Laem Chabang Port, Thailand, PEMSEA PSHEM Certification

Laem Chabang Port, operated by the Port Authority of Thailand and the country's largest deep sea port, received a Certificate of Recognition for its Port Safety, Health, and Environmental Management System (PSHEMS) from PEMSEA on 24 November 2009 (PEMSEA, 2014).

The port began implementing PSHEMS in 2008 with PEMSEA support, following Bangkok Port's earlier adoption, and scoped the system initially around port authority governance rather than the whole port estate (PEMSEA, 2018).

The certification process included a stage 1 audit (30 August to 2 September 2009) and a stage 2 audit (2 to 6 November 2009) by the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PEMSEA, 2014). The PSHEM Code itself is a voluntary standard, integrating ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, against which a port measures the performance of its operations (PEMSEA, 2018).

Implementation followed a six-phase method: define the PSHEMS scope; establish representative working groups, with working teams split into operational, equipment handling and administrative groups; build capacity through training; assess compliance with legal obligations; identify health, safety and environmental risks; and document and monitor implementation (PEMSEA, 2018).

Internal assurance sits alongside this external layer. Dedicated internal audit teams were established and trained at the same time as the operational working teams, and the audit team was made responsible for monitoring, controlling and improving the PSHEMS (PEMSEA, 2018). The internal audit function is therefore not a precertification exercise but a standing part of the management system.

A 2019 study of the port's environmental performance indicators, based on monitoring data from 2011 to 2014, covered parameters including total Kjeldahl nitrogen in wastewater, chromium levels in soil and sediment, total suspended particulate matter in the air, and aquatic biodiversity measures. The Port Authority of Thailand's Green Port Project set a target to reduce CO2 emissions and energy use from port activities by 10 percent within fiscal year 2019 compared to a 2013 baseline (Teerawattana and Yang, 2019).

Laem Chabang operates under Thai environmental law frameworks including Marine Department Notification No. 136 (2564) on Action Plan Guidelines for Ports to Prevent and Respond to Oil Pollution, Chemical Substances and Hazardous Substances. For other ASEAN ports, Laem Chabang demonstrates that PEMSEA PSHEM certification can provide a regionally appropriate framework for systematic compliance auditing.

Lessons learned

PEMSEA's own review of the Bangkok and Laem Chabang implementations records a series of lessons (PEMSEA, 2018). Those most relevant to internal audit and review are:

1. Internal audit and management review are what keep the system alive. PEMSEA is explicit that "internal audit and management review processes were necessary for the system to remain effective and be continually improved, including adapting policies and procedures to applicable new or amended national and international regulations." Certification proves conformity on one date. The internal cycle is what absorbs regulatory change, new cargo profiles and incident learnings between external audits.
2. Audit capability has to be built, not assumed. Internal audit teams were established and trained as a deliberate workstream. Ports that rely on an untrained volunteer roster tend to produce audits that confirm paperwork exists rather than test whether controls work.
3. Adequate training of personnel was needed more broadly, so staff were competent to operate the new framework. Auditee competence matters as much as auditor competence: an audit of a process nobody has been trained to run generates findings that cannot be closed.
4. Top management support was a key factor. PEMSEA records that "securing support from top management and port authority was key to sustainability of PSHEMS." For the audit function this is the difference between findings that trigger resourced corrective action and findings that are noted and filed.
5. Representative working teams made the system auditable. Working groups drawn from every concerned unit, split into operational, equipment handling and administrative groups, ensured that development and implementation were relevant, well planned and supported. It also meant each area had an owner who could be held to a finding.
6. Limiting scope first was a deliberate audit strategy, not a shortcut. At Bangkok Port, starting with the highest risk activity (dangerous goods handling) concentrated limited resources where consequence was greatest. At Laem Chabang, the system started with the port authority's own management system, focusing on port governance.
7. Documentation was the hardest part. PEMSEA notes that "the development of the management system and documentation of the PSHEMS manual were challenging tasks." Ports should budget realistic time for procedure writing and document control before scheduling the first internal audit round.