In the coming years, the EPA will be spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars to build a national electronic waste manifest system. Why are they doing this? What advantages does electronic manifest have over paper? To make a long story short, electronic manifest will save money and improve effectiveness. Here are a ways eManifest will benefit its users.
- It Will Make Recordkeeping and Reporting Easier
By storing waste manifest records electronically, you no longer need to rely on the original record. This makes losing the record nearly impossible, and has the added benefit of automating any document search you need to do. These advantages are particularly helpful when filing a biennial hazardous waste report. What used to be an arduous process can be heavily automated with electronic manifests.
- It Will Improve Precision and Accuracy
An electronic record has much less room for ambiguity than a handwritten or typed form. With older methods, important data can be obfuscated or erased by a coffee spill or sub-par penmanship. If you have an electronic master copy, you will always be able to confirm exactly what the document says.
Additionally, a computer can’t make the simple typographical errors that plague human authors. A person might mess up an address or ID number occasionally. This small error may cause larger problems down the line if it isn’t caught soon. This problem is completely avoided if the task is done automatically.
If you consider that a single error on a waste manifest form can result in a fine of thousands of dollars, this increase in accuracy can quickly pay for itself several times over.
- It Will Eliminate Duplicate Effort
A large portion of the text on a waste manifest can be copied verbatim from manifest to manifest. With an electronic system, many of these fields can be filled out automatically based on the waste stream, generator, transporter, and TSDRF. This reduces the chances of a typo, and can save a lot of time over the course of a year.
- It Will Make the Data Useful
With a web-based electronic manifest system, it’s possible to store all of your waste data in a single searchable database. This might not seem like a big deal, but this data can be useful in a variety of ways. For example, it can help you track waste shipments from generator to TSD. A web-based system also greatly cuts down on the time spent compiling biennial reports, since the data can be filtered by waste stream and date generated.
If you consider all the facts, electronic manifests look like a pretty good investment. They improve the accuracy and accessibility of your records, and reduce the cost of maintaining those records. If you regularly handle waste manifests, you should want some software to handle the busywork. Quantum Compliance offers one of the best eManifest systems on the market today. You can reap all the benefits discussed earlier, all for a low price. Contact us to schedule a demo today!
