Case Study - Oslo University Hospital
Oslo University Hospital
Case Study

Oslo University Hospital

Oslo University Hospital (OUH) wanted a digital solution to transform its chemical safety management. EcoOnline’s Chemical Safety has enabled OUH to improve the management of chemicals throughout their lifecycle, increase employee safety awareness, and empower staff to make safer decisions.  

About Oslo University Hospital

Oslo University Hospital (OUH) is the largest hospital in Norway, with more than 24,000 employees. 

In addition to providing high-quality services for the citizens of Oslo, the hospital is specialised and in charge of extensive regional and local hospital assignments.

The Challenge

Endless binders and endless bookshelves. Tore Havellen, a sustainability advisor at OUH, recalled what chemical safety previously looked like, “Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine how we managed to retrieve any information at all!”

The partnership between OHU and EcoOnline began 24 years ago with EcoOnline’s foundation in 1999. OUH is the largest hospital in Scandinavia and carries out more than 1.2 million patient treatments annually. A significant percentage of the medical research carried out at Norwegian medical centres is performed at OUH. 

The scale and urgency of OUH’s needs were critical. The main criteria for a digital solution was replacing and securing its countless chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS), conducting risk assessments, and making substitutions to reduce hazardous chemicals.

Managing chemicals throughout their lifecycle, from procurement to waste management, could often be a slow and costly process that required outside support.

“Before we implemented the EAL codes for waste management, we had to hire external experts to help us. The waste treatment process often took several days,” Halleven shared.

 

“We have placed QR-codes across several locations, from everything from storage rooms to laboratories, making the information available instantly. Instead of spending the time looking for information, we can focus on our primary working tasks.”

 

Tore Havellen, Sustainability Advisor, Oslo University Hospital

The Solution

OUH wanted to tailor their SDS to include a section that specified each type of waste alongside standardised EAL codes. Overcoming this challenge required a flexible and digital solution.

Implementing and utilising Chemical Safety has allowed for comprehensive and improved management of chemicals throughout their lifecycle. Staff are now empowered to declare hazardous waste safely and at speed.

Halleven noted the benefits, “Today, all our employees can quickly identify and understand how the different products should be treated as waste. Within hours, they have managed to handle the hazardous waste themselves”.

The Impact

The EcoOnline platform has increased safety awareness across the team and has helped to strengthen the safety culture at OUH.

“The more you log in to EcoOnline’s systems, the more you understand how the database also serves as a valuable tool for critical information about the products and the substances you are using at work,” Halleven told us.

Using the EcoOnline platform has empowered staff to make safer decisions about chemicals. A key example is the division of laboratories by classifying chemicals according to their risk level. This step has created a safer working environment for all, particularly pregnant employees. Staff members can now easily avoid laboratories with exposure to carcinogens, as well as hereditary and reproductive substances (CMRs).

OUH understands that a more robust health and safety culture is enabled by motivating and incentivising log-ins to the chemical inventory.

“We have placed QR-codes across several locations, from everything from storage rooms to laboratories, making the information available instantly. Instead of spending the time looking for information, we can focus on our primary working tasks,” said Halleven.

The Future

OUH is looking forward to continuing its partnership with EcoOnline. “Although our goal of reducing the number of hazardous chemicals being used at the hospital is still relevant, we are now at a point where we can focus more on how to utilise and improve our use of EcoOnline’s solutions”, Halleven concluded.

“I’m excited to explore how EcoOnline’s future technologies will make it even easier for us to continue creating a safe working environment for all our employees.”

Find out more about EcoOnline's Chemical Safety solution. 

 

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Hannah Daly

Account Manager, EcoOnline Ireland

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