […]

Low Input Viticulture and Enology (LIVE) is a non-profit organization that promotes environmentally friendly practices for vineyards and wineries through education and certification using international standards in sustainable viticulture and enology practices. Nearly 300 vineyards and 40 wineries in Oregon and Washington are enrolled in LIVE. The program recently expanded to include Idaho and British […]

Wise businesses think carefully before going through the effort and expense to procure and/or upgrade an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system.  In this blog post, we incorporate lessons from management systems implementation to make the case that businesses should map their business processes out prior to selecting an ERP system.  There are two key […]

A reminder to Washington Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) holders: a new ISGP was issued on December 3, 2014 and went into effect on January 2, 2015. We encourage you to review the new permit, as it contains changes that may affect your business. A summary of the most significant changes can be found here. […]