Chemwatch - Backpack

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MSDS MSDS Authoring Services

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A Vendor MSDS may be more than a single MSDS; associated with it are all earlier versions of the document and regional versions often in different languages
When a Vendor MSDS is placed in your private folder by either Chemwatch or someone from within your organisation, often more than one document transfers with it, invisibly. In some instances 20 or more documents may be transferred
However, only a single document displays unless the system administrator or user chooses otherwise
To some the advantage of this approach may not be immediately obvious. However, consider the following:
Some jurisdictions require you to keep a record of all MSDS and their ancestors for up to 30 years. They can remain hidden to prevent confusion but regardless must be available on call
Not everyone in the workplace may be fluent with the dominant language of their colleagues - safety dictates that where MSDS in relevant languages exist, they be made available
Corporations are often multinational using the same substance in many locations world-wide; the MSDS administrator may be aware of the local version of the MSDS but not others
Often a Vendor MSDS is identical in almost every respect to others distributed by that same Vendor – part number differences alone may, for example, distinguish the MSDS. This may be confusing. In cataloguing such families of MSDS, Chemwatch determines equivalence and can filter out non-core MSDS
Not all MSDS from a Vendor are updated at the same time (as desirable as this may be). If the vendor is based in an English-speaking country the MSDS elsewhere may take months if not years to update. The Chemwatch Alerts service identifies every update that occurs in the Core English MSDS and advises all who have an interest in, say, a Spanish MSDS
But wait, there’s more: A substance may be provided by several Vendors. When you identify a substance distributed by a specific Vendor your BackPack is automatically updated with MSDS from other Vendors. This can be accessed through a feature called Related Documents so is hidden until required. If the MSDS sought does not come in the language requested, such a document may occur in the related documents file. You may also find that another Vendor has classified the material differently and may provide additional information. If you have placed say acetone from a single Vendor into BackPack, in fact a further 2000+ documents for acetone are available in Related documents
BackPack therefore identifies all possible MSDS associated with your selection and places them in your Folder. Your personal BackPack resides on a Chemwatch Server so there is no overhead investment by you

Filters

When entering MSDS into BackPack they may be organised into Multi-level Folders representing, for example, every Maintenance Workshop in each site in each country in different continents
In any one folder there may be a requirement for MSDS in different languages. The BackPack administrator can ensure a Filter is defined to provide all MSDS of interest in the appropriate languages. In Ireland, for example, a large Turkish and Polish speaking contingent might be considered, while the Folder for a West German facility might reflect the needs of a Dutch, Turkish and German workforce. Spanish, English and French requirements can be met for the USA
Many filtering options besides those involving language are available. These include:
o Country options (English, Spanish and Chinese formats may differ)
o Source options - are only MSDS from the Vendor acceptable or from any supplier?
o Do you wish to display only the latest MSDS or do you wish to display all generations of the MSDS? Remember archived versions will be available within your BackPack regardless – they cannot be removed
For security, Filters can only be created or edited by the Administrator after the use of a suitable password

Multi-level Folders

In any organisation there is generally a need to distribute MSDS to various locations in the workplace
Persons with suitable authority (the Administrator(s)) can create as many Folders as required
MSDS can be moved into Folders by persons of suitable seniority determined by the Administrator (under password protection if necessary)
MSDS can also be moved between Folders or copied to other Folders. The contents of an entire Folder, or part thereof, can be handled in this way. Similarly the contents of a Folder can be deleted and transferred to a holding area (similar to the MS Office Recycling Bin). No MSDS is ever truly deleted but is simply removed from view
A date stamp is applied to all activity related to MSDS and is used to assist in determining periods during which
employees were exposed to substances
If a substance is deleted from a Folder or is moved to another Folder it is imperative that it maintains a foot-print in the original folder so that management is aware of its earlier history. BackPack maintains a recoverable log of such history including who moved or deleted the substance

Tracking MSDS

You may search for Folders containing particular MSDS or combinations of MSDS
In addition you may locate Folders in which there are MSDS from particular Vendors – for instance if new group contracts necessitate replacing one Vendors with another

The Collection

Backpack subscribers have access to our main database of MSDS. The Collection is a vast repository of in excess of 6 million MSDS updated in almost real time
Updates are automatically transferred to your Folders. This assists in meeting your legal obligations. Once an update is identified you are informed by email