Section 114A of The Clean Air Act requires owners and operators of equipment that contain CFC and HCFC refrigerants record refrigerant usage and service. Software has been developed to track ozone-depleting substance (ODS) inventories, servicing dates, quantities, refrigerant types, system capacities, leak frequencies and component failures. There are several programs available.

Northern Division of Naval Facilities Engineering Command has developed the ODS Inventory Tracking and Management System (ODS-ITMS). The software tracking system helps the Navy comply with policies and the requirements of 40 CFR Part 82 (Subparts B and F). It is an easy to use Windows-based refrigerant management software. This software allows users to enter equipment inventories, refrigerant transactions, maintenance/service procedures and equipment retrofit/replacement scheduling. The software is based on the Microsoft Access 2.0 database, and contains a user-friendly “front-end” to allow technicians/supervisors to easily maintain records and calculate refrigerant leakage rates. ODS-ITMS is available upon request from the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) via the World Wide Web at http://enviro.nfesc.navy.mil/enviro/ods-inv/index.html.

The Army Corps of Engineers has developed a two-level program to manage refrigerants; the Refrigerant Management System (RMS). RMS is designed to track the addition and removal of refrigerants and refrigerant services performed on each piece of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (AC&R) equipment. The Personal Computer (PC) based software consists of two modules, level 1 and level 2. Level 1 is for AC&R technicians/operators to maintain records of refrigerant services performed on AC&R equipment. Level 2 is a database of refrigerant transactions (additions or subtractions) and serves as an inventory of AC&R equipment and as a database of refrigerant services performed on AC&R equipment. RMS prepares transaction reports summarizing refrigerant services performed. The output is in ASCII text format. RMS is available on floppy disks from the US Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (USACERL) in Champaign, Illinois.

In addition to these military-developed software programs, there are several commercial software programs available that meet EPA guidelines. One software package, known as the Refrigerant Compliance Manager^TM Version 2.0, is available from Environmental Support Solutions, Inc. (ESS). In addition, DuPont, Trane, McQuay, and several other manufacturers market versions of the ESS software.

• Assists personnel in monitoring equipment leaks and reduces refrigerant use by providing a more complete maintenance history.
• May reduce the number and frequency of major equipment failures and the large losses of refrigerant associated with failures.
• Allows forecasting of supply requirements ensuring that large scale, accurate quantities of Class I ODSs can be procured from the Defense Logistics Agency.
• Assists in the coordination of reclamation and recycling routines with maintenance needs so that DOD’s policy to reduce ODS consumption becomes a built-in function.
• Facilitates compliance with EPA record keeping regulations.

• Requires a computer system and the knowledge to use it.
• Requires manpower to run and manage the system.

The following economic analysis information was provided from Mr. Jim Mill of NORTHDIV:

The economic analysis depends on site specific information including inventory levels and waste/loss due to leakage and shrinkage. Assuming a computer is already in place, the capital cost of the software ranges from $0 to $600. Start up labor costs may be high if refrigerant usage is high at the facility and large quantities of data need to be entered in the program. Once the system is set up it can be maintained as part of normal daily operating maintenance procedures. Occasional maintenance may be required to update the system. In addition, the lack of experience with the software and the ability to follow procedures mandated by the software designer may impact costs. Tracking systems software will save time by recording and inventorying refrigerants and provide quick access to valuable information that will help minimize refrigerant loss due to leaks and shrinkage.