When it comes to keeping employees safe from chemical hazards, some industries have a long way to go. Take the appliance industry, for example. Last year, 7% of the 171 citations this industry received from federal OSHA were for violating the Hazard Communication Standard. In fact, hazcom is the appliance industry''s third most often violated standard.
It''s no surprise, then, that a company like Whirlpool, one of America''s most innovative appliance manufacturers, recently made the switch to a computerized MSDS management system. The software helps Whirlpool''s Fort Smith, AR division avoid OSHA fines and needless injury to workers.
Like most manufacturers, Whirlpool uses chemicals in the production of some of its products, and employees come into contact with these substances daily. As a result, having an up-to-date MSDS system that provides round-the-clock access to information about these chemicals was very important to the environmental safety staff.
One of the major problems the staff identified with the division''s original MSDS system was the time it took to input and maintain accurate information on hard-copy MSDS forms. After being received from the chemical manufacturer, these MSDS were collated in bulky 3-ring binders. In addition, because the binders had to be stored in a central location, gaining access to the MSDS was sometimes difficult.
Compounding the company''s MSDS problem was the need to label chemical containers to indicate the current contents and volume. Since chemical supplies are usually depleted at different rates, the ongoing process of updating container labels was a real chore.
After evaluating several MSDS systems available on the market, Whirlpool settled on Lake Oswego, OR-based Dolphin Software''s Comply Plus LAN and Viewing Station LAN software. Because the Fort Smith division had an internal network of over 300 terminals and users working with both DOS and Windows formats (and because users had varying degrees of network privileges), the MSDS database was customized in a DOS-compatible Windows environment.
The database provides all employees with read-only access to the company''s MSDS at all hours, making compliance worries a thing of the past. "With Comply Plus, we got a package that was easy to use and update as well as accurate and efficient," says Scott Horton, senior environmental engineer at Whirlpool''s Fort Smith, AR division. "The highest selling point was its flexibility," he adds, including the ability to print up-to-date labels for hundreds of chemical containers.
Training employees to use the new system proved to be a smooth process. Instruction on the new MSDS system was combined with Windows application workshops that were already in place. Since these training sessions were only about 30 min long, there was no disruption in the daily routine.
Because the software makes MSDS information more accurate and more accessible by employees, many other major manufacturers like Weyerhaeuser, Cessna Aircraft, 3M, Georgia-Pacific, Motorola, and Boise Cascade have also switched to software to manage their MSDS. For the first time, these companies are truly able to manage their chemicals, not just their data sheets.