In addition to maintaining an up-to-date WHMIS SDS collection, employers are required to assess the hazards of the chemicals they use in workplaces, implement control measures to reduce the risk that these hazards will result in harm to people, the planet or assets and train employees about the hazards of the chemical products and how to safely handle them. 

To help chemical users at all levels of the organization, the SDS RiskAssist™ header is categorized to identify the tools to manage chemical safety in 4 categories: SDS Management, Assess hazards, Control hazards and Train people. Depending on your subscription type and  whether you have Read-Only, Editor or Administrator access, the choices in your dropdown menus may look slightly different. 

1. 1. 1. Clicking on the SDS RiskAssist logo will always take you back to the homepage or dashboard, regardless of the type of access you have.
      2. SDS Management: These are tools that help employers manage their chemicals and the associated WHMIS documentation.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. e-Binder: Identifies all your products by name, supplier, date stamp of the document, format of document, overall WHMIS signal word for SDSs and the status of the document in the system. Read-Only users only see "active" documents while editors and administrators can see "active", "pending" or "archived" documents. The e-Binder also displaces administrative comments that may be associated with the document. This page gives users an overview of all the SDSs and documents loaded to the system by location. 
                        2. Verify Product Use: This tool is visible to editors and administrators only and is used to verify that the chemicals associated with the SDSs are still in use within the client's organization. The system tracks which day the chemical was verified and by whom. The filters on the page can periodically be used to see which chemicals have not been verified to be in use, over intervals of time. These SDSs for chemicals or products that are no longer in use, can be archived to ensure the system does not become bloated with unused documentation.
                        3. Replace SDS: This tool enables users to quickly source the new SDS from the manufacturer, if they are publicly available on the manufacturer's website and replace the existing SDS with a newer one. SDS RiskAssist™ automatically archives the old SDS and makes the new SDS active.
                        4. Add Datasheet: This tool enables users to upload new datasheets either from their computers or directly from the supplier's website.
                        5. Supplier Summary: This tool enables administrators to quickly see all the suppliers from whom products are purchased to make chemical procurement cost-effective and efficient.
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      3. Assess Hazards: Before employers can control hazards, they must be able to identify them. Depending on your subscription type, SDS RiskAssist™ makes 4 tools available to employers to help assess the hazards of chemical products they purchase. They are:
         1. 1. WHMIS: As most people know, in Canada, the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), is a system that suppliers and manufacturers of workplace hazardous materials are regulated to use to evaluate the hazards of products. Further, suppliers and manufacturers are required to make the resulting safety data sheets (SDSs) available to the purchasers, free of charge. WHMIS includes over 80 categories against which chemicals must be evaluated. Each category has a clear descriptor, such as "May cause cancer" or "May ignite spontaneously if exposed to air". SDS RiskAssist™ enables users to quickly identify the hazards of the chemical product by its WHMIS hazard Statement.
            2. Regulatory OELs (Occupational Exposure Limits): In every province/territory in Canada, the occupational health and safety laws include occupational exposure limits for hundreds of ingredients. Many of these ingredients can be buried in common chemical products and thus difficult for employers to identify. This Regulatory OEL tool enables employers to identify the products that include these ingredients, at the click of a mouse.
            3. Ingredients: While WHMIS is a great tool to identify hazards, it has limitations. Research on chemicals is evolving and it is challenging for manufacturers and suppliers to keep up. The Ingredients tool lists all SDS declared ingredients that are included in a client's chemical collection and enables users to select lists of known hazards, such as the carcinogens declared by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, to further identify hazards that may have been missed through the WHMIS system.
            4. UN Numbers: This tool enables select subscribers to quickly identify the SDS declared UN Numbers associated with chemical products.
         
      4. Control Hazards: Once employers have identified hazards and assessed the risks they pose to the organization, most will decide which chemical products to eliminate. For harmful chemical products that are business critical, employers must control the hazards to reduce unacceptable risk. Depending on your subscription type, SDS RiskAssist™ makes the following 4 tools available to employers to help control the hazards posed by chemical products they maintain. They are:
         1. 1. 1. SRA Control Priority: This tool enables administrative users to quickly identify their most urgent hazards for prioritized control.
               2. SRA Safer Chemicals: This tool enables users to compare chemicals that perform a like function (ie: surface cleaner), on a hazards basis. 
               3. Product Tags: This tool allows administrative users and editors to assign specific handling directives to chemical products, which appear on the 1-page safety brief and can be viewed by all users of SDS RiskAssist™.  This is a great tool to add specific handling information such as the type of gloves or respirator that is required to handle the chemical product.
               4. Product Tags: This tool enables administrative users to build generic chemical handling instructions, based on hazards. These instructions can then be automatically assigned to chemical products that appear on the 1-page safety briefs, as chemical products are uploaded to the platform.  This is a great way for busy safety managers to ensure employees get, at minimum, the general safety information to comply with the organization's risk tolerance.
         
      5. Train People: The final step required in a chemical safety program is to ensure people are trained to understand the hazards of chemicals, how these hazards can affect them and how to prevent harm to themselves, others and the environment. Depending on your subscription type, SDS RiskAssist™ makes the following tools available to employers to help with training. They are:
         1. 1. SRA Training: This consists of 9 modules that managers and supervisors can use to help their employees understand the hazards of chemicals. Depending on subscription type, employees can access these modules at any time via desktop or mobile devices. 
            2. SRA Overview: This tool is intended to enable supervisors to gain a quick overview of the hazardous chemicals in their location of operation together with the company instructions for safe handling. With this information at their finger tips, supervisors can reinforce education about hazards and ensure proper chemical handling is being followed by employees.
      6. Location: The drop down menu enables users to filter information based on where products are being used. Locations can be customized, depending on subscription type.

7. 7. Search: Allows users to quickly search the database for company’s products. The user simply begins typing part of the product name and a matching list of products appears. Select the desired product from the drop down menu to see the 1-page safety brief.
   8. Administrative Tools: The user can access admin tools, depending on their subscription type, such as: Toggle between French and English (if your organization has a bilingual subscription); add new users or locations; get help with SDS RiskAssist™; change passwords; contact Rillea Technologies or logout.