Audits

Our seasoned audit team provides practical insights and recommendations resulting in a comprehensive and useful environmental compliance review that allows facilities to prioritize corrective actions and maintain regulatory compliance. In addition, the results of the audit program can be used to transition to an optimization of long term environmental management programs and strategy. This basic approach can be readily customized to meet a given audit format for a particular organization or facility.

Pre-Audit:

The pre-assessment questionnaire generally consists of an environmental survey to be prepared prior to the site visit and includes a list of required documents that should be available during the site visit. The request is designed to get the audit team up to speed on each facility's unique conditions and to ensure that the on-site compliance portion of the audit is conducted in an efficient manner.

On-Site Activities:

Our team will meet with appropriate staff, review facility documents, and validate our observations by experiencing the "ground truth" by walking the site and accessing relevant equipment and facilities.

Debriefing:

Following the completion of the on-site inspection phase, Beyond Compliance will conduct a preliminary debriefing session with focus on issues identified in the site visit and permit review.

Report Preparation:

Reports include a brief narrative with results displayed in a table format including a description of all activities that could result in a regulatory finding of noncompliance as well as those activities that pose serious risk to the environment. Additionally, reports typically include benchmarking good management practices observed in other companies and industries as well as relevant issues that have a bearing on environmentally related risks associated with operations and opportunities to save material and financial resources.

We understand the pressures and constraints involved in developing cost-effective compliance solutions and recognize the importance of managing compliance risk by regularly conducting Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) audits. There are several aspects that set the Beyond Compliance auditing practice apart from the competition:

Strength and Experience

Beyond Compliance is a recognized leader in multi-media compliance assessment, EH&S and management system development and has provided these and supporting services to a wide range of operations. Our auditors possess a demonstrated knowledge of complex EH&S regulatory programs and provide a single point of contact for all multi-media regulatory issues.

Seasoned Staff

Our staff has completed hundreds of multimedia compliance audits for refineries, waste water treatment facilities, power plants, manufacturing, semiconductor, aerospace, airports and government agencies. Our familiarity with a great number of industries will allow our project team to "hit the ground running" for an audit.

Unique Blend of Legal and Technical Strengths

Utilizing our in-house attorney with science credentials, Beyond Compliance is in a position to liaison with clients' legal staff in efforts to protect the confidentiality of information that may be uncovered as a result of the compliance audit.

Dedication to Quality

Beyond Compliance has instituted formal management programs to ensure the development of quality work products. The approach ensures that each Beyond Compliance auditor and team member receives comprehensive training providing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to perform quality work and track the effectiveness of the quality program. In addition, each audit report undergoes several levels of rigorous peer review.

Up-to-Date Auditing Tools

The audit team uses regulatory audit protocols to ensure that reviews are thorough and consistent. Audit protocols are based on current federal and state regulatory requirements, with the audit teams augmenting the documents to reflect local requirements. In addition, auditors will have on-site access to the most recent state and federal regulations, thus increasing our capability and efficiency in conducting compliance assessments.

Environmental Compliance Trainers

Beyond Compliance staff have regularly taught multimedia environmental compliance courses on auditing, multimedia compliance, and legislative / regulatory updates for a number of facilities and universities including Phillips Petroleum, Kellogg Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric, East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Gap Inc., University of California (Santa Clara, Berkeley, Davis, and Riverside campuses), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, several United States Air Force bases, Los Angeles Unified School District, Mirant and Valent Inc.