A material safety data sheet (MSDS), safety data sheet (SDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is an important component of product stewardship and occupational safety and health. It is intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill-handling procedures. MSDS formats can vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements.
SDSs are a widely done system for cataloging information on chemicals, chemical compounds, and chemical mixtures. SDS information may include instructions for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or product. These data sheets can be found anywhere where chemicals are being used.
There is also a duty to properly label substances on the basis of physico-chemical, health and/or environmental risk. Labels can include hazard symbols such as the European Union standard black diagonal cross on an orange background, used to denote a harmful substance.
An SDS for a substance is not primarily intended for use by the general consumer, focusing instead on the hazards of working with the material in an occupational setting.
In some jurisdictions, the SDS is required to state the chemical’s risks, safety, and effect on the environment.
It is important to use an SDS specific to both country and supplier, as the same product (e.g. paints sold under identical brand names by the same company) can have different formulations in different countries. The formulation and hazard of a product using a generic name (e.g. sugar soap) may vary between manufacturers in the same country.
There are many companies who can offer you MSDS software, offering you a simple solution to global regulatory compliance. This includes; Safety Data Sheet Software (MSDS Software) for Safety Data Sheet (SDS and MSDS) Authoring, Classification, COSHH, Labelling, Transport Documentation, Document Management and Batch Management.
Such services will include
- Supply Classifications – EU / CLP / GHS Classification Systems
- Transport Classifications
- Multilingual Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
- Multilingual Supply and Transport Labels
- Instructions in Writing (Tremcards) in all ADR languages
- Dangerous Goods Notes
- IATA Declarations
- Standard Shipping Notes
- International CMR’s
- COSHH Risk Assessments
- Automatic SDS Dispatch via email, fax and post
- Automated revision control and archiving of Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
- Document Management Software
- Batch Management Software
- Regulatory upgrades whenever legislation changes
- Technical and regulatory support
The Benefits
Any company with a requirement to produce supply or hazard documentation will benefit from the comprehensive knowledge of and MSDS software provider. Their experience can help you in many ways:
- Helps cut costs
- Provides piece of mind
- Provide a Global Regulatory Compliance Solution
- Use a Unicode based system allowing document translation in all global languages including those with Asian or Cyrillic scripts
- Addresses all areas of legislation covering the Supply, Transport and labelling of hazardous and non-hazardous substances and preparations
- Provide you with a flexible system allowing for user configurations
- Store documents as .pdf, .html, .txt, .doc, .rtf, .xls and .ttx, in addition to the systems own document formats
- Maintain customer records to keep a history of the Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) that have been sent
- Reduces duplication of data entry, improving employee productivity and maintaining data integrity
- Provide ongoing support and maintenance to keep the system in line with the latest regulations
- Provide high quality regulatory and system support