The Hazardous Substance Management NAV (HSM) is a database for input, administration and processing of regulation related chemicals’ data. Legally required documents and documentations, e.g. Safety Data Sheets, ADR Transport Documents, technical data sheets, declarations of conformity, certificates of analysis can be generated easily. HSM NAV is certified for Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV (Navision). Thanks to seamless integration into a Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV enterprise ressource planning system (or to other ERP systems by using interfaces) a variety of processes regarding hazardous substance management and production process in an enterprise can be automatised, e.g.
- Classification of hazardous substances and dangerous goods etc. based on certification of a production recipe, as soon as a formulation is certified or an item is defined,
- SDS dispatch on order posting (with region specific re-dispatch on relevant changes),
- Generation of transport documents (for ADR, IMO, IATA) on composition of a shipment.
Seamless integration into enterprise processes enables the execution of in-house tasks like the generation of hazardous substance inventories, solvent balances, reports regarding Seveso-II-Directive and other evaluations at the touch of a button
HSM provides user configurable multilanguage input and output data structures. Therefore, apart from predefined standard documents like Safety Data Sheets or workplace instructions, enterprise specific documents like technical data sheets and conformity declarations as well as labels can be generated. By means of the Flowchart Calculator (FCC) all kinds of evaluations and calculations can be configured.
HSM is by default delivered with predefined basic data structures, substance database and multilingual phrase catalogue. The software modules and data packages are configured according to the customers needs. Especially, there are numerous Prosisoft tools.
Below you will find information about:
Advantages of a chemical substances and products database
Scaleable and flexible hazardous substance information system
Extending standard HSM: Prosisoft Tools
Configurable, dynamic data field structure
Consistent use of multilingual phrases
History and audit acceptability
Advantages of a chemical substances and products database
HSM NAV is a software combined with a database providing powerful functions for aquisition, combination and analysis of raw material – and product data, as well as aggregation of these data in order to compile reports and documents. Therefore, the HSM functionality is far beyond an electronical typewriter. It is the central database in which all data of a chemical product converge from all parts of the enterprise. Safety characteristics, physico-chemical properties, risk management measures, safety instructions (e.g. regarding first-aid, fire prevention, storage recommendations), product properties like colours, flow characteristics, application recommendations, as well as legally required parameters like hazard pictograms, safety phrases, occupational exposure limits and much more.
If these data are collected in the database, it is possible to analyse and establish relations between them. Statistics for authorities or in-house purposes can be generated. Overviews like hazardous substance inventories for a location are available by pushing a button. Data also can be compiled to generate dossiers like a Safety Data Sheet, a technical specification, a declaration of conformity or other certificates.
With HSM one does not ‘write’ a Safety Data Sheet. Instead one collects and analyses safety data – then the software will generate the Safety Data Sheet. This way the safety expert gets a powerful tool to handle his core business – the assessment of substances and products – and then delegate bureaucracy to the software.
Automatically processed calculations and evaluations/reports can generate further informationm and thus facilitate daily routine tasks. However, the computer does not “incapacitate” the expert: Each datum can be validated and changed manually before printing.
Synergy by integration
The advantages of a substances database are exponentiated when combined with the database of a company-wide enterprise ressource planning system (ERP): Hazardous substance- or dangerous goods data are required in severeal stages of the production process all over the company. Substance information can be combined with logistics data. Purchase, development, production and sales department can be kept informed about properties and safety data of raw materials and products.
HSM supports production and shipping processes. The following list of exemplary processes and can be varied and expanded:
- Starting from sales orders, transport documents can be compiled several days before finishing the shipment, e.g. an IMO Declaration to inform the shipping company in time.
- Labelling data can be provided on demand during the production process.
- Starting from posted sales shipments an ADR Transport Document can be compiled just in time for the truck being loaded just now.
- Exemptions (e.g. regarding ADR, section 1.1.3.6 (1000 points rule) can be checked using shipment entries.
- Safety Data Sheets can be dispatched to customers, whereat it is checked if the customer already got the current version.
- The recipient of the SDS or other documents may be defined from entries in the customer contact data.
Scalable and flexible hazardous substance information system
HSM NAV grows together with the demands of the company. The standard HSM is a software providing a powerful tool to build up a substance database and provides a portfolio of intelligent and efficient basic functions. Prosisoft delivers basic configurations for system control and data field structure, so that Safety Data Sheets can be generated. Prosisoft also provides a basic substance data pool, completely covering Annex I of directive 67/548/EEC (Dangerous Substance Directive, DSD), respectively Annex VI of Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 (CLP Regulation) with classification and labelling of the listed substances according to DSD and CLP / GHS. There is also a multilingual phrase catalogue specially structured to fit into the HSM field structure.
The HSM standard configuration can be extended according to the companies’ needs. Both the integration of the Hazadous Substance Management into ERP processes can be intensified and the functionality of HSM as such can be extended. These upgrades may be conducted depending on the enterprise’s ressources and requests:
- Upgrades of data content: Prosisoft provides several language packages for the Prosisoft standard phrase catalogue. Furthermore, substance lists with classification and labelling data, exposure limits, registry status and regulatory listings (e.g. VOC) can be imported into the database, as well as basic substance data which provide the elemental data for calculations, assessments and validations.
- Upgrades by companies on their own: Numerous functions within HSM are configurable and expandable. After suitable training such extensions can be developed by the company’s employees.
- Upgrades by Prosisoft packages: Numerous extensions of functionality are available ready-to-use.
- Upgrades on request: Special requirements concerning extended functionality are analysed, specified and realised by Prosisoft. In these cases again the high degree of parametrisation of the software is a big advantage: Extensions, adjustments or customisation can be realised most efficiently. However, it is also possible to expand the module by coding new functions.
Extending standard HSM: Prosisoft Tools
Prosisoft has developed a number of tools for the HSM which provide new calculations and evaluations or deepen its integration into the company-wide processes. These Prosisoft Tools may consist of NAV objects and/or of configurations and parameterisation.
Some Prosisoft Tools consist of ready-to-use components or of core building blocks with defined interfaces which can be adapted easily to enterprise processes.
Examples for expanded functionalities (apart from the automatic calculation of classification and labelling in accordance with the Dangerous Preparations Directive (DPD) and computer assisted proposals for dangerous goods classification) are:
- Flowchart Calculator (FCC) with numerous configurations for calculations according to the EC Decopaint Directive, EC Detergent Regulation, SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern (REACH)) evaluation, Swiss VOC Ordinance etc.
- Research Tool allowing NAV wide evaluations, e.g for volume-based hazardous substance inventories
- Label Printing
Configurable, dynamic data field structure
In chemical product safety there is used a vast number of data to describe product properties or to propose risk management measures, handling instructions etc. The range of these data fields never can be considered complete, because anytime there may be the necessity to create new fields or to delete obsolete fields.
HSM NAV responds to these changing requirements with a dynamic field structure: Data fields can be defined without any further program coding and are available for data entry as soon as the definition of a field is done. Data access with the standard software is accomplished by a hierarchical structure tree: One data field can be assigned to different data subtrees, so that for example a flashpoint entered only once is accessible for a Safety Data Sheet as well as a technical data sheet. The user interface adapts dynamically to this new data field. The output format for different document types like the SDS or an ingredient declaration according to the Regulation on Detergents (Regulation (EC) No. 648/2004) can be configured individually.
Consistent use of multilingual phrases
Companies with international business need documents in different languages. For example Safety Data Sheets have to be delivered in the customer’s national language(s).
HSM NAV consequently uses standardised text modules, so called “phrases” in order to provide information in several languages. Data fields can be defined as “phrase fields” for which only certain subsets of the complete phrase inventory are allowed. This facilitates the input of consistent data by the users and enables evaluations. Phrases are also used for headings and labels for document output and for the user interface. They are part of the configurable HSM field structure definition. This way it can be safeguarded that the SDS contains the officially prescribed headings and subheadings in accordance with the REACH Regulation.
Regions concept
Despite the fact that there is a tendency towards the harmonisation of chemicals regulation (see e.g. the Globally Harmonized System GHS), there remain many domains of different legislation with a variety of different demands. For example whereas product labelling is subjected to the European CLP Regulation, workplace exposure limits are fixed by the member states national legislation.
HSM meets this regulative reality with a hierarchical regions concept. Areas of legislation are defined and assigned to higher level areas. Examples: Germany and France are assigned to Europe which belongs to the World; Jordan belongs to World but not to Europe; California is assigned to USA, the USA belong to the World.
Entered data are tagged with a region. If a Safety Data Sheet is compiled, only the part of data is used which is assigned to the destinated area of legislation regarding the region hierarchy: An SDS for Austria contains Austrian workplace exposure limits, European classification data and First-aid-measures valid worldwide in principle; but no data for German national requirements. So it is possible to provide and develop a consistent data pool and however integrate national peculiarities.
Instances concept
Substance properties may be complex; especially, a material specific constant may depend on other parameters. Examples: the vapor pressure depends on the temparature and the boiling point depends on the ambient pressure. Some property values are also influenced by the measuring method. Therefore it is often necessary to have numerous instances of a property available.
This also applies to recommended first aid measures, R-phrases, P-phrases or toxicity data, which for certain substances may fill entire books.
For HSM NAV this is no problem. Due to the instances concept for all data fields describing a certain substance property (property attributes) there is no limit in instances, unless a limit is configured deliberately (e.g. for a yes/no statement).
Master concept
Frequently a product portfolio consists of products or product group, which are very similar with respect e.g. to product safety. For these product a considerable number of information may be identical, e.g. first aid measures, fire-fighting measures, general instructions for storage and handling, etc. This part of information can be collected in a so-called master and then assigned to a certain product. The assignment of the appropriate master can be done manually or by means of the Flowchart Calculator (FCC), e.g. in accordance with substance classification.
Product properties, on which data is already provided by the master, need not be entered again. On the other hand, if there is data entered for a certain product property, because e.g. there is more specific information, it will override the master data.
Another aspect: If modifications of the general information for a product group become necessary these have to be entered only once. If necessary, a batch versioning for all affected products may be run.
This way the HSM master concept allows the efficient and consistent provision of general information for ranges of similar products.
Version concept
Once substance data are entered and validated they can be versionised. This means, the substance or product entry is released and provided with version numbers for certain regions (= area of jurisdiction). After that data are available for generating reports / documents in various processes. This way for example Sales and Marketing staff can generate Safety Data Sheets for the assigned item(s) and the released regions and languages.
A change of data for this substance entry can be accomplished only if the release status is revoked. With the next release the version number is increased (A-version), if there was a relevant change (with the possible option for automatic re-dispatch to the respective customers). Otherwise in case of minor changes only the version number is not increased (B-version).
It is not necessary to create documents like MSDS or technical data sheet, in every possible combination of language and region in advance. If released, documents for the corresponding regions and languages can be generated on demand anytime.
History and audit acceptability
HSM NAV logs the generation of each document (SDS, technical data sheet etc.) with version, region and reference to the unique document name and file path. For documents generated by integrated processes the corresponding requests are logged too. This way it can be tracked when a document was created and sent to a certain customer, and a company can always verify that it has fulfilled its obligations.
Formulation management
HSM NAV allows to image the raw material based composition of a product contained in a production BOM (bill of materials) in own tables. Since HSM also contains basic substance data, the chemical composition of raw materials can be stored too. HSM can also manage nested formulations, i.e. formulations with raw materials which in turn consist of raw materials (which in turn…), and display them in a transparent formulation tree at different stages of resolution. There is no limit of complexity. Calculations are always carried out at the downmost resolution level.
Due to the own formulation management HSM can represent the special product safety related demands. If possible, the HSM formulation is very similar to the BOM of the corresponding item. But if necessary, the formulation may be adjusted independently, which becomes necessary if chemical reactions, e.g. neutralisations, occur between the components.
Furthermore, the formulation management is the basis of computer-aided calculations and evaluations like hazardous substance and dangerous goods classification, declarations of ingredients, processing of regulative substance lists and inventories like SVHC and TSCA etc. Calculations may be triggered manually for a certain substance entry (a certain product) or a batch (e.g. all products containing a certain ingredient) or may be requested automatically by other processes.