TINIA

Prepared by:
Alternative Systems Inc. (ASI)

Prepared for:
Public purchase

Application:
Financial analysis:
Environmental impact analysis: ---
Waste management/P2:
Environmental cost listing/database: ---
Cost estimation: ---
Alternative product/process comparison: ---

Environmental health and safety (EH&S) management. All areas of TINIA have a financial component that helps in tracking various costs related to EH&S. Users can add fields to include costs that may not be covered. There is no feature for maintaining historical cost records. The system has some limited components for project management. These are primarily meant for project monitoring rather than planning. The modeling and risk assessment functions in TINIA could be used in project planning and assessment applications.

Elements of control:
Cost control
Resource control ---
Estimating control ---
Schedule control ---
Scope control ---
Risk control ---

Development date and updates:
Developed in 1986. Periodically updated. Version 3.3 was released in the first quarter of 1995. A graphical user interface (GUI) version is expected in the last quarter of 1995 or first quarter of 1996.

Public availability:
Available

Purpose and current use:
Applicable in a wide range of industries. Other information on specific industries and number of clients not disclosed.

Cost information:
Information not available

System requirements:
TINIA can be run on many different platforms and operating systems (the system is built on ORACLE).

Software summary

Size and complexity of projects:
The system is not primarily designed for project management. It is meant to manage and control areas of regular company activities. The system is probably more appropriate for larger operations. It can be used to monitor pollution prevention projects.

Other compatible systems offered:
The system is offered in modular form. However, ASI advises against users buying individual modules (although it is sometimes sold that way).

Nonquantifiable information:
Information on any annotation capability is not available.

TINIA is an Oracle-based integrated and flexible tool for environmental health and safety and information management. It focuses on the organizational issues that surround the management of hazardous waste and strategies to fulfill these objectives. TINIA was initially introduced in 1989 to help industry comply with Federal, State, and local regulations. It can be used on a LAN.TINIA has functions that address industry, government, and Federal facilities; thus, it can be used as a compliance tool and also to track facilities and waste sites while monitoring their compliance and remedial status. TINIA has eight major functions (modules), which are as follows:

  1. Material Index: Covers chemical information, MSDS management, spill modeling, and reporting, etc.
  2. Facility Management: Covers facility information and history including compliance history, complaints, regulatory fee, and fine tracking, etc.
  3. Release Management: Covers biological/chemical and physical releases into all environmental media (air, water, and land). This features air emission factors/calculations, sampling and analysis, leak detection, and repair, etc.
  4. Material Management: Manages from purchase request to disposal including shelf life management, material waste mass balance (materials are balanced against the wastestreams and environmental releases they generate), container transfers, process safety, process costing/profitability, etc.
  5. Waste Management: Covers waste cost tracking, pollution prevention, waste exchange, etc.
  6. Human Resource: Covers workplace health and safety including employee information, education and health, workplace monitoring and controls, and risk assessment.
  7. Emergency management: Covers emergency plans and response actions including material behavior and impact models, sensitive receptors, and decontamination procedures.
  8. Commitment management: Includes functions for scheduling and communications.

All these functions are linked into a central relational database and common information is shared among all functional areas, thus reducing data entry, permitting global changes, and facilitating the sharing of traditionally segregated information. TINIA can generate all U.S. Federal and most State, local, and regional reports.

The pollution prevention component in the waste management module allows users to set up strategies, goal, and baselines. The projects can be set up and exported to other software such as Primavera, for detailed cost estimating, scheduling, etc. Project progress against plan can be monitored within TINIA.

The scheduling function is not as sophisticated as other scheduling software available. Critical paths cannot be determined. It is used to track and meet day-to-day schedule requirements, including compliance report submissions, etc.

Life-cycle stages covered

Raw material acquisition ---
Manufacturing stage ---
Use/reuse/maintenance
Recycle/waste management

Life-cycle stages covered may vary by module. TINIA can track chemicals from cradle to grave. However, this means from the use/reuse stage (including maintenance) to the point of waste generation and ultimate disposal point. Wastestreams can be managed, taking into account treatment, storage, recycling, and destruction. For regulators, TINIA tracks facilities and waste sites through all phases of compliance. They may also track waste shipments and monitor environmental releases.

The process mass balance function can be used in conjunction with the modeling function to simulate changes in waste quantities and costs as a result of process changes or source reduction. Thus, a quantitative linkage can be developed between the quantities and types of material used or type of production process and waste generated, which can be useful in evaluating pollution prevention projects. The actual products of the manufacturing process are not tracked.

Type of costs considered

Conventional
Potentially hidden
Contingent ---
External ---

All areas of TINIA have a financial component, which helps in tracking capital costs, operating costs, efficiency, and return on investment (ROI)relating to EH&S. Thus the impact of EH&S on the overall profitability can be gauged. Costs can also be assigned to fugitive emissions. Process profitability is gauged on the basis of all conventional and hidden costs; by tracking inputs, outputs, and all equipment; and material and labor costs associated with a process. Also, each screen has a user-defined field function that allows users to add fields to cover additional costs or cost categories. TINIA does not include a means for estimating contingent and external costs, but it recognizes that proper management reduces potential liability and enhances company images. Additionally, the risk assessment function in the human resources module could be used to estimate contingent costs. However, users would need to develop their own methodology to accomplish this.

Method of cost estimation

TINIA is not designed for cost estimation.

Generation of financial indicators

Net present value (NPV) ---
Payback period ---
Internal rate of return (IRR) ---
Benefits cost ratio ---
Other ---

Ability to include environmental costs

User friendliness and flexibility

ORACLE is platform-independent; therefore, TINIA can run on many different platforms and operating systems. TINIA can be coupled with several interface products, for example with imaging applications, Geographic Information Systems(GIS), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and graphics. Modifications to TINIA are easily achieved by the open database architecture. Thus, organizations can make appropriate changes and additions to the system as they expand. TINIA is planning to convert to ORACLE Version 4.0, which will give users a complete graphic interface and mouse support.

Although the primary objective is to facilitate compliance, there is an effort to include cost management and minimization into the software features. Interface with company accounting systems is provided as an optional feature.

User support

ASI provides each client with a needs assessment service that helps guide them through all phases of implementation. They also offer training and consulting support services. Multilingual support is offered for international clientele. Remote demonstrations of TINIA are offered (required software is provided).

Limitations

TINIA does not have a methodology for material selection based on costs, quotes, or attributes. However, the modeling capability could be applied in conjunction with the process mass balance function to compare waste outputs to material use in hypothetical situations. The system considers various conventional and hidden costs with options for users to add additional fields. It provides no methodology for estimating contingent or less-tangible costs and has no feature for maintaining historical cost records, as related to different activities, quantities, and types of materials managed. The system is not designed for project management. It does have an area for recording and monitoring pollution prevention projects. This area should be further developed to use historical cost and other information for project planning, thus allowing users to use information that traditional cost-estimating tools typically leave out.

Basis for evaluation:
Based on telephone communication with ASI representative and information package received in February 1995. Additional information obtained from Rich(1995).

Contact information:
Commercially available

Alternative Systems Inc. (ASI)
225 S. Cabrillo Highway
Suite 124-C
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Jay D. Rades (Marketing Development Manager)
Michael Brinck (Senior Marketing Executive)
415-726-5700
415-726-7846 (FAX)


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