SDS FullService
SDS Cataloging & Assessment
For H&S and HSE Manager
The service that puts order in the archive of your Safety Data Sheets (SDS): the first result of the digitalization
An archive of SDSs organized
The first step to proper management of Safety Data Sheets
Through the SDS Cataloguing & Assessment service we are able, in a few days, to census and catalogue all the Safety Data Sheets present in the company.
The goal of this service is to bring order to the SDSs in the various sites, plants, and departments by highlighting duplicate SDSs, identifying unnecessary SDSs, and setting aside (but not eliminating!) obsolete SDSs.
Through the use of ChemParser we are able to automatically index the data contained in SDS PDFs and load them into a centralized corporate database. To perform the census and subsequent cataloging of SDSs we rely on indexing only the identifying data of the documents through a very fast process.
The Cataloging & Assessment service is the first step needed to address the digital transformation of the SDS Management process. (You can learn more about how to address digitalization of the SDS Management process in our article).
The results of the Cataloguing & Assessment service
At the end of the service you will be able to:
Recognize SDSs that are obsolete or refer to products no longer in use
Highlight any Safety Data Sheets Duplicate
Assess the status of updating SDSs for each production site and for each supplier/manufacturer
Schedule updating activities Safety Data Sheets, i.e. the requests to be made to your suppliers/manufacturers
How to reorganize and put your SDS archive in order?
Archive Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in folders and organizing them via Excel files is a method that is often used, but which has limitations in the reliability of the information, as well as being a manual and very time-consuming activity.
The management of SDSs and related chemical data is a corporate information asset that cannot be managed through folders and files that are difficult to synchronize and update.
Our Cataloging & Assessment method allows you to quickly centralize all your essential documents and data to allow you a comprehensive view of your SDS portfolio and to enable you to choose and execute the most appropriate actions.
Find out how to order your SDS archive!
A path to learning through concrete examples and cases
Download the White Paper of the SDS Cataloging & Assessment Service for more information, insights, and practical examples!
(Available only in Italian)
Other documents of interest:
Read our article SDS archive management: digitalize, rearranging and optimizing the circulation of documents in the company
Article published in the journal Cosmetic Technology (November - December 2019)
Results of a SDS Cataloging & Assessment Analysis.
An analysis of document material (SDS) was conducted in a company with three production sites, with SDS stored in three network folders containing 713 documents.
This company is considered to be representative of the average companies in the Italian market.
Only a few results related to the documentary analysis that was conducted are presented below.
Distribution of SDSs by production site
This is the representation of the distribution of SDS for each production site of a company. The Safety Data Sheets They come from three network folders containing 713 documents.
A total of 713 SDSs were examined and the distribution in the 3 sites related to the same company was ascertained.
- site 1 has the majority of SDSs (> 80%)
- il sito 2 dispone di un centinaio di SDS (<20%)
- il sito 3 solo poche decine (<5%).
Distribution of each supplier
From the analysis, it is possible to show the distribution of suppliers at the various Sites.
In this example, we see the detail of the manufacturers with the SDS number of Site 2.
Breakdown of SDSs by supplier
The distribution on the A-B-C list of SDSs by document provider is represented in this figure; it has 133 names: the top 27 (20 percent) are providers of as many as 75 percent of the SDSs.
Distribution of SDSs by year and manufacturer
An analysis was also carried out which made it possible to break down the documents by supplier, for the year to which the Safety Data Sheets and vice versa.
The analysis of the review of the various SDSs held allows for the calculation, at the total level and by Site, of the distribution over time with respect to their issuance, as well as a year-by-year scan.
Age index of Safety Data Sheets
It is also possible to calculate the SDS age index, which is the average number of years/months elapsed between the revision date (shown on the document) and the current date.
This data can be obtained at the general level, by Site and by SDS provider. With this index you can quickly understand the average update status of your SDS portfolio.
A good age index is about 2, which means that, on average, the SDSs you have were updated in the current or previous year.
In this case it is noted that it is almost 4 1/2 years old.
Duplication of SDSs
Another significant result is to highlight duplication of owned SDSs, i.e., the situation where there are multiple documents related to the same product, from the same supplier and written in the same language, whether they have the same revision date or different revision dates.
A specific report indicates all such cases and allows the specific situations to be analyzed.
In the first case, as many as 7 SDSs are noted in the SITE_1 folder, with 5 different revision dates.
In the second case, it is noted that SITE_1 has 2 SDSs, with different revision dates, but it is also determined that SITE_3 has only the "old" version of the SDS, which would lead to the conclusion that the document update was not made available at this site.
Once identified, duplicate SDSs are removed and only one document is retained, the one with the most recent revision date.
Duplicate SDSs, in several cases, had managers at some Company Sites operating with SDSs older than those already held by colleagues at other Sites.
Report of duplicate SDSs
Duplicate SDSs of the same product
Duplicate SDSs at various production sites
Results of the demultiplexing process
The number of SDSs persisting downstream of duplicate elimination is 554 documents, a reduction of more than 22 percent.
Due to the elimination of older SDSs, in cases of duplicate SDSs, the age index is also improved from about 4.5 years to just over 3.5 years (Figure 9).
Against the elimination of duplicate SDSs, it is seen that only in the case of a single product are there 2 SDSs, and, as noted in the relevant detail, this is correct, as it is the same product (in the actual case it was a substance) from two different manufacturers.
The company is now in possession of "cleaned up" data to assess whether and how to proceed with an activity to update the portfolio of owned SDSs.
Services for Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
SDS Cataloging & Assessment
We census and catalog the SDSs present in the company, eliminating duplicates, unnecessary ones, and obsolete ones
SDS Research & Update
We retrieve missing SDSs or necessary updates by contacting the supplier
SDS Indexing
We generate, by automatic extraction, the digital archive of SDSs with key data to carry out consultations, analyses and searches on all substances and mixtures in use
Professional Services
The services of our Chemical Regulatory Partners: a team of experts in REACH, CLP, health and safety (Legislative Decree 81/08) and environmental regulations
Our team is here to help you manage SDSs and keep track of hazardous substances!