Project Type: ARTEMIS®

Use of ARTEMIS® Mitigates Risk

ARTEMIS® Project

Use of ARTEMIS® Mitigates Risk

Fannie Mae • Washington, DC; Maryland; and Virginia

Solution Overview

Client:

Fannie Mae

Business Challenge:

  • Environmental, health, and safety (EHS) assessment
  • Nine separate facilities encompassing over 2M square feet
  • Three different regulatory jurisdictions
  • Completion within four weeks

Solution:

  • Conduct walk through inspections
  • Utilize ARTEMIS® to capture and track real-time data and quantify progress

Results:

  • Work was delivered within the four‑week timeline
  • Unparalleled accuracy
  • Progress tracking and completion within a single system
  • EHS compliance and a safer working environment

Challenge

Fannie Mae needed an EHS assessment of nine separate facilities encompassing over 2M square feet of multiple use building space. These buildings crossed three different regulatory areas having jurisdiction (AHJs) which required adherence to varying regulations. The broad audit, spanning environmental and fire/life, electrical, and office safety, necessitated both Apex EHS experts as well as partnering with a fire protection engineer and an electrical code safety engineer. To add another layer of complexity, the entire project needed to be completed within four weeks.

Solution

We used ARTEMIS®, our web-based environmental information management system (EMIS), to create a streamlined, real-time approach. Our team members and engineering partners conducted walk through inspections of each facility and developed an ARTEMIS® mobile app to capture the findings. Due to the number of buildings, breadth of project scope, and AHJ regulations, our team knew there was the potential for thousands of data points. Based on this volume, cataloging each of the findings in the field by regulatory/audit subject was critical. In addition, ARTEMIS® enabled the team to monitor all of the findings/deficiencies, communicate findings to Fannie Mae, assign roles for resolving deficiencies, track completion, and quantify progress geographically.

Results

Due to ARTEMIS®, ease and flexibility that simultaneously enables in-field data collection and in-office insight, our work was delivered within the four‑week timeline with real-time, weekly progress updates.

With ARTEMIS®, Fannie Mae received unparalleled accuracy. For example, the project team could select each facility and project task individually on the mobile app so the data aligned perfectly with the site and scope. It also provided consistency so that similar findings were digitally grouped, eliminating redundancies, typos, errors, or manual note-taking variability. ARTEMIS® also enabled our team to provide Fannie Mae with detailed charts, graphs, and summaries for executive presentations and a repository for document storage.

Designed to prioritize risks as high, medium, and low based on an identified deficiency and potential impact to health and safety of facility personnel, ARTEMIS® helps Fannie Mae resolve any challenges. They gain the ability to dedicate budget and resources accordingly, while tracking progress and completion within a single system, across their entire portfolio.

Through ARTEMIS®, Apex has assisted Fannie Mae in obtaining/updating applicable permits, maintaining current applicable registrations and fees, achieving compliance with multiple code and regulatory gaps, and tracking of reports and records to document compliance. We have also assisted with resolving over 50 percent of their audit deficiencies and 100 percent of high priority deficiencies noted in a four-month period, resulting in EHS compliance and a safer working environment for their employees.

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ESG Program Development

ARTEMIS® Project

ESG Program Development

Private Equity Company • Remote

Solution Overview

Client:

Private equity (PE) company

Business Challenge:

  • A PE firm with numerous portfolio companies needed to understand the impact of its operations across its holdings.

Solution:

  • ARTEMIS® environmental, social, and governance (ESG) allows the PE firm to track energy usage across sources, as well as health and safety data, corporate governance data, and more.

Results:

  • As an integrated solution, ARTEMIS® ESG provides a comprehensive picture of the PE firm’s greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint across its portfolio companies, and provides insights that allow the organization to address gaps across its ESG program.

Challenge

The market for environmental risk management and public disclosures has changed dramatically in the last three decades. Companies must now manage their social license to operate i.e., companies need to not only manage their environmental and social risk but must also report their data for public accountability. Environmental, social, and governance, otherwise known as “ESG” is a set of criteria used to assess a company’s operational performance as it relates to its financial prospects. This measure is used in enhancing corporate transparency; thereby enabling stakeholders to identify companies with like values. According to the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), “ESG information is not just text but data, focusing on the performance that is measurable, manageable, actionable, and reportable.” Apex Companies' new ARTEMIS® ESG module is a solution that tackles data management head-on.

Solution

ARTEMIS® stands for Apex Real Time Environmental Management Information System. It is Apex’s solution for capturing and managing critical environmental and ESG data, that leverages technology to measure, manage, and report on ESG risks across business lines and/or portfolio companies. This cloud-based platform allows companies to access ESG data quickly, proactively manage energy consumption, and facilitates easy reporting.

There is often a lacuna between those who develop corporate ESG strategy and those who manage day‑to‑day operational level data; ARTEMIS® ESG leverages technology to bridge this gap. Its calendaring feature creates a schedule based on regulatory requirements and provides displays by activity type to ensure the right team is notified about upcoming compliance issues and reporting needs. It then aggregates those records to be reported up into corporate level ESG risk and management through its extensive capability to export to Excel, Word, and Adobe PDF.

At the operational level, team members can upload information using their mobile device, collect data in the field, and relay it immediately through secure web portals. With 24/7 access to quality data, clients can make quick and informed decisions about their projects, which saves time and money. ARTEMIS® started as a water management tool but has grown in reporting capabilities and is now being used to manage ESG reporting and performance for a diverse range of markets and industries, including private equity firms across multiple portfolio companies.

Unlike other ESG management platforms that emphasize the “E,” ARTEMIS® is also being used by clients to focus on social and corporate governance themes. Apex has leveraged its expertise in the health and safety and workforce management and ESG reporting frameworks to manage material social risks like injury and illness incidents, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), hiring and retention, and employee training. Specifics of what ARTEMIS® tracks can be designed to meet the material needs of a particular portfolio company or PE firm. Apex understands that a successful ESG program ultimately rests on good corporate governance practices. This insight has been crucial in the development of ARTEMIS®. The tool allows clients across different industries and profiles to focus on tracking specific governance policies with the help of ESG subject matter experts.

ARTEMIS® ESG is currently being utilized by a private equity firm (Company A) whose portfolio includes engineering, manufacturing, service, and retail firms. Company A identified a gap as they were developing a more robust and intentional ESG program for onboarding newly acquired portfolio companies. Growing market demand, the need for transparency around ethical ESG reporting, and long-term value creation were key driers for Company A’s ESG program development. They found that the options available in the market to track this data have often been split between platforms that focus on “E” versus those that focus on “S” and “G.” Apex saw the opportunity to customize its existing software and help bridge the gap between operational data and corporate ESG strategy.

Results

ARTEMIS® has been a key tool for benchmarking not only GHG and DEI data, but also for tracking changes in operating procedures and corporate governance policies. By housing ESG data and policies in ARTEMIS®, Company A has made its onboarding more efficient, benefiting its internal teams as well as the individual portfolio companies. Company A can view all their portfolio companies’ ESG data, facility lists, social metric trending analysis, governance policies etc. in real time, in one place. and in one consistent format, while each portfolio company can view their own firm’s data and track performance over time and themes.

As a next step towards providing our clients with the tools to understand ESG-related risks and opportunities for their business, Apex Companies, LLC is proud to launch ARTEMIS® ESG. As we continue to build out the capabilities of ARTEMIS® ESG we will look to expand into new markets and industries, taking feedback from our clients to continuously improve our service and solution offerings. This innovative software, combined with Apex’s 30+ years of experience in the ESG sector, provides our clients with one tool that is rooted in efficiency to allow them to think strategically, execute safely, and grow responsibly.

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ARTEMIS® Expedites Lending Process

ARTEMIS® Project

ARTEMIS® Expedites Lending Process

Confidential Financial Institution • Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware

Solution Overview

Client:

Confidential financial institution

Business Challenge:

  • Environmental evaluation of 427 gas station facilities
  • Qualitatively assess the potential risks of environmental liability for the borrower and the potential implication for the lenders

Solution:

  • Utilized ARTEMIS® to manage thousands of documents and prepare reports

Results:

  • Due diligence and loan decision-making process were streamlined
  • Transformed qualitative and quantitative technical information into practical reports

Challenge

In connection with a proposed $400 million plus financing and loan syndication, Apex Companies was retained by the lead bank to provide an environmental evaluation of 427 gas station facilities. The objective was to qualitatively assess the potential risks of environmental liability for the borrower and the potential implication for the lenders. We thoroughly reviewed prior environmental reports, compliance documents, remediation documents, and new database reports for each of the sites. We then conducted site inspections at 30 percent of the portfolio to observe site conditions and interviewed company representatives to determine risk management and compliance procedures.

Solution

To manage the thousands of documents provided by the borrower, we established an electronic repository which could be accessed by our team. We used Apex’s web‑based, real-time environmental management information system (EMIS), ARTEMIS®, and a smartphone/tablet-based app tailored to the project, to summarize data from the document and database reviews and site inspections. We prepared a brief summary report for each site and a comprehensive executive report which summarized the findings and the risks associated with the portfolio, as well as detail regarding the high risk sites.

Results

By using ARTEMIS®, the data can be easily sorted, searched, and reported using specific criteria including site location, risk rating, tank age, release case status, among others.

With access to these highly quantifiable and referenceable data and a summarization of the environmental implications of all 427 sites, we significantly streamlined their due diligence and loan decision-making process.

After successfully completing this due diligence project, our client partnered with us again for a similar due diligence project, assessing an additional 66 sites across eight states with varying compliance requirements.

Thanks to the power of ARTEMIS®, our team ensured a comprehensive, consistent delivery of insightful information, this time completing all 66 sites within 45 days. We compiled all the field and report review data for central review/editing by our senior QA/QC staff; tabulated sites by risk, location, tank age, remediation status, use, and other key risk factors; and performed a statistical breakdown of site attributes to support our risk ratings. ARTEMIS® helped our client transform qualitative and quantitative technical information into practical reports their financial teams could easily digest to understand the risks posed to a lender by environmental concerns.

New ARTEMIS logo 2016 FINAL

The new generation of environmental information management.

ARTEMIS® is a configurable cloud-based information management system that is used to capture and manage information so our clients can achieve regulatory compliance, meet their business metrics, and drive the efficiencies that matter most to their bottom line.

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Convenience Store Chain Harnesses the Power of ARTEMIS® Technology

ARTEMIS® Project

Convenience Store Chain Harnesses the Power of ARTEMIS® Technology

Eastern US Region

Solution Overview

Client:

American chain of convenience stores and gas stations

Business Challenge:

  • Pinpointing stores requiring routine water treatment maintenance
  • Allocating maintenance and repair costs
  • Storing state and local regulatory documents
  • Systems and processes not communicating effectively
  • Need for a centralized mobile responsive system with real-time reporting capabilities

Solution:

  • Implement ARTEMIS®, Apex’s web‑based environmental management information system (EMIS)

Results:

  • Instant 24/7 digital access of all their site assets
  • Immediate notification of any issues
  • 200 ARTEMIS® users collecting over 10K environmental records annually

Challenge

A $12B chain of over 750 convenience retail stores across the Eastern US needed a solution to inventory and manage its field assets. Water management infrastructure components at over 600 of its sites included stormceptors, underground filtration basins, etc.

With a limited team of five professionals, the client found itself habitually reactive and unsure if contractors (e.g. septic and grease trap pumpers, pest control vendors) were completing critical compliance and maintenance work.

With no reliable way to pinpoint which stores required routine water treatment maintenance, and an inability to allocate maintenance and repair costs, the client also found itself challenged with regards to storing its state and local regulatory documents.

The current systems and processes did not communicate effectively, and hundreds of users were submitting disparate data; each associate or vendor was working with a different database and report format.

The retailer recognized that they needed a centralized system that was mobile responsive, comprehensive, and consistent with real-time reporting capabilities.

Solution

To move from a reactive approach to a proactive one, our client selected ARTEMIS®, Apex Companies’ web‑based environmental management information system (EMIS), to manage and track the details of their environmental program including:

  • Spills and releases
  • Stormwater asset audits, inspections, operations, and maintenance repairs
  • Drinking water systems
  • Wastewater treatment plants and grease trap inspections, operations, and maintenance repairs
  • Due diligence for new locations with oversight and environmental sampling
  • Emergency prevention and response preparation
  • Facilities management including store inspections and pest control

With ARTEMIS®, data is uploaded from environmental field assessments (e.g. stormwater system evaluations) via a mobile app directly to a cloud-based client dashboard. It provides a central, scalable platform with transparency, consistency, and efficiency across over 750 locations.

Results

Our client now has control over the quality of the water, air, and soil of their sites. While many companies react to ever‑evolving regulatory requirements, with a digital 24/7 access of all their site assets, our client can instantly see what’s working and what’s not while accurately forecasting their compliance needs from store to store.

They gain critical insight that goes far beyond traditional EMIS capability to meet the project lifecycle needs of the facilities department as well as their quality assurance and construction departments.

With immediate notification of any issues through ARTEMIS®, replete with visual details such as real-time photo uploads, they can take swift and decisive action to dispatch teams to resolve any maintenance issues before a spill or other environmental emergency develops. And when emergencies do occur, ARTEMIS® enables their personnel to make informed decisions immediately and allows its response contractors to coordinate quickly, respond more effectively, and submit accurate release notifications and reports to regulators—all of which further improves coordination and collaboration with state regulators and generates significant savings. In addition, with a centralized and standardized view into their vendors’ activities across their geography, they can track operational performance and make adjustments accordingly to ensure the right steps are taken at the right time to improve environmental conditions across their stores simultaneously.

Using ARTEMIS®, they also implemented an aggressive maintenance program of their stormwater conveyance systems that improves treatment efficiencies of their existing infrastructure and identifies any systems requiring repairs or improvement. As a result, within two years, the generation of wasted solids and liquids from their stormwater systems has decreased by over 30%.

Currently there are over 200 ARTEMIS® users (both employees and contractors) collecting over 10K environmental records annually.

New ARTEMIS logo 2016 FINAL

The new generation of environmental information management.

ARTEMIS® is a configurable cloud-based information management system that is used to capture and manage information so our clients can achieve regulatory compliance, meet their business metrics, and drive the efficiencies that matter most to their bottom line.

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Structural Pollutant Control BMP Inspection and Maintenance

ARTEMIS® Project

Structural Pollutant Control BMP Inspection and Maintenance

Unified Port District • Tidelands, Southern California

Solution Overview

Client:

Unified Port District

Business Challenge:

With a large number and variety of best management practices (BMPs) spread across a wide geographic area, the Port requires a system to accurately and efficiently track both inspection and maintenance activities in compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit.

Solution:

Using innovative inspection and reporting tools, Apex is conducting inspection and maintenance of stormwater assets to achieve NPDES compliance, including:

  • Conducting inspections, noting any sediment, liquid, and debris build-up in each BMP using the mobile application (app)
  • Scheduling and implementation of the cleaning and/or maintenance recommended based on the inspection results, which are facilitated using Apex Real Time Environmental Management Information System (ARTEMIS®)

Results:

  • Removal of hundreds of pounds of trash, debris, and other pollution-causing materials that would have entered the San Diego Bay
  • Our field technicians are currently responsible for inspecting and maintaining several hundred Port BMPs

Challenge

The District owns and operates 300+ individual stormwater treatment control BMPs installed throughout the Port Tidelands. The project includes trash capture devices and other pollutant reducing BMPs including storm drain inlet filters from various manufacturers, pervious pavements, proprietary devices such as continuous deflection systems (CDS) units or modular wetland systems, bio-retention facilities, and media filters installed at various District locations. With a large variety of BMPs, the Port is required to maintain compliance with their NPDES stormwater permit, and ensure inspection and maintenance tracking is both accurate and efficient.

Solution

In order to conduct the monthly inspections with accuracy and timely reporting, we utilized the ARTEMIS® database with a mobile inspection app to log and track inspection results, findings, and corrective actions to efficiently manage resources and track program progress.

This platform for data management of stormwater BMP inspection and maintenance activities helps the District maintain and improve stormwater compliance. By replacing clipboards with an app for smartphones and tablets, Apex inspectors can:

  • Access real time records from previous inspection reports, as needed, to verify the completion of repairs or to monitor and remedy reoccurring issues;
  • Automatically submit collected data to a database resulting in improved accuracy;
  • Standardize data collection to improve reporting and data mining;
  • Integrate photos and GPS, providing a complete record in one submission;
  • Work offline where internet connections are not available, avoiding disruption in sampling and monitoring mobilization;
  • Conduct routine inspections of the stormwater treatment control BMPs and identify maintenance and/or cleaning needs;
  • Implement the BMP maintenance program routine work, restoration work, and rehabilitation work; and
  • Document and report the results of the inspections, maintenance, and cleaning activity.

This smartphone/tablet technology is powerful, scalable, affordable, and a tool to efficiently generate quality year end summaries, tables, and reports. This technology is an integral part of the Port’s success in maintaining stormwater compliance.

Results

By ensuring that the stormwater treatment control BMPs are functioning as designed, Apex has provided invaluable assistance to the Port in maintaining multiple stormwater permits. Over the contract duration we have removed hundreds of pounds of trash, debris, and other pollution-causing materials that would have entered the San Diego Bay. Our field technicians are currently responsible for inspecting and maintaining several hundred Port BMPs. Without the use of our innovative electronic inspection and reporting tools, maintaining compliance for the Port would be much more challenging.

Apex self-performs the inspections and the majority of the as-needed maintenance for these BMPs. The inspections were initially performed monthly. Apex regularly collaborates with the Port's project manager and environmental staff to refine the inspection schedule; our staff base our recommendations on the types of BMPs that need to be installed, their historical levels of impact (as detailed in Apex's inspection record developed for the Port), and seasonal variations associated with San Diego’s rainy season. This collaboration and adjustment has resulted in reducing the average monthly effort needed by nearly 40 percent without compromising the Port’s ability to comply with its regulatory obligations.

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World’s Largest Retailer’s Early Adoption of ARTEMIS® Generates Insight

ARTEMIS® Project

World’s Largest Retailer’s Early Adoption of ARTEMIS® Generates Insight

Nationwide

Solution Overview

Client:

World’s largest retailer

Business Challenge:

Our client required a web-based platform that their program managers could use to track and monitor the progress and completion of all stormwater and wastewater projects at each of their sites.

Solution:

A fully-functional web‑based environmental management information system (EMIS).

Results:

The client gained real-time reporting, consistent data entry and management, photo management, and a 24/7 dashboard to track all sites nationwide.

Challenge

Since 2002, Apex Companies has provided a broad range of services to this Fortune 50 company in all 50 states. We have completed tens of thousands of permitting, compliance, environmental, and construction-related projects at their facilities and within their legal, distribution, transportation, and logistics departments. Our services include stormwater, engineering, wastewater, aboveground and underground storage tanks, solid/hazardous waste, brownfields, industrial hygiene/indoor air quality, and potable water, across a broad geography.

As our program support expanded, our client required a web-based platform that their program managers could use to track and monitor the progress and completion of all of Apex’s stormwater and wastewater projects at each of their sites.

Solution

To meet their requirement, Apex initially developed a standard web‑based platform and various mobile apps to support the program. However, as the number of stores within our client’s portfolio grew and the challenges became more complex, managing the large amounts of data generated daily and monthly became more problematic. The mobile app also experienced issues such as incompatibility challenges, and the need for constant updating.

With a deep understanding of our client’s challenges, Apex decided a more scalable and robust technological solution was needed. We quickly developed and deployed a new mobile application to align perfectly with their requirements for both routine maintenance services and out of scope/repair activities. Once the mobile app was implemented, we began to create a fully-functional web-based environmental management information system (EMIS), known as, ARTEMIS®.

Results

ARTEMIS® addressed our client’s most pressing challenges. With it, they gained real-time reporting, consistent data entry and management, photo management, and a 24/7 dashboard. What began as a focused stormwater and wastewater management tool is now a powerful insight and analysis engine that is used to keep all of their sites on track nationwide. Today, nearly every service we provide for this leading retailer is fed into ARTEMIS® via mobile forms developed specifically for the requested scopes of work, generating a real-time system of environmental oversight.

New ARTEMIS logo 2016 FINAL

The new generation of environmental information management.

ARTEMIS® is a configurable cloud-based information management system that is used to capture and manage information so our clients can achieve regulatory compliance, meet their business metrics, and drive the efficiencies that matter most to their bottom line.

How Can We Help You Succeed?

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