The basic idea of the UN’s Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals is simple: it exists create a standard format for all safety data sheets to follow worldwide in order to improve safety and facilitate international trade. In practice, however, the process is very nuanced and can be difficult to navigate. Below are a few of the nuances you should be aware of during the MSDS to SDS conversion process.
1. SDS authoring is an incredibly time-consuming process
No matter how many sheets you may have, the creation of new GHS SDSs will take a significant amount of time away from your company. The authoring process alone takes an average of 5.41 hours per sheet, which quickly adds up, but it’s not the only part of the movement to total GHS compliance that takes time. Considering conversion options, learning about the GHS, and setting up a system for implementing the new SDSs into your system will all take time. As such, you need to get a start on defining your options for the process as quickly as you can.
2. There is much more to GHS compliance than a format change
Although there is a strict set of GHS format requirements, meeting these guidelines in no way fills standards for complete GHS compliance. Crucial new elements of the safety data sheet will fall under hazard classifications, corresponding hazard warning statements and pictograms, and processes that integrate your company’s unique phrases with ones that the standard mandates.
3. Converting MSDSs on your own may be more work than you can handle
Without setting up a complete and complex system for determining label elements, the conversion process is almost impossible to carry out in-house. The new GHS hazard classifications come in gradients and are based on a system of equations that decide the chemical at hand’s hazard potential based on what is known as the blending principle. Although you can certainly estimate where certain chemicals should be classified based on their observable hazards, there is no way to be certain without setting up a system of your own to calculate its exact hazard class precisely.
4. The process will be expensive
There’s no getting around it: GHS conversion is expensive. Your company will most likely experience costs in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars as you move toward complete compliance. Quantum offers a payment plan to help you manage the cost over time, but GHS standardization still will have to figure heavily into your financial calculations for the future. If you haven’t started thinking about the actual process yet, you should definitely begin planning your budget for the eventual cost of conversion as soon as possible.
5. GHS compliance doesn’t end at SDSs
If you store chemicals at your facility, you likely are already aware that you will need to reformat and update the labels on those chemicals. Quantum provides safety labels as well as the safety data sheets you need for compliance. The information on chemical labels and SDSs, the guidelines for all of which stem from GHS, covers safety precautions for proper handling and usage based on the hazard classifications. It also deals with storage and transportation precautions, however, sections that should never be overlooked.
Complete compliance is not just documentation, though. While labels and SDSs are the most visible way to meet the standard, your company must also be fully trained in GHS regulations and have a complete system in place to use the new sheets and labels by the end of 2015. Overall, there is much more than meets the eye to the basic processes of GHS.
