Information architecture planning template for health, safety, and environmental organizations

In 2003, Innovene (then as BP) began an initiative to improve the coordination of compliance requirements through development of a new Compliance Management System at their assets in the Houston and South Texas region. An important part of the initiative was to improve the information systems architecture used by Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) staff at all of the facilities, resulting in a more effective and efficient organization as a new Compliance Management System was implemented.

At the outset, ENVIRON and RMT prepared an inventory of all of the Tools, Applications, and Data Sets used by EHS staff, or by others at the facilities to maintain compliance. Over 30 such items were identified, with metadata on each presented in a tabular format. A series of Data Flow Diagrams were prepared to graphically illustrate the relationships. An Implementation Plan (with short- and long-term recommendations) was prepared, with key components being the Compliance Management System (task tracking), an Air Emissions Inventory Application, A Waste Tracking System, an Analytical Database, an overall Information Organizer, and a Metrics Dashboard. A series of diagrams was presented to illustrate the implementation of the system as a whole over time.

The second phase of the project involved a detailed, formal evaluation of software programs, which included commercial packages, in-house development projects, and new custom applications. The Waste, Air, Task Tracking, and Information Organizer tools were screened, demonstrated and evaluated against a detailed list of business, technical, and functional requirements. Cost and availability were also considered, as were the relative risks of implementation. Innovene (which includes former BP chemical plants) are presently planning implementation of a combination of custom and commercial applications resulting in an effective overall EHS information system architecture.