(499c) Industry Experience with Rcms Implementation, Comparisons

Member companies of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) are required to implement RCMS® (Responsible Care Management System®) or RC-14001® (Responsible Care-ISO 14001 management system) at their headquarters and sample facilities. The plan-do-check-act approach of management system is designed to have facilities implement robust programs beyond compliance, in the areas of health, safety, environmental protection, security and product stewardship, etc. involving stakeholder participation, management review and third-party certification of the systems in a pre-determined schedule. The key of implementing such systems is to use the existing systems in place as much as possible, and adapt them as required to meet the requirements of the Technical Specifications. This presentation will discuss the approach taken by Afton Chemical in taking stock of what exists and works, conducting gap analyses to determine what is missing, communicate with all stakeholders and involve them as required, develop RCMS/RC-14001 management system organically, conduct internal and certification audits, and maintain the system in the spirit of continual improvement.