How RRS Developed a Robust Competence Management System
A Holistic, Site-Wide Approach to Environmental Permit Compliance
RRS – Competence Management System
RRS – Competence Management System
4 minute read
The Brief
To meet the compliance requirements of an environmental permit, operators need to demonstrate their workforce have the appropriate technical competencies. This has historically been fulfilled through a WAMITAB certification, which qualifies one person to be the Technically Competent Manager (TCM) on site. However, operators can now meet their permit conditions through a more robust framework, known as a Competence Management System (CMS). A CMS is a systematic approach to identifying, developing, and managing competence in an organisation. For compost producers, this is particularly useful because it ensures that employees have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their roles effectively and comply with environmental regulations. The CMS is jointly run between the Energy and Utility Skills Council (EU Skills) and the Environmental Services Association (ESA).
RRS Ltd offers sustainable solutions for waste management and energy production, specialising in three core services: Composting, Wood Recycling, and Landscape Products.
The company, like many in the waste & recycling industry, face significant challenges when it comes to ensuring operations do not fall outside the bounds of an environmental permit. With only one Technically Competent Manager (TCM) on-site, RRS’s ability to ensure continuous compliance became quite stretched. The dependency on one TCM as required in the WAMITAB certification, created a competency bottleneck, putting immense pressure on the TCM but also limiting the potential for the rest of the team to grow and contribute fully to the business’s operations.
Ultimately, RRS recognised that they needed an alternative approach to competency—one that spread competency across the business, ensuring that every team member had the knowledge and capability to contribute to compliance efforts.
The Solution
RRS are one of WRM’s long-term retained customers, who trust our team to organise their PAS100 management system, maintain health and safety procedures, and any other environmental compliance matters. Given our ongoing relationship and understanding of their operations, RRS felt confident in our team’s ability to help them achieve the necessary CMS accreditation and implement a system that would tick both compliance and competency boxes.
The CMS design chosen was implemented across the entire organisation and included the creation and execution of comprehensive competence training, ensuring that employees at all levels could gain the skills and knowledge needed to contribute to the company’s permit requirements. Additionally, a complete set of CMS management system documents tailored to the business were developed, providing a clear framework for ongoing competency development and compliance.
The Outcome
RRS were able to successfully achieve CMS accreditation and distribute key competencies among their staff, significantly reducing the operational strain on their sole TCM. As a result, the business became more resilient and agile in handling day-to-day operations and compliance requirements.
Looking ahead, RRS plan to continue their commitment to excellence by pursuing recertification and undergoing their surveillance audit next year.
Why Choose WRM to Implement your CMS?
WRM understand the challenges of managing environmental permit competence and compliance. That’s why we reliably deliver tried and tested solutions to upskill your team and strengthen your operational efficiency. We do this, because your satisfaction is our top priority.
We’re here to help, so drop us a message today to find out how we can support your business to stay compliant AND competent.
Our team of experts have over 20 years of experience in the industry, so if you aren’t sure we’re the right solution yet, please explore more of our successful projects to see how we’ve helped other companies meet their compliance and operational goals.