Scientific and Environmental Managers
Plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate scientific, geological, environmental management, laboratory and geological operations for organisations.
A week in the environment team
You are an environmental manager at a large processing plant, responsible for waste, water and keeping the plant within its licence. It is Monday and the plant is at full capacity. Your monthly report is due on Friday, a consultant has proposed a new project and the production manager has just walked into your office.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
We want to install a new line, and we want to start next month. I do not want to hear about delays. Can you sign off on the environmental side quickly? I will back you with the executive next time you need something.
Sign it off quickly to help the project and build goodwill with Dwayne
A requirement is overlooked, and the regulator later asks why the project proceeded without a proper check. Your name is on the approval, and so is the problem.
Tell him you will assess it thoroughly and the timing depends on the outcome
You are right to do the work, but Dwayne hears a delay and goes quiet. Giving him a realistic timeline and a way to speed things up would have kept him on side.
Ask for the early design now and give Dwayne a firm date for your answer
Dwayne appreciates the early involvement and sends the designs the same day. Your review catches one issue that is easy to fix at this stage. Being early and clear is more helpful than being fast and vague.
I noticed that one of last week's samples was stored for two days longer than it should have been, before testing. The result looks fine, but I am not sure it can be trusted. I did not know whether to tell you.
Tell her to include the result anyway, since it looks fine and the report is due on Friday
The result goes into the report without a note. Later, a reviewer asks about storage times and the whole month's data is questioned. A result you cannot stand behind is worse than no result.
Mark the result unreliable, retest it and look into how the delay happened
Marguerite is relieved she spoke up. The retest is done and the sampling schedule is adjusted. Honest data is the foundation of the whole job.
Thank her and discard the result without recording it, so the month's data stays tidy
No false result is reported, but the gap in the record is not explained and nobody learns why it happened. Recording what went wrong is as important as correcting it.
I have been reviewing your report and I notice a spike in the second week. It is within the limit, but it is higher than the pattern suggests. I would like to know what you think caused it. Do you have an explanation?
Give a confident explanation now, even though you are not entirely sure it is the cause
Ms Anwar accepts it, then later finds that the real cause was different. A confident guess that proves wrong damages your credibility far more than an honest not-yet-known.
Explain what you know and what you do not, and give a date to report back
Ms Anwar notes the plan and the date, and treats you as a partner. Regulators rely on people who tell them the truth, including the uncertain parts.
Say you will look into it and get back to her once the laboratory has had a chance to check
It is polite, but there is no plan or date. Ms Anwar needs to chase you for an answer, and wonders how seriously the plant takes the question.
How it went
By Friday the new line has an early review under way, the questionable sample has been dealt with and the regulator has an honest plan. Environmental managers keep an operation honest about its impact, and do it best when they are trusted early. Could you be the person who protects a river while keeping a business running?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The reading that crept upwards
A fictional case set in the environment team of a fictional dairy processing plant beside a river.
The situation
Environmental manager Takoda Whitehorse monitored the wastewater leaving Riverbend Dairy. Over three weeks, one reading had been rising slowly. It was still within the permitted limit, but the trend was steady. The plant was in its busiest season and the production manager was reluctant to change anything. A new cleaning product had also been introduced about the same time, though nobody could say whether the two were connected. If the reading kept rising, the plant could breach its licence within weeks.
What they did
Takoda did not wait for the limit to be crossed. She showed the production manager a simple graph of the trend and asked for a short meeting. She suggested a trial: switch back to the old cleaning product on one line and compare the readings for a week. At the same time, she called the regulator, not to report a breach but to explain what she was watching and what the plant was doing. She kept careful notes of every step.
How it turned out
The readings on the trial line fell, which pointed to the new product as the cause. The plant found a different product that worked just as well. The regulator thanked Takoda for the early call. The production manager started inviting her to planning meetings, because changes were cheaper to adjust before they happened than after.
What would you do?
- Why did Takoda act when the reading was still within the limit?
- How would you handle a busy manager who does not want to hear about a possible problem?
- What do you think is the benefit of telling a regulator about a concern before there is a breach?