Supplier (SDS) safety data sheet Management or as it was previously known (MSDS) Material safety data sheet management is an onerous task and one that can be very difficult to complete successfully if the correct systems are not in place. Chemdoc as leaders in supplier safety data sheet management software and systems, have put together 5 tips, based on our years of experience, on how to manage this difficult task successfully and accomplish REACH compliance and create quality COSHH Risk Assessments.
1. Record the correct information in your product inventories
Product inventories with partial or incorrect data are a big time waster when it comes to sourcing safety data sheets. Before you start collecting your product inventories, decide on what data you need to collect in order to make it possible to collect safety data sheets:
- Full Product Name
- Manufacturer Name
- Manufacturers Product Code (where available)
Make sure this is clearly communicated to the individuals who are tasked with building product inventories by department before they even start.
Download our guide on Safety Data Sheet management
2. Source safety data sheets centrally
While it is good practice to give individual areas/departments responsibility for managing their own chemical product inventory, it can be a huge time and resource saver to centralize the actual updating and management of safety data sheets.
Forcing individual departments to update their own safety data sheet can result in a significant duplication of work where products or manufacturers are common across a number of departments.
3. Source safety data sheets from product manufacturers
Even if you are sourcing your products from a wholesaler or 3rd party supplier, the product manufacturer is the only place to go to ensure you get the latest up to date product safety data sheet.
When using a safety data sheet from any source other than the manufacturer, you are counting on that source having updated the SDS with the manufacturer before passing it onto you.
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4. Only contact a manufacturer once
When contacting a manufacturer to source safety data sheets, ensure that you are asking them for all the documents you require at once. Having to go back to the same manufacturer numerous times for assorted products is a waste of resources.
5. Record where safety data sheets are sourced
The most time-consuming part of sourcing safety data sheets is finding the right method of sourcing products from each individual manufacturer. Whether this is an e-mail address that queries must be sent to or a website with a login or even an old-fashioned phone number that connects you with the right person in the manufacturers EHS department.
Whenever the correct route to safety data sheets for an individual manufacturer is identified, it must be recorded so that the next time someone in the organization has to source an SDS from the same manufacturer, the information is available for them.
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