OSHA content from EHS Today: Material safety data sheets (MSDSs) are the cornerstone of compliance for a number of OSHA and EPA standards. Yet, as notorious as they are among safety professionals, some argue that MSDSs remain regrettably underutilized.
4 comments:
I really like that this article advocates for utilizing technology to manage SDS. We're finally in a world where OSHA, and hopefully most employers, realize that ipads or other devices are more useful, accessible ways to keep this information and can, in fact, provide more uses than the paper versions. However, I wish the article had tied those uses into the retraining initiatives that are going on now. Every employee is being retrained right now about SDS- why not take that opportunity to train them on a new way to find the information (digitally), as well.
I agree using technology to make MSDS sheets more accessible would cause them to be used more. Another change that will make a big differences the change in formatting to be the exact same. I remember doing the MSDS project and being a little confused and put off that things varied so much. That will save a lot of time. I also want to say i loved the like to the article called "MSDS Gone Wild"...
I like others support the use of technology to catalog the chemicals stored. It just makes logical sense. The articles discussed how some materials are decided to be unsafe and must be disposed of. I think technology can be a great aid in this endeavor. It would notify when a chemical is expired or deemed unsafe and would make the process that much easier to dispose of. Additionally a catalog could be established that allows for the printing of labels for common brands/chemicals. I feel this would be a huge time saver and allow for a safer environment with these chemicals.
Like everyone else, I fully support the idea of using technology to make the MSDS's more accessible and usable. I think that much of the time, the MSDSs are not used simply because it is a hassle for workers to go and get the large binder with all of the sheets in it, and then search for the chemical or substance in question. Furthermore, for people used to getting information quickly in app form or on a computer screen, the MSDS can sometimes seem confusing, making the necessary information difficult to find. Using scan codes and being able to electronically search for and review MSDSs may go a long way to alleviate the hassle it seems to be now.
Also, Alex made a great point about being able to use technology to check for expired chemicals or containers located in the wrong place.
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