Originally published in Directions Magazine; December '96/January '97

Drives Truck ... Does Consulting

by Paul E.R. Packbier

A recent employment ad in the PDN caught my eye and struck a nerve. The advertisement was for a position that required an individual with a Class B (truck driver’s) permit. The job description was detailed and involved handling of waste oil and hazardous waste and, among others, listed environmental consulting as one of the job functions. Personally I have been in the environmental consulting field for more than a decade and, frankly, driving a truck was never one of the qualifications that I thought I needed.

TIMES ARE CHANGING

When I was first approached by a prospective employer who asked if I had ever considered "going into consulting," I laughed and remarked "sure, when I am 65 years old and have something to consult about." My perception at the time was that consultants were this rare breed of retirees that could not sit still and kept busy by providing advise in their areas of expertise. Now I know better. I did join that employer and was put to work on the most detail-oriented, mundane, time consuming, and often boring tasks of researching regulations, preparing permit applications, reviewing laboratory results, and the myriad of details that companies these days need to heed in order to be in compliance. On the up-side, this employer invested a lot of money and time by sending me to training classes, seminars, continuing education courses, and providing in-house training. Slowly, I was being prepped to be able to go out and start reaching independent conclusions and use the problem solving skills provided by education.

WHAT TO BE AWARE OF

A business facing an environmental challenge needs to do its research before hiring a consultant. Liabilities and wrong decisions can cost your company literally millions of dollars. Unlike engineering firms that are closely monitored and regulated through professional and governmental organizations, the environmental consulting field is largely unregulated. Anyone can hang out a shingle or take out an advertisement in the Yellow Pages and proclaim themselves to be an "Environmental Consultant." To complicate matters even further, even a reputable firm today might loose its credibility and qualifications because of what is known in the industry as a brain-drain. A consulting company’s strength lies in the collective experience and expertise of its employees. Due to various factors that can affect employee morale in a company, the best employees are usually the first ones to leave and find better jobs in the industry. What is left is the shell of a company and junior or unqualified people that are left in charge of making complicated decisions on your behalf.

AN INDUSTRY REGULATING ITSELF

Over the last ten to fifteen years, many professional organizations have emerged in the field attempting to fill the void in a non-regulated profession. Organizations like the National Registry of Environmental Professionals (NREP), the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP), and the Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM), to name a few, are attempting to define standards for professionals in the industry. Most reputable organizations require some kind of entrance exam or submittal of qualifications before a member is allowed to use titles issued by its Board. Some even require individuals to maintain their certifications based on continuing education credits or experience. There are some organizations, however, that only require the payment of a fee, after which members are mailed a certificate of some kind. There is some hope on the horizon. Various professional organizations have teamed up and are lobbying the EPA to develop standards for practitioners of environmental consulting. When all parties come to an agreement it will benefit the regulated community. As with the Professional Engineering license, you will be able to ascertain that an individual has at least been able to demonstrate knowledge of some criteria.

WHAT TO ASK A CONSULTANT

Until environmental consulting becomes a regulated and monitored profession, there are certain steps you can take to protect yourself from the charlatans in the industry. Here are some questions you might want to ask from prospective consultants, compiled by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality:

• What is your firm’s experience in performing this specific work and the subsequent work it might lead to? Request a list of similar, completed projects with references.
• Which portions of the work does the firm subcontract, and are subcontractor activities competitively bid?
• What is your firm’s experience with meeting regulatory requirements?
• Does the firm’s estimate of the time needed to complete the work include time for agency review and approval?
• Who on your staff will be assigned to the project, and what will be their roles? Ask for current resumes.
• What will be the availability of the assigned staff during the project’s potential duration, and will additional personnel be assigned if needed?
• Is the staff trained in safety procedures?
• Ask the firm to prepare a work proposal with a detailed cost estimate, and a "ball park" estimate of any subsequent work.

PROTECT YOURSELF

The key in successfully addressing your environmental needs is partnering with a firm that is reputable and one you can trust. On many environmental projects, the initial scope of work is initially murky and new expenses are likely to arise. How potential problems are handled from the onset usually dictates future activities and expenses. On various occasions we have been called in to get a project back on to track after a "colleague" bit off more then they could handle. At this point, the initially perceived lowest bid turned out to be hard spent money with minimum return. For the same reason that you want a reputable attorney to represent you in legal matters, you should not have a truck driver advise you on how to manage your environmental affairs.