Chemical Inventory System
University Chemical Inventory System
There are a number of safety and security reasons why University Departments and Institutions should have a chemical inventory. In the past there has not been a standardised system available to the whole University and there was a reliance on Departments and Institutions adopting their own diverse systems. From November 2016 the University formally adopted a standardised commercial chemical inventory system known simply as 'ChemInventory'.
All chemicals that carry a GHS hazard notification MUST be entered into ChemInventory when they are brought into a Department, and removed from the inventory when used or 'disposed of'.
The only exception is small quantities of easily available commercial cleaning products, aka 'household cleaners' (such as those available in shops/supermarkets) - which may be included or not, at the Department's discretion. For example, a bottle of Brand X household washing-up liquid would not have to be in the inventory, however a concentrated commercial dish-washer fluid should be included.
The system allows all chemical containers and their locations to be entered into a Department’s or Institute’s inventory via either the chemicals CAS number or name. Using the correct CAS number has the advantage of automatically populating the inventory with names, synonyms, structure and hazard data where known. However any chemical container can be entered by name alone, ensuring the correct spelling! Note: All data must be in English.
Other features include the ability to easily upload Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) and some fields automatically populated with GHS safety pictograms, risk and precautionary statements where already available in the system.
NB: The absence of pre-loaded safety information on the inventory does NOT indicated a chemical is inherently 'safe', every effort must be made to establish the hazard status of ALL chemicals in a Department, the inventory merely facilitates the collation of this data.
Remember ALL use of any chemicals MUST be risk assessed under COSHH and / or DSEAR (including all 'household cleaning' agents).
The inventory system includes the ability to individually barcode the containers, a feature which will facilitate tracking and audit. Recent legislative changes make this facility particularly important.
The system can be viewed in more detail, including a demonstration module.
Access will be available on a number of levels:
- 'Group administrator’ will allow others access to the group or departmental account and set parameters
- 'User' can enter information on substances (and request new ones to be bought from a Group or Departmental purchaser aka an order handler*, if appointed)
- 'Order Handler’ can do everything a standard 'User' can do, (but, if appointed, will receive requests for order purchasing via the system).
- 'User – read only’ can just check on what is where
* The order handler feature is optional.