ISO: 14001 are a generic document and it does not specify "how" to do, but only states "what" to do. As per the standard, the Environment Management System should be documented and be demonstrable in the manner consistent with the requirements of ISO 14001 models. The total demonstration in the Environment Management System consists of four tiers of documents.
1.Environment Manual
2.Procedure Manual
3.Work Instruction/Operating Procedure Manual
4.Forms, Records
The amount of documentation should support and efficient Environment assurance system without creating a paper bureaucracy. The details for documenting above four tiers of documents is described in this paper.
NEED FOR DOCUMENT CONTROL: -
The Environment System consists of a number of documents. Some system should be provided for safe keeping of complex records. It is important to clearly define as to where they should be kept and for how long, and who is responsible for them. Each written procedure should be checked and signed by an authorized person, with issue number and issue date. The management representative should have a list of all completed ISO procedures, applicable to the individual departmental activities. Against each listed document the number should be shown together with the date of the latest change. It is also called a "Master Copy". It is a yardstick against which any other controlled copy can be judged.
From time to time the Committee for Management Review and Corrective Action may put forward recommendations for change in the procedure. The Management Representative should be responsible for implementing the change. For making a change, the new page should be circulated to the keeper of the controlled copy of the document with an instruction to insert the new page in order and return the replaced page to the Management Representative. Thus outdated ISO documents will be removed from circulation. The change, which has been made, should be known to the staff and everyone should implement the new procedure. When a number of major changes have been made, a complete new manual has to be issued. The retention period for these records can be predefined either contractually or by the policy and it is to be mentioned in the Environment Manual.
