MSDS Vault - Centralized Materials Information Management System

Astra Zeneca, Behr Process and Textron are just a few of more than 200 manufacturers who have chosen to outsource the complex, labor-intensive task of Material Safety Data Sheet ((M)SDS) and Worker Safety Card management to Actio. The first-of-its-kind, web-native MSDS Vault provides companies with a best practices approach for managing EH&S global compliance and mitigating risk across the enterprise. Vault is the easy-to-use solution that lets companies manage MSDS, SDS, Worker Safety Cards and become GHS compliant.

Using Actio’s leading relational database-powered technology, MSDS Vault is an on-demand, online, centralized materials information management system that provides round-the-clock accessibility to accurate, consistent product safety information – down to the substance level – across all facilities. As a result, manufacturers are able to meet health, safety and environmental requirements in compliance with international, federal, state and local regulations.

Challenge

With environmental issues and employee “right to know” safety concerns on the rise, companies using potentially hazardous substances face a dual challenge of mitigating risk to employees while trying to reduce the high costs and complexities of compliance management. To meet EH&S compliance demands and hazard communication standards, companies are required to maintain and provide accurate, timely (M)SDS and GHS information to employees, informing them of hazardous chemicals used at a facility and important protocols to follow related to each particular substance. Furthermore, EU REACH regulations require the availability of SDS and extended SDS.

For most manufacturers, (M)SDS management is isolated by location and not consistent or shared across all facilities. Administering a centralized program is very labor intensive, requiring EH&S staff to acquire, track and store an enormous amount of (M)SDS and substance data. Over the course of a year, about 20% of (M)SDS need revisions, requiring additional staff to manage the process and then update documents across all global locations. With chemical inventories often ranging from several thousand per facility to more than 25,000 enterprise wide, managing (M)SDS data is very labor intensive and costly.

Solution

The MSDS Vault centralized materials information management system provides the enterprise on-demand access to mission-critical (M)SDS and substance-level data required for human and environmental safety while meeting regulatory demands worldwide.

More than a repository for (M)SDS documents, MSDS Vault is powered by Actio’s cutting-edge IntelligenTEXT™ technology, which organizes and manages a manufacturer’s (M)SDS data in defined fields that are structured down to the microscopic level – facilitating unlimited search, analysis and reporting capabilities. To assist in global compliance, MSDS Vault has integrated a comprehensive library of more than 150 international, federal, state and local regulatory lists that can identify potential chemical liability by comparing a company’s chemical inventory against regulatory content in near real time.

MSDS Vault provides employees across all facilities timely, online access to accurate, consistent (M)SDS data. Assembled from the content in the IntelligenTEXT™ database, (M)SDS data is presented to the user in a uniform, easy-to-read format that can be emailed, faxed or printed directly from the (M)SDS toolbar. Summary sheets or regional worker safety cards that consolidate specific (M)SDS information for quick access can also be provided. The IntelligenTEXT™ database includes a glossary allowing users to cross-reference unknown terms against a library of more than 100,000 definitions. In addition, the database can easily create NFPA or Federal and State regulatory reports and create HazCom labels linking the actual chemical/manufacturer data with the secondary container or shipping label.

(M)SDS Vault supports a variety of (M)SDS formats, such as ANSI, OSHA, GHS (Global Harmonized System), GHS Japan and Australia, WHMIS, Worker Safety Cards, and EC Directive, and supports all languages, ensuring 100% global compliance with all hazard communication standards.

(M)SDS Vault subscribers have the luxury of delegating all of the burdens associated with (M)SDS management to Actio Corporation. Designated Account Teams handle the acquisition, organization and revision maintenance for your (M)SDS inventory enterprise-wide, as well as provide customer and technical support and training to designated employees. (M)SDS Vault also serves as a distribution platform for manufacturers to easily supply their customers with (M)SDS documents.

Benefits

(M)SDS data is stored as content in a relational database providing structured data to the substance level – facilitating extensive search, analysis and reporting capabilities
Centralized (M)SDS library provides online access to (M)SDS-compliant documents ensuring around-the-clock accessibility and consistency throughout the enterprise – while minimizing distribution costs
Supports a variety of (M)SDS-compliant formats and languages ensuring 100% global compliance
Database-driven platform provides unparalleled flexibility to quickly adapt to changes in regulations, format requirements or supplier (M)SDS information – without the high cost of (M)SDS re-creation
(M)SDS Vault can be leveraged to link all stages of the chemical life cycle – reducing chemical handling costs and providing visibility and transparency of your chemical footprint across the enterprise
Delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS) with no hardware and software to purchase and maintain providing faster time to benefit and lower total cost of ownership

Click here to see an example of what an (M)SDS should look like: Behr Premium Plus Int Ultra Eggshell Enamel Paint