Tuesday, April 3, 2012

About MSDS

By Young Haulbrook


If you own a cleaning company, your business probably possesses a wide range of chemical substances that are used on a daily basis. Harmful ingredients are used in many chemical compounds, including floor wax, toilet cleaners, upholstery stain removes, and basic disinfectants. If an unexpected accident happens while your employees are using a particular substance, it could put their health, and the welfare of everyone else in the building, in question.

For instance, if one of your workers accidentally uses far more than the recommended amount of a particular cleaner in a small space, such as a bathroom, it could release toxic fumes into the air. Inhaling these hazardous fumes could endanger every person in the building. Because of this, it is important for your employees to have constant access to material safety data sheets (MSDS). If your employees are mobile and travel to numerous locations in a single day, each cleaning team should have MSDS with them at all times. This will protect both your employees and your clients.

If you are the company owner, it ultimately falls to you to make sure that your employees are safe and secure in their place of work. In order to perform this aspect of your job effectively, there are a few things you should do. Consider applying the suggestions detailed below.

1. You need to ensure that every employee in your company is aware that he or she legally has the right to know detailed information about any chemical with which he or she may come into contact. When you hire new workers, you can give them a handout that outlines this information as part of their new hire packet. Furthermore, it is important that every new worker reads the MSDS for all chemical products he or she might have to utilize. While this is most vital for maintenance workers, every employee should have to read these sheets.

2. Make sure all of your employees are aware of the location of your company's MSDS. Employees do not have to use a given chemical product until they have read its MSDS, so they should easily be able to find it if they need to. Also, if any of your workers request a copy of a given MSDS, you should get it to them in a prompt manner.

3. Your employees should be trained in how to effectively use a product's MSDS. MSDS all include similar information, including the chemical's full name, a list of hazardous ingredients, and the correct usage and disposal techniques. Once your employees know where to find this information, they should be better prepared for an emergency.




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