EA has been Audit Service Provider for NOAA’s Environmental Compliance and Safety Assessment System (NECSAS) Program completing up to 50 audits/reviews annually throughout the United States, Alaska, and the Pacific Rim. NOAA’s mission occurs on water, air and land, and the scope of each assessment includes over 40 separate EHS protocols based on federal, state, and local regulations. Prior to each assessment, a pre-visit questionnaire is completed by NOAA personnel and relevant documentation is reviewed to develop an audit plan. While onsite, audit teams complete a detailed facility review including review of documentation and records, site tours to observe operations and activities, and employee interviews. For each assessment, EA leads an in-briefing with facility management to review the objectives of the assessment, daily briefings to summarize each day’s activities and observations, and a closing meeting to review findings and recommendations. A risk-based classification process is used to document findings with corresponding risk rankings and root cause analysis and recommended corrective actions are completed. A final exception-based report is prepared identifying audit findings, classified by risk, root causes, proposed corrective actions, and observed Good Management Practices. Annually, audit data are normalized and reviewed with NOAA leadership to assess trends and overall program performance. EA has completed over 150 audits and reviews and has received Exceptional/Very Good ratings on annual CPAR evaluations.
