Workflow
Processing a new SDS
When a supplier sends a new SDS, replace the old one. Chemspark first shows what changes and which assessments, workplace cards and labels no longer match because of it.
For: Users · Admins
Where a new SDS comes in
- On the product page, at the SDS: 'Replace SDS'.
- Through SDS updates: 'New SDS' opens the product page, ready to replace.
- In Bulk upload: when Chemspark recognises an existing product with the same name and supplier, choose 'Update Existing'.
- For a kit: on the kit page. Every part of the kit is then updated in one go.
Replacing the SDS
- Open the product and click 'Replace SDS' at the SDS.
- Choose the new SDS. Chemspark reads it; a long document can take up to a minute.
- Read in 'Review SDS Changes' what changes.
- If it is right, click 'Apply Changes'. In doubt about the file? Click Cancel; nothing changes.
What the comparison shows
Chemspark compares the new SDS field by field with the old one. The current data and the data from the new SDS are shown side by side, with the number of fields that will be updated.
'This update affects:' lists the documents that were built from the old SDS and need checking: Inhalation assessment, Dermal assessment, Fire & explosion assessment, Quantitative assessment, Workplace card or GHS label. Only a change that really affects such a document appears there. If nothing does, it reads 'No changes that affect your risk assessment, workplace card or label.'
- 'Possible Wrong File': the product name or product code does not match.
- 'Supplier changed': the supplier in the new SDS differs from the one on file.
- 'Different language': the new SDS is in another language than the old one.
- 'This SDS is older than the one on file': applying would replace a newer SDS with an older one.
- 'Check the new SDS after applying': not everything could be read with certainty.
After applying
- The old SDS goes to the Version History.
- Whatever the new SDS affects is flagged, for example 'Assessment out of date' or 'Workplace card out of date'.
- In the Inventory and on the product page, 'What needs updating' lists per item what needs doing, with a direct link: Risk assessment, Workplace card ('Built on an older SDS') and GHS label ('Reprint the container label').
- If the data the screening relies on changes, the product goes back to 'To screen'.
- The notification 'Risk assessment review recommended' points to assessments that need checking.
- Compliance is checked again, including the CMR registration.
- If the new SDS has a current revision date, the product leaves SDS updates.
What Chemspark does not do by itself
Chemspark flags, but redoes nothing automatically. Screen the product again, update the assessments, regenerate the workplace card with 'Regenerate from SDS' and reprint the label. That way every decision stays with a person, and the Logbook records who did what.
Chemspark also does not fetch new SDSs from the supplier. It warns when an SDS has expired; the new SDS comes from the supplier.
The Version History
On the product page, 'View Version History' opens every earlier version with its revision date and reason, for example 'SDS replaced on the product page' or 'Updated via an SDS request'. An earlier version can be downloaded, and 'Compare with current' shows what has changed since, with material changes apart from cosmetic ones. In Reports, everything is in the source Earlier SDS versions.
Read next
Workflow
Keeping SDSs current: SDS updates and suppliers
Chemspark warns when an SDS has expired, expires soon or has no date. SDS updates lists those products per supplier, ready to request a new version or to record that the current SDS is still current.
Workflow
The screening
Every product starts in Risk assessment with a short screening. A few questions about the work decide whether the product is safe as it is used, or whether it needs a further assessment.
Workflow
Risk assessment: inhalation, skin, fire and calculation
When the screening points to a possible risk, an assessment per exposure route follows. The input comes from the SDS and the screening; the risk level and the advice appear straight away.
Workflow
Making workplace cards
A workplace instruction card shows per product what workers need to know at the workplace. Chemspark drafts it from the SDS and the recorded measures; then someone reads the card, saves it and posts it.
Workflow
Printing GHS labels
A GHS label for use in the workplace, for example on a spray bottle or a bottle a product is decanted into. Chemspark builds the label from the SDS data; the supplier's classification stays leading.
Workflow
Checking the data ('Needs review')
Chemspark never fills in a guess. Anything it cannot take from the SDS with certainty gets the 'Needs review' flag, so that someone checks it against the SDS.
Page
Product page
The product page shows everything Chemspark read from the SDS of one product, in the order of the SDS. This is where data is checked and corrected, the SDS is replaced, and where you see what has been done with the product: risk assessment and workplace cards.
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Kit page
The kit page shows the parts of a kit side by side, such as a resin and a hardener. Chemspark saves each part as a product of its own; this page is the overview.
Page
Inventory
The inventory (page heading "Chemical Inventory") is the register of hazardous substances of a location: one row per product, with the hazards of the product itself, the risks of working with it and what still needs doing. This is also where new SDSs come in.
Still stuck? E-mail us, we are happy to help.