benefits

A school system has the responsibility for safety and health of its students and the public the system serves. This responsibility includes Environmental Health and Safety and Hazardous Materials Management. The federal government assigned this responsibility in 1985 when it passed into law the Hazard Communication Standard.

According to the standard, each organization is required to determine the hazard properties of the chemicals that are used in the workplace and communicate these hazards to all those who may be affected by the substance. Except with a school, this includes not just the employees, but the students and the public that the school system serves.

Obtaining and maintaining the information necessary to fulfill the responsibilities requires several items:

• Time – it's time consuming to identify all the substances, the hazard properties, and then obtain and manage the MSDS sheets that contain the necessary information.

• MSDS library – each substance used must have an MSDS that describes its hazards or the fact that it is not hazardous. The average high school has over 1200 substances – each which needs a MSDS.

• Routine update – Every time a new substance is purchased or is brought into the facility a new MSDS is required. When a substance is no longer used, the corresponding MSDS needs removed

• Distribution method – the employees and public must be able to have access to the MSDS information.

When all these requirements are combined, it becomes a task that no custodian or facility manager wants to do. After all it is already difficult to get them to do “paperwork” consistently plus the time commitment takes away form all the other duties required of the building maintenance team.

Here are some common needs that Aptimise-MS services satisfy:

• Information and Current state – Comprehensive facility audit to reveal all substances used in both custodial and classroom activities

• Management of MSDS s – sourcing, updating, and distribution
Material management advice – alternate materials, buying patterns, and disposal methods

• Maintenance of old MSDS – the hazard communication law requires maintenance of information for 15 years after the last use of the substance.

• Risk Identification – experience shows that every school system has several substances that are more risky than beneficial.

•  Distribution – the Aptimise-ms system allows easy access to all authorized staff and allows them to have a copy of any MSDS that may be required.

Fulfilling these needs results in less time spent on regulations, less money spent on compliance, and better information available for risk avoidance. Additionally, the system can be used to minimize and/or reduce the purchase cost of materials commonly used for building maintenance.