GREEN ISSUES
12 Jun 08. Software as service helps Army monitor environmental compliance. The Army plans to rely on Internet-based software monitoring and reporting tools as a major component in its campaign to monitor, record and reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases and other materials harmful to the environment. As part of that effort, the Army recently implemented its first Internet-based, real-time greenhouse gas reporting and management system at Fort Carson, Colo. Plans call for expansion of the system soon to Fort Benning, Ga., and beyond, according to the Army and executives at software vendor Enviance, the provider of the system. The Army meets federal regulations that require it to have a system for monitoring and recording environmental compliance at all of its installations, although those systems are far from standardized and vary widely in their degree of automation, according to Tad Davis, Army deputy assistant secretary of environmental, safety and occupational health. As the Army begins to adopt a standardized approach using the software-as-a-service model, installations will have the benefit of “an automated system that allows them to compile and track a whole host of data [involving] everything from water to waste water to air to solid hazardous waste [and] disposal issues,” Davis said. The Army is required to monitor those parameters and others, and, in most instances, must report to a variety of regulatory agencies including state authorities on its performance in each area. “Having an automated system with storage capabilities and a database is extremely beneficial to the people on the ground,” Davis said. (Source: Slashdot.com/GCN)