Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

Mark Katchen, MS, MBA, CIH, FAIHA is Managing Principal of The Phylmar Group—an organization that manages three business consortia in the EHS/sustainability area. The consortia are composed of Fortune 500 companies interested in monitoring regulatory changes and exchanging information on compliance issues and implementing best practices. More information can be found at www.phylmar.com. Katchen’s consulting expertise includes optimizing the EHS/Sustainability function by focusing on mission alignment, resource allocation and utilization, business process improvement, and demonstrating the value of EHS/Sustainability to the organization.

Internal health and safety audits: Asset or liability?

April 3, 2018

Internal audits are a fact of life for many environment, health and safety professionals -- especially those working for large companies. I recently had a discussion with a long-time Phylmar client about internal safety audits. There is a lot of guidance and advice available on how to prepare for such audits and how to create corrective action plans to respond to audit findings.

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

April 3, 2018

Recently, I did some health and safety “due diligence” consulting work for a client who wanted to acquire a small, 65-employee business. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with supervisors and employees and touring the facility and was struck by two important findings: this small company didn’t have much by way of written programs that supported health and safety regulatory compliance AND it had a remarkably good safety record -- one that much larger companies would envy.

Re-Imagining OSHA in the Trump era

Would doing away with safety regs help or hurt you?

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

September 1, 2017

OSHA’s regs and enforcement have framed health and safety work for decades. If OSHA reduces its regulatory activity (delaying or reversing current regulations) and moves toward technical assistance, what might the impact be?

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

May 8, 2015

On April 20, 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) describing how Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employer wellness programs that are part of group health plans. The NPRM is available in the Public Inspection portion of the Federal Register.

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

September 3, 2014

Environmental health and safety/social responsibility audits are the principal tool used to assess compliance with regulatory requirements and brand policy in the supply chain.

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

September 3, 2014

Combining science and business, green chemistry promises a new generation of safer substitutes for hazardous ingredients, renewable raw materials for everyday products

The “Right Home” for EHS

You want visibility, influence & support within your organization

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

October 2, 2013

The “home” that EHS has within an organization can make a big difference in its effectiveness — and in how well EHS professionals meet our personal career goals.

Mark Katchen MS MBA CIH

May 3, 2011

Consider this scenario: Your firm has just completed a project that involved assessing your client’s status with regard to OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) and making recommendations to close its gaps.