5. Risk assessments and safety sheets

A risk assessment must always be linked to the activity carried out when a chemical product is used – not to the product itself. That is why it is called activities in iChemistry.

Navigate to the department you want to start with, and go to Tools > Risk assessment. There you will see all inventoried products together with their priority values and any red flags. Click a product to get started – the system guides you step by step, and the number of steps depends on how hazardous the product is: less hazardous products are offered a suggested “light” version, while more hazardous products require an assessment of likelihood and consequence, plus extra confirmation of personal protection. Help text behind the question-mark symbols guides you through the sections that often feel difficult.

Risk assessments must be signed to become active. It is the employer or the responsible manager who signs, and they need their own user account.

If the same product is used the same way in several departments, you can streamline the work: inventory the product in a parent department, and create and sign the risk assessment there – it then becomes overarching and visible in all sub-departments. That way you avoid redoing the same work multiple times. Read more in the article “General risk assessments”.

By law, employees must have access to information about the chemicals they use. Safety sheets are the central tool for that, giving staff clear handling instructions for everyday use.

In the Handling instructions step you can import relevant information directly from the safety data sheet and add to the text based on how you actually work with the product. Once the risk assessment is signed, you will find the safety sheet in My List, on the product page in iSafe, or you can share safety information easily via the QR-code feature: Open Access.

Give everyone instant access to the latest Safety Data Sheets (SDS), Safety Sheets, and Workplace Instructions (WPI) without requiring a login. Open Access makes it easier to share critical safety information, improves compliance, and ensures employees always have the documents they need, when and where they need them.

Bring the team together and discuss:

• How do we handle it when an employee wants to add or stop using a chemical product?
• How often do we check that the digital inventory matches the physical stock? (Recommendation: every six months)
• Who is responsible for reviewing risk assessments when circumstances change?
• Who keeps track of the Overview, where notices about SDS updates and items in the To-do list are shown?
• Who ensures that all employees have access to up-to-date handling instructions and safety sheets?

These are often the questions that determine whether the chemical management work stays alive or slowly loses momentum. Answering them now is worth more than answering them after something has already gone wrong.

If you have been away for a while, start by looking at the Overview – there you will quickly see what needs your attention. Then go through risk assessments that need reviewing or signing, check that the safety sheets still reflect how the products are used, and confirm that the right people are still responsible.

Our EHS consultants have extensive experience in chemical management and risk assessments and can support you with strategy, interpreting legislation, training, creating SDSs, and much more.