Chemical Inventory + Hazardous Waste Management System

Chemical Inventory

University of Alberta laboratories have been expected to maintain their own chemical inventories for years, however, the tools used varied from lab to lab (including handwritten documents, Excel spreadsheets and various software solutions)

The new EHSA software (Environment Health and Safety Assistant) from On Site Systems will supply the U of A with a consistent Chemical Inventory Module and Hazardous Waste Module. 

The Chemical Inventory Module is a digital solution to managing stock and commercially available chemicals.

There are many benefits for individual labs, and the institution, to using a centralized Chemical Inventory Module.

Laboratory Benefits

The software will equip laboratories with a method of tracking chemicals, which will provide the benefit of:

1. Having an up to date, digitally accessible inventory available from anywhere.
2. Easily adding and removing chemicals, including submitting waste directly from your inventory.
3. Transferring chemicals between laboratories.
4. Controlling over adding and removing lab users who have access to your inventory.
5. A reconciliation/verification feature to verify/update the inventory at least annually.
6. Tracking a wide variety of chemical attributes, including receipt dates, expiry dates, GHS/TDG safety information and current quantities.
7. Visual identification of expired chemicals in the software
8. Searchable fields to quickly find chemicals in a large inventory.

By using this software and its available features, labs will reduce the amount of time spent on chemical inventory management and reconciliation, and discover other benefits including improving safety, reducing waste and minimizing costs.

U of A Benefits

A central inventory will provide many benefits from an institutional perspective. Faculties and departments can have access to associated inventories for oversight and sharing, as they see fit. HSE will have access to all inventories to assist labs in managing their chemical hazards. Some specific use cases include:

1. Generate reports on high-risk chemicals and work with labs on safe use and disposal.
2. Create health and safety guidance based on the hazards present in U of A laboratories.
3. Track the use of regulated chemicals in order to help laboratories achieve regulatory compliance.
   1. This includes completing the annual reporting requirements without labs submitting their information to HSE each year.
4. Reduce serious incidents involving chemicals by taking a proactive approach to chemical management.

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How to Access Software

The chemical inventory and hazardous waste software can be accessed through https://ualberta.hpahost.com/ehsa/ by using your CCID and password to log in.  

• HSE is currently working with labs to add PIs, permits and workers into the software.
• For labs that are already set up, please see the How To: Register Workers for details on adding individuals to your lab.
• You can log in at any time and create a “waste user” profile. However, until your lab is set up in the software, you may not be able to access the functionality.

How can I access the software?

• If your lab has not been set up, contact HSE at hse.info@ualberta.ca to sign up! 
• HSE is currently helping barcode chemical inventory, set up labs in the system, add staff with the proper permissions, and train staff on using the software. 

What if I don’t have a CCID?

• Users external to the University of Alberta may not currently have a CCID and will require a guest CCID. 
• If you have questions about CCIDs for guests, please reach out to your departmental contact or contact the Staff Service Centre.

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Chemical Waste

At this time, we will be in a transition period for waste submission. Until you hear otherwise from HSE, please continue to use CHEMATIX for waste submission.

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Timeline