Each facility handling hazardous chemicals must always have a proper chemical management strategy. Apart from ensuring the safety and proper handling of the chemicals, the chemical manufacturing facilities must also ensure compliance with Safety Data Sheets (SDS) regulations. It is critical as SDS compliance violations may lead to severe consequences.
Chemical manufacturing companies are always working on a tight and tedious schedule. At the same time, they must also take care of their worker’s safety and ensure harmless practices to safeguard the environment. At the same time, they must also stay aware of all the regulations that regulatory agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have mandated. At each stage, facilities should avoid SDS compliance violations. Due to the non-compliance, companies may face reputational damage and huge legal penalties.
Can we eliminate non-compliance issues more quickly? Yes, there are ways, but they will only be possible if one has a solid grasp of OSHA regulations. It also requires knowing all the mistakes that manufacturers may make.
Continue reading the blog to know some of the common SDS compliance violations that chemical manufacturers must know. This blog will also guide you to find the right solutions to stay compliant with the regulations of OSHA.
OSHA’s Regulations: Key to Avoid SDS Compliance Violations
OSHA is a regulatory agency that surveys or inspects workplaces to ensure workers’ safety, mainly in areas where hazardous chemicals are present. The organization has mandated that employers notify employees of any possible risks associated with hazardous materials. As per the agency, employers must ensure that their employees receive adequate training before their initial assignment. It’s the responsibility of OSHA to ensure worker safety.
Ignore SDS Compliance Violations: The Regulations in Brief
Indeed, handling the stressful workflow of every chemical manufacturing farm is tedious. However, a thorough knowledge of these regulations is a must to stay away from SDS compliance violations. So, take a look below and see what they are:
1. Providing Worker Education and Training:
Each employee of a chemical manufacturing company must receive training. The training process must comply with the standard decided by OSHA. Moreover, the agency has also prepared its Hazard Communication Standard( HCS). It’s designed to share adequate information with the workers through training. While preparing the training modules for the workers, facilities must keep in mind the following points:
- Workers must receive clear information about the identities and hazards of all the toxic chemicals at the workplace.
- Each employee must receive the actual and the associated protective measures to keep themselves and others safe in emergencies.
2. Remaining HCS Compliant:
To avoid the consequences of SDS compliance violations, agencies must know HCS and stay compliant with it. According to the Hazard Communication Standard, facilities must keep in mind the following factors:
- Manufacturers must assess the hazards of the substances. To share the hazard information, they must prepare a Safety Data Sheet(SDS) and labels.
- The exposed workers must get proper access to the SDS and the labels.
3. Identification of Respiratory Hazards:
Chemical manufacturing agencies must also consider the possible respiratory hazards in the workplace. It may hugely hamper the health of the workers if not addressed in the right way. For this reason, a proper evaluation is necessary to identify the respiratory threats. OSHA has also listed the various types of Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs). Companies must stay aware of each one of them to stay away from the penalties they may face due to SDS compliance violations.
Fixing Common SDS Compliance Violations:
Adherence to regulatory mandates is not just important for raising public consciousness. It plays a crucial role in managing your facility’s reputation. You could get into legal problems for the simplest error. For this reason, complete awareness is necessary to avoid facing penalties because of SDS compliance violations. To avoid some common mistakes, facilities should prepare an easy-to-access SDS compliance checklist. We’ve prepared one below that includes some of the common mistakes along with some solutions. So, take a look.
1. Incorrect Format of SDS:
The agencies and distributors must know how to prepare the SDS based on the suggestion of the regulatory agency. For every single hazardous chemical, manufacturers or distributors must prepare separate SDSs. The format of this sheet is important, and it has to be simple and error-free. Also, it must include 16 sections to keep the users informed about the chemicals. Manufacturers must also go through the HCS to understand the information that should be present in each section. To ignore mistakes, manufacturers must include the following points in their SDS compliance checklist:
- Read the HCS and understand what specific information they must mention in each section.
- The SDS should be prepared in English. However, they can create copies of it in several other languages.
2. Inappropriate Hazard Alerts:
Facilities must understand the importance of communicating all the hazards of the chemicals in detail. They may face severe penalties if they fail to do the same. So, manufacturers must share all the risks related to every hazardous substance and share them. Therefore, while preparing the SDS, they must keep the points below in mind:
- Explain the reason for mentioning a certain substance as hazardous.
- Mention the concentration.
- Don’t forget to share the possible harm of a particular substance.
- Suggest the protective measures and tips that users should follow in case of emergencies.
3. Inappropriate Hazard Alerts:
Facilities must understand the importance of communicating all the hazards of the chemicals in detail. They may face severe penalties if they fail to do the same. So, manufacturers must share all the risks related to every hazardous substance and share them. Therefore, while preparing the SDS, they must keep the points below in mind:
- Explain the reason for mentioning a certain substance as hazardous.
- Mention the concentration.
- Don’t forget to share the possible harm of a particular substance.
- Suggest the protective measures and tips that users should follow in case of emergencies.
4. Not Providing Sufficient Information:
The workers and other users should always have access to the information that makes them aware of proper chemical safety management. Here, we’re talking about providing sufficient information about chemical storage and proper handling. In case of carelessness, the workers may have to face severe consequences like explosions or even toxic exposures. While preparing the Safety Data Sheet, the following points should be kept in mind:
- How to minimize the release of substances.
- Information about what are the incompatible chemicals and how to manage them.
- Useful information about safe storage.
5. Keeping Outdated SDS:
Keeping and sharing outdated SDS is not going to help chemical manufacturing companies stay compliant with the requirements. To meet the requirements the companies will have to keep the record updated with time. So, whenever they detect any harm, they must mention it in the sheet to keep it updated and useful. Here are a few points that the manufacturers must keep in mind while working on their SDS.
- Making changes frequently and adding the changes in three months.
- Revising the labels within six months.
- Conduct proper research to identify new updates and share them properly.
6. Incomplete Details:
The purpose of preparing an SDS is to provide details about the chemicals and especially about the harmful effects. Therefore, the sheet should provide every single crucial detail about the chemicals. After all, it keeps the workers and every user informed about the risks. But what exactly are the details that manufacturers must share to ignore SDS compliance violations?
Here’s what you need to know:
- The sheet must provide the chemical name along with the common name.
- Share details about the ingredients with the specific percentage
- Concentration limits of every ingredient
Users will always require the complete details which also educates them about their possible health risks. That’s why chemical manufacturing firms must prepare a safety data sheet that gives complete details.
7. Ignoring Exposure Limits:
The manufacturer also must keep everyone alert with the details about the exposure limit. This is another crucial piece of information that one may miss and may have to face penalties. The sheet, therefore, must include a crucial part that educates about the exposure limits and the safety measures rightly. So, what are the details to cover in the exposure control section of the SDS? Take a look at the point below:
- Sharing the exposure limits from the regulatory body is important.
- The recommended exposure limit must also be present in the sheet
- Some personal protective and preventive measures
Handling SDS Compliance Violations with SDS Management Software
Yes, it can be handled if manufacturers choose software products to streamline their workflow. Here, we are talking about software like SDS management, chemical inventory management, etc., to share the right information without making errors. How exactly can software help? The points below will help you know.
1. Streamlined Search:
While talking about the issues, we have mainly observed problems related to information and data. With a cloud-based SDS management system, getting access to required data is not a problem. So, discover the required SDS in seconds that has all the updated details.
2. Free Label Generation:
Using the right label is necessary for manufacturers. But they are dealing with a huge number of chemicals. Therefore, the support of proper software will always be needed to get the right labels to ensure chemical safety management. So, choosing an SDS management system is always a smart move.
3. Easy to Access:
Cloud-based software of this type comes with a huge database. In easy terms, keeping a proper record of the required details won’t be an issue. So, manufacturers will need software of this type to handle SDS compliance violence with smartness.
Summary:
Chemical manufacturing firms must know all the regulations before they start preparing any safety data sheets. After all, making mistakes would not lead them to any desirable consequences. However, the process can be simplified with the help of software and that’s why manufacturers can choose helpful software to streamline the process.
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