Although the GHS sets out regulation for very standardized safety data sheets, there is still room for personalization. Your company’s SDSs can be looked however you want and contain information detailed exactly to your specifications – to a point.
One important matter of personalization is contact information. Whoever is selling the chemical is the one that should be listed as the supplier in section 1. In the same subsection of section 1 of your GHS SDS, emergency contact information must be listed. It is up to your company to decide which safety agency is in charge of any chemical accidents and to provide their phone number. You must also provide a 24/7 emergency telephone line, if possible.
Logos also factor heavily in your personalization process. It’s important to have a good idea of what you want your SDSs to look like so that you can instruct your GHS conversion provider on what image to use and where to place it.
Keeping style in mind, you are also able to customize font size, font style, and any other purely aesthetic aspects of your SDS.
Finally – and probably most importantly – you can decide which chemicals need to be listed as “proprietary” or “trade secrets” on your final SDSs. Since formulas are the basis of your business, GHS SDS conversion providers certainly should not be listing everything in your product in exact detail! Many have standardized phrases or ranges that they use to display percentages to ensure the confidentiality of your formulas, but if you have preferred language or percentage ranges, just ask!
The MSDS to GHS SDS conversion process can at times feel impersonal, and there’s no escaping the fact that a nationwide standard doesn’t leave an incredible amount of room for your own input. When choosing a conversion provider, you should look for a company that will make you feel like your conversion is a priority and one that wants to make your transition to GHS SDS as personal as possible!
