chemical Register

[superbug]

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering how people keep a tab on their chemicals in store. Do you have an excel spreadsheet? or do you use chemwatch? or do you have another method to control chemicals like a special programme?

Thanks Superbug

[Q-Ran]

I tend to use Chemwatch for as little as humanly possible. Excel spreadsheet is fairly effective, albeit a pain to update.

[rae]

I too use an excel spreadsheet. Have never used chemwatch for this.

[Matt_Coffs]

Excel spreadsheet. If you add the right columns you can sort spreadsheets to do lots of useful stuff like show which SDS need updating/reprinting etc.

[linotas]

I use both. Once school we use excel, the other I use chemwatch. I find the manifests on chemwatch better then excel once you work out how to use them. I dont know if I would bother transfering over if you already use excel, but when I was starting from scratch, it was good.

[Labbie]

I use both.

[mazcheck]

I am responsible for doing the whole school chemical stocktake (this includes things like gluesticks) and use an Excel spreadsheet but this is only updated once a year. Once completed, paper copies of the chemical register go to principal, chairperson WHS and one stays in prep room. Electronic version is accessible on school intranet as well.

[Labbie]

Gluesticks are not Hazardous substances, so their is NO NEED to put them on a chemical register. The CSIS states that ONLY HAZARDOUS need to be registered, I think a lot of people are making work for themselves. If you are a DEC school, only Hazardous chemicals need to be registered. I do know some private places like to register every thing, but their is no LAW that says you must.

[Krysia Lee]

we purchased the SciList program and if I ever get time I was going to have a go at using the chemical register that came with that. Has anyone else already done this by any chance? I wonder if its possible to import your current list directly to the Scilist program.

[Kathryn]

We are a private school and I do the chemical inventory for the whole school (even maintenance!!) I was told by the guys coming around doing our registration that absolutely every chemical in the school has to be listed on the inventory. I then do another list of all hazardous materials and this is kept in the reception with other important papers that are taken in an evacuation. I have to confess to being a little lazy after the first year when I was very thorough, I now don't actually count all the bottles of infants paint, glue sticks etc, but a leave a large margin of error as I assume at times their cupboards will be fill and other times not so full. Its a big job for the whole school and is especially frustrating when teachers go out and buy one bottle of this and another teacher gets a different brand of basically the same substance.

Kathryn

Kathryn

[Labbie]

Tell me abaout it, it drives me crazy, they move it from this cupboard to that cupboard then back again. I tell them to keep all there chemcials in one area. I also do the whole school, I print out last year's register for that dept, give it to the head teacher, and they do the stock take, and hand it back to me, I record it on chemwatch for them. ANd check their SDS are up to date. History likes morning fresh, Cooking has home brand, English has planet earth, I just go with the flow. I do not record dishing washing detergent, or hand cream, liquid soap, etc etc, it is just not needed.

[superbug]

Hi
I have been told by AIS (private school association) that we dont have to do any msds's for products that you would use at home. eg dish washing, hand wash/creams etc.
Also any non hazardous stuff like glue sticks are not required. I also do the same as Labbie- print , hand out and wait for the info to come back so I can input it into our register and update sds's every year for whole school.
regards Superbug

[Jazz]

this is from UK, good read

http://www.preproom.org/downloads/Special-Report-3.pdf

[Krysia Lee]

Thanks for putting that up Jazz
Just one question. On page 14 it says that the corrosive cupboard should not be in the chemical store? Have I misinterpreted that? I wouldn't have any where else to put my corrosive cupboard.
Krysia

[Jazz]

that is in ideal world with ideal prep room, I do not have chem store room at all

[Kathryn]

HI Superbug

I think that is a good example of how much confusion there is over registers, SDS's etc. i was told by the guys doing our registration that if it is used by students it needs to be classified, on the register and SDS printed if it is haradous. I'm also in a independent school.

Kathryn

[dss8386]

I am in the process of doing my registers. They havent been updated for 10 years !!! So I think its time.

I am using the new Chemwatch FFX program to do my manifest and once I am finished, I will do the hazardous chemical register on excel. if you go to the dete website, there is a template. I attached it.

From my understanding, we only have to put down chemicals used in pracs, if its used for household purposes thats fine.

We have to do a manifest with all chemicals used and then a hazardous chemicals register (this one requires MSDS or SDS). A copy needs to go to admin/reception, WHS officer and my office plus an electronic version.

My heads about to explode, its an big job!!! Its taking forever.

Dave

[ELIZABETH]

Why do both? The Chemwatch one should be enough, surely.
Liz

[noona]

I put everything on my chem register.
If students use it it goes in the list is what I tell the teachers here.

[superbug]

Thanks it seems like most use excel, whilst some use both chemwatch and excel and only one uses only chemwatch. I like to use excel but am finding that chemwatch has some good features that I cant use due to my info being on excel. I store my sds's both mini and full on a shared drive on my pc rather than on chemwatch. I find the new school version of chemwatch is so slow and clunky.