Customers Case Studies

Background

PacifiCorp is one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, providing more than 1.5 million customers in the West with energy. The company works diligently to meet the growing energy demands of its customers while, at the same time, carrying out its stated mission of protecting and enhancing the environment. The company operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and California; and as Utah Power in Utah and Idaho.

In business for over 100 years, PacifiCorp focuses on providing excellent customer service, safe working conditions and best-practice environmental stewardship.

PacifiCorp relies on 3E Company to help it to achieve and promote these goals.

Challenge

Producing and distributing electricity creates environmental health and safety challenges. Protecting and enhancing the environment as well as looking after the health and safety of thousands of employees requires constant vigilance and rigorous adherence to government environmental regulations by PacifiCorp managers and administrators.

Currently, PacifiCorp's EH&S responsibilities are split into three groups, Power Delivery, Power Generation and Mining, each well staffed with industrial hygienists and field safety administrators. Senior Industrial Hygienists John Loomis and Derald Anderson in the company's Power Delivery and Power Generation divisions have overall responsibility for managing approximately 16,000 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) for field sites stretching across six states, with more than 200 facilities and 7,500 employees.

"Six years ago we were using an internally produced chemical management database that was hard to update regularly and cost more than $100,000 to maintain," says Loomis, "Also, our field safety administrators had to keep binders of MSDSs for all the materials at each site, which was very costly and labor-intensive. Compliance audits did not go well and we had two temporary data entry staff working full-time at input."

Solution

PacifiCorp began to explore alternatives to their internal MSDS management and regulatory reporting system. John Loomis first heard about 3E Company from an employee who saw 3E in a trade magazine. When evaluating the outsourcing of MSDS management services, Loomis says 3E won hands down. "We looked at other online, CD-ROM, and software based solutions, but 3E was the only one that provided a broad range of services and support beyond simple software," he states. "We chose 3E because it was unique. There were other products available, but none of them handled distribution like 3E Company."

PacifiCorp decided to phase out its internal database and go instead with 3E's MSDS On Demand® service as well as its call center support services for spill and emergency response needs. "Our company started migrating to 3E's Online solutions in 2002 and will continue to do so," adds Industrial Hygienist Derald Anderson. "PacifiCorp is also exploring 3E's ability to provide additional regulatory compliance reporting services—we feel that 3E brings additional savings and efficiencies to processes that have traditionally been outsourced to consultants."

The migration from an internal database to 3E's platform and services was a relatively easy transition according to Loomis and Anderson. During the initial sales process, 3E representatives "went way out of their way to help implement the changeover."

"They were very good people to work with," says Loomis, "They always accommodated our requests, providing excellent customer support and training. The 3E team was technically savvy and very knowledgeable—we actually shipped our database to 3E and their IT people transferred our legacy data into their system."

Results

The 3E system was readily accepted at PacifiCorp's many plants and field sites because plant managers and field administrators were part of the decision-making process from the very beginning. Loomis and Anderson report that 3E's services are now ingrained in PacifiCorp's EH&S processes.

For instance, in PacifiCorp's Power Generation Division, 3E recently conducted an Inventory Assessment of the division's chemicals for Hydro-South dam operations in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Hydro-South personnel were impressed with 3E's efficiency in conducting the audit and the resulting accurate inventory of their hazardous materials. "Thanks to 3E, our comfort index has greatly increased," says Anderson.

Similarly, an off-hours chemical spill at a plant in the Power Generation Division resulted in a call to 3E by the plant employees. They were confident that 3E was the only resource available that could meet their needs at the time, and were very appreciative of the 3E staff's ability to provide emergency assistance and professional guidance 24-7-365.

Last year, the Mining Division turned to 3E to help them achieve compliance with MSHA (Mining Safety and Health Administration) HazCom standards. Results were so successful that it helped to convince PacifiCorp to explore the 3E Online® platform of services.

PacifiCorp has also had its share of surprise inspections by OSHA (Occupational Health and Safety Administration) says Loomis, and, thanks to 3E's round-the-clock fax-on-demand services, PacifiCorp has been able to obtain most required MSDS's in less than five minutes.

"We would never bring the services now provided by 3E back in-house," admits Derald Anderson. John Loomis agrees and adds, "3E's performance has been first-rate. PacifiCorp has been highly satisfied with their personable employees, responsive management team and efficient technology. 3E Company has been a huge time-saver and for us time saved equates to cost savings, as well as increased levels of health and safety for both our customers and employees."

Location:  Pacific Northwest
3E Services: 3E MSDS On Demand, 3E Online-MSDS, 3E Spill, 3E Poison & Exposure
Industry/Market: Electric Utility
Company Web Site:  http://www.pacificorp.com