ApplyIT`s Aurora complaints handling system is helping KwaZulu-Natal`s Umbogintwini Operations Services (UOS) to monitor the environmental impact of the Umbogintwini Industrial Complex (UIC) south of Amanzimtoti.
UIC comprises 13 manufacturing companies mostly in the chemical industry. It is surrounded by residential property and its boundary runs within 500 metres of the coastline.
ApplyIT marketing manager Tineke Smith says the environmental line allows members of the public to report any incidents relating to environmental odours, noise pollution, dust, spillage and sea discolouration to UOS.
"When a member of the public calls the complaints line, the call is logged in the Aurora complaints handling system, and an e-mail is sent to the relevant company, notifying them of the complaint.
"The company then feeds back the results of its own investigation and outlines corrective and further preventative actions to be taken. This is then logged into the system and communicated back to the complainant."
Smith says UOS also uses the system to compile a monthly environmental report, which is circulated to the UIC and community representatives. She says the system can also be used to identify trends and proactive measures taken to better manage environmental incidents.
UOS environmental manager Joey Singh says the complaints handling system has greatly improved the monitoring system.
"Previously all complaints were handled manually, and were therefore filed on paper and sent to the relevant company, a letter was then sent back to the complainant. Reports and collation of statistics were then manually generated at the end of each month for distribution, a process that was both laborious and time-consuming.
"Aurora has provided us with an effective management tool to track all calls received via the environmental line. We can now provide a better response to the community and a more professional service to the companies on site," he says.
Smith says over 750 calls have been logged at an average of about 40 a month since the system was implemented in January 2002.
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