Even with the most detailed planning, keeping on course to the original timescale, particularly in the case of an EMS where the project is a long term one, can be very difficult for an organisation to achieve.

The progress of the project should be periodically reviewed to identify those stages that have been completed, whilst highlighting any changes to the plan that may be necessary, to account for difficulties or slippages. The frequency of for such reviews can be scheduled at the beginning of the project and defined within the project plan itself.

Following completion of each defined stage, it is important that the Environmental Steering Group, or equivalent, meet to confirm that the requirements of the project plan have been achieved satisfactorily. Where the need for additional actions are identified during the project reviews, these actions should be defined and documented, with the required completion date and who is responsible for carrying out the actions.