Jun 15 2016

An eForm that supports advanced data analytics and continual improvement planning expedites a process pioneered by a Texas law firm to Identify cost-saving options in compliance management plans and programs.

(Houston – June 15, 2016)  — Compliance plans and programs based on a company’s applicable rules and regulations ensure that nothing “falls through the cracks.” However, to be cost-effective, such plans and programs must be reviewed in light of prior agency actions, court decisions, and industry experience, to confirm that excessive and/or misdirected efforts are not being expended. Unnecessary “over-compliance” measures can increase costs, create additional liabilities, and distract company resources from being used toward more effective environmental improvement efforts, according to a Houston-based environmental law firm with expertise in air and water compliance.

The AL Law Group developed its unique Over-Compliance Environmental Legal Assessment Service (OCELA) service to help companies improve environmental performance while reducing unnecessary costs and decreasing potential liabilities that may be created through ineffective over-compliance. The AL Law Group has helped companies save thousands of dollars and achieve more effective environmental protection efforts, according to Jed Anderson, a principal attorney with firm. Nationally renowned as a Clean Air Act expert, Anderson acknowledges that rarely is over-compliance systematically evaluated.

AL Law’s OCELA service evaluates commonly occurring over-compliance situations – many detected in prior compliance reviews – such as unnecessary permit conditions; unused alternative compliance strategies; misinterpretation of rules, permits, and agency guidance documents; and unnecessary monitoring of process parameters. Anderson noted that the environmental director of a Fortune 100 company stated that “The AL Law Group helped me save my company thousands of dollars …even after I paid their bill.”

Process Data Control Corp (“PDC”) is a registered professional engineering firm specializing in the development and support of technology products that support and improve business processes in manufacturing, mining, and oil and gas companies. The BizPro Web Portal, PDC’s flagship business process system, encompasses a range of modules that manage tasks and workflows, data collection and dissemination, and integration with plant databases, such as process historians and laboratory information systems.

Visit: www.pdccorp.com/products/Brochures/Bizpro_eForms_&_Planner_Brochure.pdf

“Business processes that certify compliance with environmental, health, safety, and homeland security requirements are common targets for BizPro applications,” according to PDC President, Jerry O’Brien.  “The reason is simple: compliance requires 24/7 accessibility; rigorous adherence to schedules, policies and protocols; documentation of all actions and findings; due diligence in processing incidents and events; and support for managers at all levels of the organization. These are the cornerstone functionalities of BizPro.” O’Brien emphasized that high levels of security and reliability are also needed. “BizPro is hosted on SAS 70 Type II and SSAE16 certified cloud-hosting facilities using an infrastructure that is fully mirrored to a “hot site” that enables instantaneous “failover” capabilities,” he added. “This enables PDC to guarantee 99.9999% uptime to our users.”

PDC Vice President Paul Nix noted that BizPro users will especially benefit from AL Law’s OCELA analysis. “Because AL Law is using BizPro, they can upload the applicable requirements and compliance tasks for companies using BizPro directly into the eForm, and start looking for cost savings right away,” he said. “However, AL Law clients can review that information using files provided by any of their clients to perform their analysis; or, if OCELA will be the first step leading to BizPro deployment, applicable requirements and compliance tasks can be reformatted and uploaded into the system to support both OCELA analysis and BizPro implementation.

“We are extremely excited about BizPro and the ability of this innovative product to help identify and address over-compliance situations,” said Anderson.  “Much of compliance is data-driven and task-driven.  BizPro will help us substantially to find situations where cost-savings can be realized and day-to-day compliance efforts simplified.”

PDC Corp has developed a BizPro eForm that has been customized for the OCELA application. This eForm enables AL Law to:

– Upload their client’s regulatory requirements and compliance tasks for analysis;

– Use custom eForm features and functions to identify cost-savings opportunities and their projected cost reduction; and

– Develop deployment plans for cost-saving measures approved by clients.

“We have already found significant efficiencies in using the BizPro eForm to support our analysis of potential cost-savings in industrial facilities,” said Jed Anderson. “Based on the initial success of our partnership with PDC and the significant added value that BizPro provides, we believe the sky is the limit on this product and the opportunities created to help companies simplify compliance strategies, save money, and reinvest in more productive environmental improvement efforts.”

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