Case study on industrial hazmat response teams

Abstract

In 1991, Amway formed an industrial hazardous materials (hazmat) team in order to respond quickly and efficiently to potential chemical spills. The company’s goals were, and still are today, to protect employees, the environment and the local community, and to reduce the amount of resulting downtime. In 1991, the hazmat team was very well funded, enabling it to become a discrete department with its own management staff and nearly 100 hazmat volunteers. Due to changes in the business climate, Amway reorganised in 2000/01, and the hazmat team became part of a company that incorporated contract work into its scope. When this reorganisation occurred, the hazmat team was thoroughly re-evaluated. Its response function was maintained, but was systematically reinvented in the most lean way practicable while still meeting corporate goals. This case study represents Amway’s hazmat team’s journey through the evaluation process and subsequent reorganisation.