Enterprise Resource Planning Systems as a Platform for Managing Corporate Environment, Health and Safety Processes Shown by the Example of SAP EH&S

Abstract

In order to avoid data redundancy and guarantee legally correct processing, all environment, health and safety data have to be permanently available and be completely integrated with business processes. Used as a platform for all operations in a company, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems such as SAP R/3 allow integrated handling of all business processes, data and functions. This makes them the ideal platform for managing all tasks in the sectors of corporate environmental protection, industrial hygiene and safety as well as in the field of occupational health. The view on today’s environment, health and safety processes can’t be an isolated view. Streamlining of business processes and overall process modulation are most important for companies. EH&S scenarios have to run inside an ERP solution. Otherwise companies waste streamline-potential and build information islands with redundant databases. Avoiding risks in the environmental area and staying legal compliant is another important key functionality. Integrated systems gives companies the ability to anchor environment, health and safety knowledge and use it transparent at any edge of business processes where it is required. Instead of old organisation structures, where ERP-solutions and EH&S-solution can’t communicate or could have communicated through generic interfaces is not longer up to date and costs to much money in the every-day-business. Also redundant data management is not longer acceptable for employee, who should overlook more and more processes in less time.