Checklist - What should you do when you receive an SDS? | EcoOnline US

Safety data sheets can be very long and confusing to read. As an employer or safety manager, this can be overwhelming, and you may not know where to start. What should you do when you receive an SDS? We’re here to let you know exactly how to begin!  

What Should You Do When You Receive an SDS?

When you receive a safety data sheet, you should first review it to ensure it is compliant with the regulations and procedures you have on site. 

The following should initially be reviewed: 

• Check that it has 16 sections. 
• Verify the language is correct for your market. Is it clear and accurate? 
• Check that it is dated and any revision date and/or details of revisions are provided. 
• You must file the documents (new and archived versions) and maintain a record of all safety data sheets. It can be a hard copy or via digital means. 
• Ensure the details on the chemical product’s label are exactly as given in sections 1 and 2 of the SDS. 
• The onus is on the employer/chemical user/company to contact the supplier and request an updated version if not satisfied with the information provided. 
• Make sure all safety data sheets are easily accessible by employees and that they understand them to make safe decisions.  
• It is also good practice to regularly check the safety data sheets to ensure the most accurate and up to date version is easily accessible.  

Once all of these areas have been checked, it’s time to focus on key information within the safety data sheet. The most important sections that should be prioritized are Section 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 13.

The SDS information taken from these sections will help you develop chemical risk assessment measures, decide what PPE and resources to have on site, create emergency policy in relation to chemical safety, and much more. 

EcoOnline’s SDS management module within our Chemical Manager solution can help simplify your SDS management processes and extract key information needed with the help of our Safety Protection Sheets. These sheets, created for you with the help of our software, contain the most important parts of the SDS like chemical product names, hazards posed, and how to carefully handle and use such substances. Our experts can also help source the most up to date safety data sheets and distribute them to your teams to make sure you’re always compliant. 

We have kept over 600,000 employees safe in over 70 industries around the world. Find out more about how we can help protect your people now.