Ensuring safety on site is high on the list of priorities for any organization. No one wants to be the cause of pain and suffering to any employee, visitor, the surrounding community, and certainly not the environment we are all trying so hard to protect. But accidents happen every day, many of which are caused by errors or oversights that could easily have prevented the incident. Addressing fire code requirements pertaining to chemical management on site, and reporting the organization's compliance efforts will help ensure that accidents don't happen.

The Importance of Fire Code Reporting

Laboratory scientists and chemists are quite knowledgeable about the various properties of the chemicals and materials with which they work. However, this type of knowledge is not enough to prevent accidents, nor does it address or include all the requirements of the various fire codes.

Safety training alone does not prevent accidents. The laboratory environment itself must be examined to create as much built-in safety as possible in order to minimize damage and injury in the event of human-error. There have been several changes to building and fire codes to improve safety, such as the modern requirement for fire-related control areas. In addition, modern construction materials are often designed to make buildings more burn resistant. While these are important changes, there is still more that can be done.

Addressing Best Practices for Fire Code & Regulatory Reporting

"Fire codes: is a catch-all term used to describe a wide range of codes designed to ensure protection from fire hazards by requiring specific storage, handling and disposal activities designed to ensure site safety. And, fire codes are just a start, as there are an astounding array of not only fire codes but also associated regulations that the organization's EH&S professionals must strive to meet.

Essentially, these requirements have been promulgated to protect workers, equipment, facilities and the environment from the hazards associated with chemicals. Because such requirements can number in the thousands, simply identifying all of the applicable chemical safety-related requirements that govern any particular work activity with chemicals can be a monumental task. Thus, this identification is an important component of any chemical inventory system which can be purchased from a software vendor that has thoroughly researched the requirements, particularly since the cost of these programs is reasonably low.

New White Paper Addresses Fire Code Reporting Requirement

The latest Best Practices white paper from ChemSW, entitled Best Practices for Fire Code Reporting, seeks to clarify one of the key aspects of laboratory and site safety by addressing best practices in fire code reporting. A close look is provided at applicable fire codes, how to identify inventory affected by fire codes, and how to leverage industry best practices for fire code reporting integrity. The most common points of failure in fire code reporting systems, from the transition of permits to ongoing management and reporting, are examined as well as how to gain control of fire code reporting to readily satisfy regulations.

To find out more about how you can implement the best practices involved in addressing fire code reporting, please request a complementary copy of ChemSW's white paper entitled Best Practices in Fire Code Reporting, click here.