The last GHS preparedness deadline was very recent – you were required to train your employees fully in the new UN GHS procedures and formatting by December 1st of 2013. If you think this means you can relax on the process of conversion, however, you will most likely find yourself struggling to catch up before the June 1, 2015 final deadline for total GHS SDS conversion.
GHS compliance means revising all of your company’s current MSDS to meet the updated regulations for safety data sheets. This is by necessity a time-consuming project, so it is best not to wait until the last minute to begin the movement towards a complete library of GHS safety data sheets.
Companies may not realize the importance of starting to convert now. As the deadline approaches, however, they may become panicked or even run out of time. The process of total GHS SDS conversion is very unlikely to be carried out in-house unless you and your company are prepared to spend long hours preparing for conversion by learning all 580 pages of the UN GHS Purple Book and familiarizing yourself with the new formatting guidelines. Furthermore, each sheet will take an average of 5.41 hours to totally convert, which can add up to days or, more likely, weeks for even companies with fewer than 100 material safety data sheets to convert into GHS standardized SDS.
With that in mind, your preparation for the June 2015 deadline should mostly be focused on implementation. Luckily, by this point, your employees have at least a basic understanding of the ways in which the Globally Harmonized System works for labeling and hazard communication purposes. However, your job in preparation is not done with the completion of employee training. You will need to make sure your company has an adequate system for replacing the old MSDSs with new SDSs as they come in while keeping the two separate, and you will need to ensure that you have adequate storage for your new safety data sheets, in order to best be prepared for your company’s future.
Another important part of the process of moving your company toward conversion is being able to supply your safety data sheets to others. If your company produces any kind of chemical that other companies use in the production of their goods, they are waiting on your conversion to be completed before they can begin their own process.
If you are supplying goods that require new GHS safety data sheets to other companies, then the responsible thing to do is to begin outsourcing your conversion now. Doing the SDS update in-house will likely be time-consuming, and that wait can be unfair to those using your product as a component of their own. Those companies may even find themselves switching to another provider of those products that has already updated their safety data sheets, if possible, in order to meet the deadline.
One more reason to begin conversion now if you are planning on outsourcing the process is the sheer volume of companies who have not yet started the process. As it grows closer to June 2015, companies worldwide will begin realizing that they may fall behind on the timeline and will start to seek conversion services. Companies such as Quantum that offer those services may become overwhelmed by that volume of inquiries, and so may not be able to accommodate all requests. It is therefore best to begin the process as early as possible, to ensure that your conversion provider has an adequate amount of time and attention to devote to your company’s SDSs.
Overall, there are many advantages to beginning the conversion process now. Your company will find itself in a great position for its future and will be able to focus on its progress forwards rather than worrying about deadlines in a year. The process of conversion can seem daunting, but by making the choice to start now you will be able to work through it in the smartest possible way.
