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.
For: Users · Admins
Why screen first?
Not every product needs a full risk assessment. The screening separates the products that are safe with basic measures from the products that need attention, so the time goes to the products where the risk is.
The screening and the assessments after it use the same method, EMKG. That is why they fit together: what the screening finds low does not have to be assessed again.
Screening a product
- Go to Risk assessment. Products without a screening are in the 'To screen' column, highest health hazard first.
- Click 'Screen' on the product.
- Under 'Application', enter what the product is used for, for example cleaning or mixing. The screening cannot be saved without an application.
- Answer the questions about the work.
- Review the outcome and save it: for Safe with 'Close as low risk', otherwise with 'Save screening'.
- Then continue to the route the outcome names, or to the next product.
What the screening asks
The questions are about facts you can see at the workplace:
- Where is the work done: in a normal workspace or in a confined space?
- How is it handled: open or in a closed system? For a closed system two questions follow: does it open during the work, and is it checked and maintained?
- How much is used per task?
- How often, and how long per working day?
- Is mist or dust released?
- Is there skin contact, and if so: splashes, or hands and forearms?
The outcome
- Safe — no assessment needed: with the basic measures the work is safe. The screening is then the recorded assessment, with the basic measures listed.
- Qualitative assessment needed: the outcome names per route (inhalation, skin, fire and explosion) what still needs assessing.
- In-depth exposure assessment needed: the hazard is so high that a general assessment is not enough. Assess the exposure with a calculation or with measurements, preferably together with an expert such as an occupational hygienist.
'Why this outcome' shows point by point what decided the outcome. Chemspark takes the hazard and the vapour pressure from the SDS, so they are not asked. Where the SDS calls for it, the outcome also shows a line on eye protection and a block on pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Outside the model: gases and confined spaces
The methods in Chemspark are made for solids and liquids in a normal workspace. For a gas, or for work in a confined space such as a tank, pit or basement, Chemspark therefore gives no model outcome.
Have the work assessed by an expert, for example with a work permit, atmosphere measurements or ventilation, and record that as 'Expert judgement'. That completes the product's screening.
Several products at once: Batch screening
- In the 'To screen' column, click 'Batch screen'.
- Choose the products that are used in the same way.
- Describe the work once.
- Check the outcome per product in the 'Result preview' and click 'Save all'.
The hazard differs per product, so the outcome does too. Gases are left out: a gas needs its own expert judgement.
Screening again
When the work changes, screen the product again with 'Re-screen'. After a new SDS in which the data for the screening changed, the product returns to 'To screen'.
If a product falls under the CMR registration, its questions are below the screening.
Read next
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
Measures and the worklist
The worklist in Risk assessment shows where every product stands, from screening to done. A high risk stays open until a measure is recorded.
Workflow
Compliance and the CMR registration
Compliance shows which products contain a substance on a regulatory list. For carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances, Chemspark also helps with the registration the Dutch Working Conditions Decree (Arbobesluit) requires.
Workflow
Reading the inventory
The Inventory is the location's chemical register: every product with its hazards, the status of its risk assessment and its storage. It has two tabs: 'Hazard & Risk' and 'Storage'.
Page
Risk assessment
On this page every product moves from screening to a finished assessment. The page has two views: the worklist with all products, and the assessment of one product with a tab per route.
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.
Still stuck? E-mail us, we are happy to help.