WM Recycle America, L.L.C.
WM Recycle America, L.L.C. (WMRA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. WMRA provides recyclables processing, materials brokerage and other recycling services in the US and Canada. The company handles approximately 8 million tons of paper, aluminum and other commodities each year through its network of 100 recycling facilities and provides marketing services for third–party recycling facilities. Safety and Environmental Managers are responsible for ensuring that regulatory standards and rules are communicated to and understood by each site and practiced through the company’s safety, health and environmental initiatives. The company tracks and manages OSHA, EPA and company policy requirements for the recycling facilities and all their employees.
The Challenge
The biggest compliance challenge facing the company was the complexity and breadth of regulatory training that must be tracked. The solid waste industry must maintain very specific compliance requirements for recycling facilities and their employees. Staying informed of those requirements was a continual challenge for the facility managers because of the complexity of the laws and the rate at which the laws would change. In addition, regulatory data was recorded manually, using paper files and binders to house facility compliance documents and training records at individual locations.
The Solution
In 2001 WMRA selected TrueNorth to track training requirements, employee evaluations and facility compliance. Each recycling facility sends training information, facility inspections, audiograms, meeting records and job observations—directly to TrueNorth. TrueNorth analyzes, confirms and tracks the information, making it available on demand to WMRA managers. Managers are able to look at compliance metrics, focusing on each site’s performance and identifying any specific deficiencies that need addressing with the facility managers.
The Results
Today, TrueNorth helps WMRA simplify its approach to managing health, safety and environmental compliance issues. Managers no longer have to collect and continually update training records for each individual. TrueNorth applies events directly to the application as they occur, allowing managers to focus on ensuring that training requirements are met. Should an auditor or regulator need to audit the WMRA training program, the training information is accurate and accessible in an instant.
Compliance performance metrics produced by TrueNorth are one measurement used by WMRA to determine managers’ bonuses, in addition to productivity, material quality and accident and injury statistics.
