There is No requirement on how your inventory is kept from a Federal or State regulatory perspective that I know of. Some Local Fire Depts. do however request/require that inventories be put into a format that their particular tracking system can use, but this is pretty rare. Most Fire Depts do not have or use the sophisticated software on the market today; and even if they do, few (if any) have any legal authority to require you to use a specific system. On occasion they ask but it is unrealistic for everyone to use the same inventory system. Schools will be very different from a semi-conductor facility which will be very different from a cabinet maker of an oil refinery (you get my point). 

What is important is that any inventory system can be maintained as up to date as possible. For example, a hand inventory system could be updated monthly or quarterly vs. a very good electronic system is updated daily as one uses or purchases a chemical. One is not necessarily better than the other because it more dependant on how frequently the chemical inventory really changes and Bulk (or Highly Toxic) chemical quantities are much more important (to be tracked) than lab quantities. What ever you decide, make sure its something everyone is will to use and comply with. The "Best" system is useless if it is to hard or cumbersome to maintain and nobody follows the procedure to keep it up to date.

Another issue that you should consider is that electronic MSDS systems are now completely accepted by regulators, provide a hard copy is kept at a central location in the event of a computer outage. We use a system called MSDSFinder that also has an inventory system associated with it. Many other similar MSDS programs also have this. We do not use this inventory system to much because it is difficult to tie into our purchasing system software (but it can be done). All of these systems take a considerable effort to set up but once in place, they are great. Depending on your needs, one of these systems could address both issues (MSDS's and Inventory) at the same time. They are also great for reporting.

Finally, in the event of an emergency, the Fire Dept. wants to know what's in the building and how much. Inventory systems help to give them a general idea, but nothing replaces the knowledge of the person who was recently working in that area. A good emergency phone list is generally more valuable that the electronic inventory.

Good Luck. 

Robert Blomberg
Talley Defense Systems, Inc.
Environmental Quality Specialist
Phone: 480-898-2433
Fax: 480-898-2410
Cell: 480-226-0607

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>>> Dennis Compton  7/25/2007 8:35 AM >>>

We are working on transitioning our chemical inventory into an electronic
form. Does anyone know of a requirement from any agency (EPA, OSHA, etc.)
that indicates the inventory should be electronic or is this just a
preference? 


Thanks for all the help.


Dennis


=======================

Dennis R. Compton, Ph.D

Chemistry Manager

Obiter Research, LLC

60 Hazelwood Drive St 245

Champaign, IL 61820

Phone (217) 265-7677

drcompton**At_Symbol_Here**obiterresearch.com

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