MOTIVATION
(Material) Safety Data Sheets ((M)SDSs) are documents containing information regarding the safe handling, use, storage, and disposal of potentially hazardous chemicals. Manufacturers of potentially hazardous chemicals are required to author and distribute (M)SDSs by many regulatory agencies worldwide, including the UN, OSHA, EPA, EU, and Health Canada. Additionally, employers are required to make (M)SDSs readily accessible to all personnel that may be involved in manufacturing, distributing, transporting and using these materials. (In the United States, these requirements are implemented in OSHA’s CFR 1910.1200 Hazard Communication Standard, which was recently modified to enforce GHS-compliance in the United States.)
Every year, many organizations fail to pass OSHA audits of their workplace chemicals because those chemicals are not managed and controlled in accordance with hazard communications regulations. One of the main causes for the continuing chemical management deficiencies that drive audit failure is the complexity and number of requirements that govern chemical-related work. Ensuring chemical inventory compliance includes several critical steps, including:
- Identify and optimize critical inventory system chemical components.
- Identify chemical inventory affected by regulations.
- Cross-reference affected inventory to appropriate regulations.
- Provide site-wide real-time access to current (M)SDS.
- Implement a comprehensive best practices chemical inventory management system.
LET CIH Enterprises WORK FOR YOU
CIH Enterprises’s on-demand, Online (M)SDS Management System provides proven, cost-effective solutions for each of these critical steps for compliance at your facilities.
The benefits of this system are numerous:
- Allows managers a global perspective on multiple operations, if applicable.
- Enforces uniformity of regulatory compliance across multiple sites.
- Cloud-computing (Web-based) application provides maximum benefits for minimum costs.
- Data is accessible concurrently by multiple users, across multiple locations and departments.
- Each user can be granted respective and varying levels of access. (For example, one user could be set to only view data for his facility or department, and another user could be set to be able to view anything from any facility worldwide.)
- All hardware and software maintenance and upgrades are handled by CIH Enterprises.
- Updates and upgrades are immediately and automatically deployed to all users.
- Accessible from any location and on any device with Internet (Web) access.
- Option to provide access to local hospitals or health care providers so they can immediately view applicable (M)SDSs if an accident occurs.
- Secure transfer of all data using 256-bit AES encryption (the same encryption standard used by the US National Security Agency).
- Accurate (M)SDS data entry and storage based on the actual (M)SDSs that you receive with your purchased products.
- Version control to older versions of (M)SDSs and (M)SDSs for products that are no longer used. Old (M)SDSs are automatically stored as an archive as required by regulations.
- User-friendly, yet powerful, search capabilities.
- Simple search by manufacturer and/or product name.
- More complex searches, such as usage and toxicology information. (For example, a user could search for chemicals that could cause certain symptoms in a specific department or facility.)
- Integration with our extensive chemical information database, so that a user can view detailed information (physical properties, toxicological information, recommended PPE, links to OSHA/NIOSH/ICSC pages, regulatory limits, etc.) about each component listed on an (M)SDS.
- Optional tracking of which (M)SDSs in your inventory are GHS-compliant, so that as the OSHA deadline for GHS-compliance approaches, you will know which (M)SDSs still need to be updated from the manufacturer.
- Optional integration with GHS and/or DNEL information, if desired.
- Optional integration with your qualitative Hazard Assessment database.
- An optional DVD can be provided for each site, containing all current (M)SDS PDF files for that site along with a simple search interface. This is especially useful in cases where Internet access is limited (either due to the location of a worksite, or due to an Internet outage).
- Optional development of modules to assist with regulatory (EU, US EPA, etc.) inventory reporting.
- Maximum flexibility – At your request, CIH Enterprises can work with you to develop additional features and modules to specifically meet the needs of Tate & Lyle.
As you can see, CIH Enterprises’s solutions go far beyond a simple online filing cabinet for (M)SDS documents. We offer a unified, comprehensive solution for (M)SDS Management that allows you to take full advantage of all your information. We believe that this this a critical part of developing the next generation of highly-effective Industrial Hygiene Programs at your organization.