Workflow
Uploading SDSs
Every product in Chemspark starts with an SDS. Upload one SDS or several at once: Chemspark reads the SDS and fills the inventory, with no retyping.
For: Users · Admins
What you need
- A location. Every product belongs to a location, which you choose in the upload window.
- The SDS as a PDF or text file (TXT): up to 20 MB for a single file, up to 10 MB per file with Bulk Upload.
- Preferably the supplier's original digital SDS, without a password. A Dutch or English SDS gives the best result.
- Room in your subscription. On the free Starter subscription Chemspark reads 10 SDSs in total, for the whole life of the account; the paid subscriptions have a number per month. The upload window shows how many are left.
Upload one SDS
- Go to the Inventory and click 'Add Product'.
- Choose the location.
- Drag the SDS into the window, or click 'Upload SDS File' and pick the file.
- Wait while Chemspark reads the SDS. A long document can take up to a minute; keep the window open.
- Check the data that was read, such as the product name, H-statements, composition and supplier, and correct anything that is wrong.
- Optionally choose the departments and quantity under 'Storage Location (Optional)'. You can also do this later on the product page.
- Click 'Add product'.
A supplier is required. Chemspark links the product to the supplier named in the SDS; if that does not work, choose a supplier or add a new one.
No SDS to hand? Leave the file out and enter the data yourself.
Several SDSs at once
Bulk Upload takes up to 25 SDSs per round, 5 on the Starter subscription. More files go in a next round.
- Go to the Inventory and click 'Bulk Upload'.
- Choose the location and add the SDSs to the window ('Choose SDSs or drop them here').
- Click 'Process' and keep the window open until every file is done.
- Review what was read for each file and choose 'Data is Correct', 'Upload but Needs Review' or 'Skip this file'. If everything is right, use 'Confirm All'.
- Click 'Upload to Database'.
- On the dashboard of an empty location you can also drop SDSs straight in: one file opens the upload window, several go to Bulk Upload.
Kits: several parts in one SDS
When the parts of a kit are in one PDF, such as a resin and a hardener, Chemspark saves each part as a separate product, linked as a kit. Each part gets its own inventory row, its own screening and risk assessment, its own workplace card and its own label.
Each part counts as one product in your subscription. If the supplier sends the parts as separate SDSs, Chemspark does not link them as a kit.
Scans and unusual SDSs
- A scan or an SDS made of images is read as well, but always gets the 'Needs review' flag.
- An SDS in a language other than Dutch or English gives a warning. Check the data extra carefully, or upload a Dutch or English version.
- An SDS from before CLP, with R-phrases, is flagged as outdated. Ask the supplier for a current SDS.
- A file that is not an SDS is not accepted.
- If reading fails, you can still enter the data by hand.
Duplicate products
If the same product from the same supplier is already at the location, Chemspark tells you during the upload. With a single SDS the revision date decides: only a newer SDS is saved, as a new version of the existing product. Otherwise Chemspark shows the revision date of both SDSs. Bulk Upload also spots files that appear twice in the same upload.
In Bulk Upload, choose 'Skip' or 'Update Existing' for each duplicate. 'Update Existing' turns the SDS into a new version of the existing product. A new version does not count towards the number of products in your subscription.
After saving
Right after saving, Chemspark points out what stands out, for example a product on a regulatory list, a CMR product, or an SDS older than your organisation's expiry period.
- Check the products marked 'Needs review'.
- Screen the new products in Risk assessment.
Read next
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.
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'.
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
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.
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.
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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.
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Dashboard
The dashboard is the start page after signing in. Four cards show, per module, where the inventory stands and what needs attention first. One click on a card opens the page where the work continues.
Still stuck? E-mail us, we are happy to help.