Educational Assessments
Sumerra’s Educational Assessment is an excellent tool, not only to gauge a Factory’s performance and risk, but also to provide guidance of deficiencies. The Sumerra Educational Assessment is a one-on-one meeting between factory management and a Sumerra professional. It dives deep into factory policies, practices and protocols to uncover issues which may not be caught with the traditional assessment. During the assessment, a mock audit is performed, leaving the factory with key information on compliance issues and how to remediate them. An Educational Assessment can be performed at different times in the compliance cycle:
Before an audit: This allows the Factory to understand and remediate non-compliance issues prior to the audit. This is often a great tool when trying to begin sourcing for a new client and the Licensee or Factory want to confirm the Factory meets the requirements before going through the New Sourcing process.
After an audit: After receiving audit results, the Factory might not understand what the results mean and how to remediate the non-compliance issues found. An Educational Assessment helps with this by not only looking at how to remediate the issue, but also to look at causal factors which have led to the non-compliance.
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Project Management
Project management services assist companies by dealing with the day to day operations of a project to assure that the project is done effectively and efficiently. Project managers take a methodical approach to planning and guiding a project to assure it’s satisfactory completion.
Often projects require a great deal of coordination, technical knowledge, and organization that may be best conducted by a company experienced in project management and having the appropriate technical knowledge to make appropriate decisions. Project management services can relieve the burden on client staff of complying with project constraints such as scope, time, quality and budget and allow them to focus on the larger business issues.
Sumerra provides project management services externally and internally on a wide variety of projects. Sumerra’s knowledge and expertise combined with experience in organizing and leading large scale projects allows us to assist our client’s in their project management needs. Whether organizing large collaborative assessment projects or managing audit programs, Sumerra has the unique skills to assure effective and efficient execution of any project.
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Exposure Monitoring
Exposure monitoring is the process of estimating or measuring the magnitude, frequency and duration of exposure to chemical, physical and biological agents for a group of workers. Monitoring generally consists of collecting direct measurements or samples to be analyzed by a laboratory to determine the exposure of a worker to an agent (e.g. solvent, dust). Exposure assessments must be carefully planned and executed to assure accurate estimations of worker exposure.
Workers are exposed to a variety of hazards in a manufacturing environment, (e.g. solvents, dusts, acids, fuels, noise, etc.). Exposure monitoring is an important component of an Occupational Hygiene program, as this assessment determines the types of controls required to remove or reduce the hazard to acceptable levels; and therefore, reduce the potential risk to their health.
Sumerra assists clients, both large and small, in anticipating, identifying, and evaluating exposures to a variety of chemical, physical and biological agents through exposure monitoring. Sumerra can develop exposure monitoring plans, conduct sampling or monitoring for a wide variety of hazards, or train staff to properly conduct exposure monitoring on their own. The Sumerra staff holds internationally respected and recognized certifications such as Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP) which make them qualified to perform these services.
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Management Systems
Management systems are the driving force of how any organization operates. They are an intricate set of interdependent systems which ensure that a company is able to function to meet its business goals. In the Manufacturing sector, the typical setup consists of Human Resources, Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, and Compliance. The more robust operations also include Industrial Hygiene and Environment into their management systems. Each of these systems has specifics goals and objectives to help the company run.
Management systems need to be set up properly. They need to have the right people with the right skillset to run them effectively. Many times suppliers are unable to find qualified people due to lack of expertise in the labor market or insufficient budgets. Investing in training, education, and risk assessments are some of the ways that suppliers can improve their management systems.
Sumerra is highly skilled in working with suppliers on their Management Systems. We have the expertise to help in development of policies and procedures that can meet the needs of any supplier. An essential part of the work we do in developing or revamping Management Systems is done through education and training. Our team works with factory management to help them understand what they need to do and how. We also work with brands/retailers on developing Environmental and Industrial Hygiene programs. Smaller brands may lack some of these programs and do not have staff that has expertise in these areas. Our team can work to develop these types of programs, as well as providing assistance on educating supplier of their programs.
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Noise Exposure
Noise is defined as any unwanted or undesirable sound that is received by the ear. Exposure to occupational noise comes from a wide variety of sources from noisy offices or commercial workplaces to loud industrial work environments. Worker exposure to noise can be generated from a number of different sources with different noise characteristics, ( steady-state (continuous), intermittent or impulsive sources). The type of noise a worker is exposed to plays an important role in determining how workers may be exposed and how to appropriately monitor and protect workers from harmful noise exposures.
Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is considered one the most common occupational illnesses that has devastating impacts on workers and families. Fortunately all workplace NIHL is preventable provided that noise exposures are properly evaluated and appropriate monitoring and control programs are in place.
Evaluating occupational noise exposures in complex commercial, manufacturing or industrial settings can often be very difficult and requires an in-depth understanding of all aspects of occupational noise. Sumerra’s noise professionals are experienced in all areas of noise. From exposure monitoring to determining practical and effective noise control solutions and development of hearing conservation programs.
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Root Cause Analysis
Root cause analysis (RCA) is a process that attempts to identify the root causes of failures, faults, or problems. A root cause is a cause that once removed, addressed or repaired, prevents the issue from recurring.
If the root cause of an issue is not removed, addressed or repaired, it is likely that the issue will continue to reoccur. In a majority of cases, causal factors are determined (a causal factor is something that affects the outcome, but is not a root cause) but not the root cause. Dealing with a causal factor may temporarily prevent the reoccurrence, but eventually the issue will return. Therefore it is important to evaluate and define the true root cause of an issue.
Sumerra’s consultants utilize root cause analysis methods to break down the complexities of compliance problems to discover the true root causes of issues.
Root cause analyses can assist with:
- Incident Investigations
- Unresolved Recurring Compliance Issues
- Identifying Program Failures
Once accurately determined, Sumerra can assist the client in solutions to the problem that are effective and efficient. Sumerra also provides training in basic root cause analysis to allow for self-assessment and sustainable development for manufacturers around the world.