ChemSW’s Latest Industry White Paper Examines How to Survive a Chemical Management Audit
ChemSW’s latest Best Practices industry white paper details best practices that can be leveraged to survive a chemical management audit. The white paper examines the challenges inherent in chemical management audits and presents Best Practices solutions to assist chemists in understanding and addressing the myriad chemical inventory management requirements with which they must comply.
Multiple Regulations Cover Wide Range of Chemicals and Facilities
From lubricants to solvents, from flammable materials to corrosives, many organizations today handle and store a number of different chemicals that must be managed safely. It’s not enough to ensure that you know where chemicals are, provide training and information about correct handling procedures, and ensure that chemicals are stored and disposed appropriately. There are many rules and regulations to ensure that these minimums take place. Rather, because of all these requirements – some of which conflict – it is extremely important to ensure that your organization is able to pass chemical management audits to prove that your system works both well and safely.
Conflicting Requirements Often Create Audit Noncompliances
Every year, many organizations fail to pass audits of their workplace chemicals because those chemicals and related supplies are not managed and controlled in a safe manner in accordance with regulations. One of the main causes for the continuing chemical safety deficiencies in the workplace that drive audit failure is the large number of requirements that govern chemical-related work. This white paper helps point out the areas where deficiencies most often occur and provides pointers on how to avoid audit noncompliance.
The penalties for failing EPA, OSHA, NFPA and other regulatory audits related to chemical management on site can be severe. A Best Practices approach can help ensure that the chemical management program that has been implemented works and that the related audits are successful.
Best Practices Checklists Help Ensure Compliance
Numerous local, state and federal requirements have been promulgated to protect workers, equipment, facilities and the environment from the hazards associated with chemicals. Because such requirements can number in the thousands, simply identifying all of the applicable chemical safety-related requirements that govern any particular work activity with chemicals can be a monumental task. In addition, many of these requirements approach chemical safety from different perspectives, contain overlapping provisions, are sometimes contradictory, and often confusing.
A series of best practices activity-based checklists that govern chemical-related work activities — with overlap and duplication of requirements removed — have been developed and provided to assist in chemical management audits.
White Paper Focuses on Chemical Management Audit Survival Techniques
Entitled “How to Survive a Chemical Management Audit,” the white paper examines how to leverage industry best practices for chemical inventory safety integrity, as well as how to gain control of chemical inventory through the implementation of a chemical inventory system that addresses regulations and dovetails with the organization’s SOPs (Figure 1). The Best Practices components of an end-to-end Chemical Inventory System (CIS) for establishing and maintaining information about the chemical safety and quality data are also explored.
Request Additional Information
If you would like to schedule a Web Demo to have an Inventory Specialist demonstrate how an end-to-end chemical inventory system can help ensure audit compliance, please contact us at 707-864-0845 or info@chemsw.com
For related information about the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism 6 CFR Part 27 to which all sites that handle chemicals must soon comply, click here. http://www.dhs.gov.
About CISPro Chemical Inventory System®
ChemSW’s CISPro Chemical Inventory System® solution is a high-performance, relational database system that delivers all the necessary tools to accurately track chemicals and supplies and meet safety and regulatory requirements, including bar code labeling, remote inventory control, document linking and links to MSDSs. An unlimited number of material classes can be tracked, including reference standards, with multiple security layers. Materials can easily be designated as GMP or lab use only, and inventories for individual business units can be maintained independently, within a single global database. The system interface can be adjusted based on custom logins, allowing the customer to specify what data each individual can access.
About ChemSW
Founded over a decade ago, ChemSW is a leading provider of chemical and biochemical inventory management systems, MSDS systems and other chemistry laboratory software and services. ChemSW’s wide range of products streamline laboratory processes and reduce chemical purchasing and disposal costs. ChemSW supports over 10,000 customers in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
