PCB Program: national communication plan and management system

The national PCB management and elimination program, covering a persistent organic pollutant under the Stockholm Convention, was run with UNDP and GEF funding. Argentina had over 100,000 transformers inventoried, around 6% contaminated and some 8,700 estimated tons in stock.

The obstacle was double and of the same nature: information that was not getting out and information that was not getting in, and neither side is solved without the other.

Outward, those holding the equipment did not know they held it.

• Unknown obligations: provinces, SMEs, electrical cooperatives, large users, schools and hospitals knew neither their obligations nor the risks.
• Scattered data: transformer information lived spread across the provinces.
• No cross checks possible: exports for destruction were not contrasted against the registries, and there was no registry of authorized laboratories.

Without a single base, the country could not demonstrate progress to the Convention even where progress existed.

Both fronts were tackled at once: a measurable communication plan for each audience and a platform that would build the single data base.

The scope ran within the UNDP ARG/10/G48 project.

Communication with a tracking grid

• National strategic plan with three pillars and monthly tracking over three years, weighted by objective, audience and medium.
• Survey work: dual data form, inspection sticker, material handover and online inspector upload with final report.
• In person training with printed material and certificate, plus an online mode with a reference site and an assessment newsletter.
• Awareness work on health and environmental impact, labeling, transport and safe storage, through outdoor, municipal screens, spots and talks at schools and hospitals.

The platform that builds the base

• Provincial transformer registry with bulk spreadsheet import and individual management.
• Export notification by exporting agencies, with automatic registry updates and alerts to the province by web service or file.
• Authorized laboratory registry and filtered, exportable reporting to inform the Convention.

Cleaner Production

• Survey, photography and filming at five companies per province, with script, voiceover and institutional video.
• Brochure and material design for seven provinces.

Architecture and technology

• .NET MVC 5 with Entity Framework on SQL Server 2012, in layers distributable across servers for low connectivity scenarios.
• REST services layer for integration with other systems, delivered in incremental versions with user testing, manuals and training.

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The country went from data scattered across provinces to a national registry cross referencing inventory, exports and laboratories.

Starting point

• Over 100,000 transformers inventoried and around 6% contaminated.
• Some 8,700 estimated tons in stock and a target of eliminating 2,000.
• Data scattered across provinces, with no cross check against exports and no laboratory registry.

Results

• National transformer registry built from the provinces with bulk loading.
• Exports connected with automatic alerts to each province.
• Authorized laboratory registry and exportable reports for the Convention.
• Communication plan with 3 pillars, monthly tracking over 3 years, 6 audiences and 5 coordinated channels.
• Cleaner Production material for 7 provinces, with 5 companies each.

Strategic impact

• The distributable layered architecture accounts for provinces with low connectivity, which is where the equipment is.
• Plan and system hold each other up: the survey feeds the registry and the registry targets the communication.