| Financial analysis: |  |
| Environmental impact analysis: | --- |
| Waste management/P2: | |
| Environmental cost listing/database: | --- |
| Cost estimation: | --- |
| Alternative product/process comparison: | --- |
| Financial analysis: | |
| Environmental impact analysis: | --- |
| Waste management/P2: | |
| Environmental cost listing/database: | --- |
| Cost estimation: | --- |
| Alternative product/process comparison: | --- |
| Cost control | --- |
| Resource control | --- |
| Estimating control | --- |
| Schedule control | --- |
| Scope control | --- |
| Risk control | --- |
PlantWare is a Windows-based, client-server software tool for multimedia emissions management. It is designed for managing air, water, and solid waste emissions, using one central relational database. At the heart of the system are tools for mathematically representing facility emissions, using simple or complex expressions. For example, emissions can be modeled as a function of time-dependent variables such as production rates. What-if scenarios can be analyzed by altering values of input variables. Future emissions can also be projected. Features of the system include the following:
Envirometrics offers other packages or modules that address MSDS and right to know management, waste minimization, groundwater, drinking water, and those that address State and Federal regulations. They have another product called the Fugitive Emissions Management System (FEMS).
Project managers can use the emissions modeling function and the "what if" capability to predict emissions and related costs as a result of changes in production, chemicals used, etc. PlantWare has the ability to capture, track, and report costs associated with specific chemicals, processes, equipment, etc. Thus, to an extent, it facilitates the comparison of different materials or chemicals based on quantitative criteria. It may be possible to extend this feature to predict costs associated with the use of a process/product for the purpose of project planning.
| Raw material acquisition | --- |
| Manufacturing stage | --- |
| Use/reuse/maintenance | |
| Recycle/waste management | |
PlantWare considers all waste management operations and emissions in a facility. It considers waste management up to final disposal for some components such as hazardous materials. All materials and outputs are not tracked. A quantitative linkage can be developed between the quantities and types of material used or type of production process and waste generated. Thus, users can simulate changes in waste quantities and costs as a result of proces schanges or source reduction. However, this can be done only for emissions management (not for all types of waste).
| Conventional | |
| Potentially hidden | |
| Contingent | --- |
| External | --- |
PlantWare comes with fields for recording some conventional and hidden costs associated with environmental management within a firm. The waste-tracking module facilitates the allocation of treatment, storage, and disposal costs to business units within a firm. All conventional costs, such as labor, capital, and material costs that companies would need to incur during the course of environmental management activities are not included. However, users have the ability to add custom fields that will enable them to detail costs as required. Proper cost detailing can help facilitate recording information on all cost categories. However, users would need to estimate external and contingent costs on their own. The system will not assist in cost estimation per se, but users can predict costs due to current and projected emissions of particular chemicals. If users can estimate a external (social) cost per unit of emission, this cost category may be detailed in a similar manner. The costs entered cannot be collated to form a historical cost library. However, they can be archived along with other information. Another option can be to export cost details to a separate spreadsheet or to other packages. This feature could be useful for assisting in cost estimation for projects, because hidden cost estimates cannot be found in most (if any) commercial cost databases.
The system is not designed for cost estimation. However, users can estimate costs due to losses from projected emissions by assigning a cost per pound for a chemical. They can use this to help estimate true costs of chemical use as part of projects. For example, if users are considering using one solvent versus another, costs due to fugitive emissions can be factored into the analysis.
| Net present value (NPV) | --- |
| Payback period | --- |
| Internal rate of return (IRR) | --- |
| Benefits cost ratio | --- |
| Other | --- |
No financial indicators are generated, but it may be possible to export cost data to spreadsheets and other packages that do have financial functions.
The system has options and features that give users the flexibility to modify the system according to their requirements. For example, the Run-Time Data Dictionary can be used to configure and modify any window in the system. Although the primary objective of the software is to facilitate compliance, the additional features such as those for cost management indicate a move toward becoming a corporate environmental management system.
PlantWare provides a demonstration disk of their software upon request. Complete user-support is offered, including unlimited phone support and optional on-site services. Slide-show demonstration disks are available for PlantWare. On-site demos are provided. FEMS has a working demo disk.
The main focus of PlantWare is emissions modeling. The existing cost fields can be further detailed. However, contingent and less-tangible costs associated with emissions, disposal mechanisms, etc., are not estimated. This area, if developed, can be a useful feature in quantifying all costs related to using particular chemicals. For example, an equation could be developed that estimates possible future liability costs as a function of fugitive emissions from using a particular chemical. This can help project managers make more informed choices between different materials to use (rather than one-time conventional costs alone). The costs entered into the system cannot be exported to company accounting systems, which can result in managing these environmental costs separately, rather than integrating them with other company costs. The system is not designed for, and has no modules for, project management.
Return to the Table of Contents