Getting The Most Out of Management Systems - 3 Day EMS Auditor Course

IEMA Approved Course in EMS Auditing (UK) Attendees of IEMA accredited courses can gain points for registration with IEMA – the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (www.iema.net).

Who is the course for?
This course – newly developed in 2008 – is for all those who are involved in conducting or participating in environmental management system audits and who wish to make the process a valuable investment for the organisation rather than a bureaucratic irrelevance. Internal auditors, advisors, and consultants, as well as those potentially on the receiving end of audits, will learn techniques for ensuring all stages of the audit process, from planning through to close-out, are conducted in a manner which is engaging, rigorous and adds value to the organisation.

The course is environmentally focussed, however, previous attendees have included personnel responsible for health and safety and quality auditing, who attended to acquire core skills in auditing which are transferrable to any type of audit.

Why choose this course?
This course was developed by Xodus AURORA staff with many years of internal and external EMS auditing experience, who have witnessed many organisations suffer from weak, poor quality audits, and which have failed to yield the benefits in performance which audits, when conducted effectively, can provide.

The course has been developed on the premise that audits should be wholly focussed on facilitating performance improvements (not auditing for auditing’s sake), in other words, identifying ways to reduce ongoing impacts on the environment, reduce the risk of incidents and legal non-compliance, and to identify ways of generally doing things better.

The course, which is interactive and practically-focussed, emphasises the behavioral and cultural elements of organisations and the auditing of them, so that auditors are equipped to assess more deeply than simply reporting on observed conditions.

Who delivers the course?
The course has been developed and is delivered by two highly experienced auditing and training professionals:

Max Goodwin, Principal Environmental Consultant Max is a specialist in management systems and auditing with 14 years’ experience. He has conducted more than 300 audits in his career, including third party ISO14001, EMAS and OHSAS18001 audits, and a range of other types including internal audits and audits to client-specified standards. Max joined Xodus AURORA from ERM Certification and Verification Services – a UKAS accredited auditing firm – where he also conducted greenhouse gas and report verification assignments for clients in a range of industries, most notably the oil and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare industries, as well as automotive, general manufacturing and airports sectors. Max is an Associate Member of IEMA and has been a Registered Environmental Auditor with IEMA since 1994.

Iain Talbot, Principal Environmental Consultant Iain is an experienced trainer, having delivered courses including the Diploma in Environmental Management (DipEM) delivered at locations throughout the UK. Other training he has delivered includes management systems and ISO 14001, environmental auditing, environmental risk assessment, ecology, global environmental outlook, life cycle assessment, waste and energy management, environmental due diligence, sustainable development, and other environmental topics. Iain’s industry experience includes petro-chemical, power generation, food and transport sectors and typical sites audited include power stations, refineries, smelters, MoD, major ports and fuel distributors. He regularly advises clients on the development and implementation of systems. In this role he has worked with over 50 organisations. Iain is a Full Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (MIEMA), a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and an IEMA Registered Environmental Auditor.

What does the course cover?
The course includes the following key elements:

› Introduction to auditing and commonly used terms
› Development of concern for the environment
› Background to audit approaches and relevant standards, including ISO14001 and ISO19011
› Overview of the audit process
› Lessons for the auditor from major accident events
› Overview of environmental regulations
› Why audits often don’t deliver
› The qualities of a good auditor
› Audit techniques (communication, questioning etc)
› Practical exercises – putting theory into practice
› Making a finding (identifying issues, root cause analysis and obtaining acceptance)
› Presenting and reporting – for performance improvement
› Audit follow-up and closure for sustained results.

Are any pre-qualifications required?
No formal qualifications or experience are required for those attending the course.  Pre-course reading material will be issued to delegates once they register.

We offer in-house courses for clients with four or more attendees who wish to run a course at a time and location to suit them, as well as a programme of scheduled open courses – click here to view the schedule of courses and registration form.

For more information and course enquiries, please contact:

Max Goodwin, Principal Environmental Consultant, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1224 628945
Email: max.goodwin@xodusgroup.com