Mr. Peknice, how do you use SDBcheck®?
HGK Logistics and Intermodal GmbH operates a warehouse for hazardous substances at the Ladenburg site, which falls under the scope of the 4th BImSchV and 12th BImSchV. In general, the user – and this also includes the warehouse keeper – is obliged to check every safety data sheet for obviously incomplete, contradictory or incorrect information. GeSi³ and SDBcheck® provide us with the necessary expertise and specialist knowledge for this.
After checking the SDS, in a second step GeSi³ takes the classification and categorization of the substance and the application of the legal regulations from the SDS and compares them with the approval situation of our warehouse, which is stored in GeSi³. The comparison takes place in a test and calculation module that GeSi Software GmbH has specially tailored to HGK and programmed for us.
How does SDBcheck® change your workflow?
Our hazardous materials warehouse is controlled by HGK’s own warehouse management system (WMS). The storage class system of TRGS 510 (in addition to other substance-specific parameters) forms the central allocation and control instrument within our warehouse management system. Storage classes are technically stored in the master data of the storage sections in the warehouse management system and linked to the assignment to the individual approved storage sections and maximum permitted storage quantities. This means that the warehouse management system maps the official approval 1:1.
We use GeSi³ as our hazardous substance management software. The software is connected upstream of the WMS and checks the SDS for completeness and plausibility before storage. GeSi³ also checks the conformity with the permit, as not every hazardous substance may be stored. GeSi has developed a corresponding module especially for us for this purpose.
The SDSs to be checked are first automatically read into GeSi³ using the online tool SDBcheck®. SDBcheck® reads the contents of an SDS in PDF format and converts them into a structured format. The substances recorded in GeSi³ are checked in a standardized and automated manner and GeSi³ records whether the hazardous substance meets the requirements for planned inclusion in the warehouse.
In addition to extensive automated checking processes, actions are carried out at the user’s request in the form of workflow-based calculations. Highlights include
- Determination of the storage class in accordance with TRGS 510 based on the substance parameters read into the SDS (and comparison of the storage class specified in section 7 of the SDS)
- the evaluation and detection of the so-called “named hazardous substances” in the 12th BImSchV (Major Accidents Ordinance), Annex I. These must be approved individually by the licensing authority and are not covered by storage classes.
If anomalies are detected during the inspection, these are identified in a log. In a further expansion stage, this test report is to be forwarded to the WMS via an interface. The substance parameters determined in the test report are automatically read into the WMS product master. Protocols with anomalies cannot be read into the WMS. In this way, we ensure that only substances that have been tested in advance and approved by the authorities are stored.
What advantages do you experience by using SDBcheck®?
- Significantly faster review of safety data sheets compared to a review by external engineering firms
- Avoidance of input errors thanks to automated reading of the test report
- Approval conformity
- Ensuring the proper operation and condition of the system
Dominik Peknice
HGK Logistics and Intermodal GmbH
