Bar-Codes and Laser Beams

By Matthew Chiasson, Chemist II

Over the past year Chemical Inventory has become a growing service that Triumvirate Environmental, Inc. has been providing. Companies have begun to see the value in implementing a data base for their chemical supplies. This growth is also due to the enforcement of the department of homeland security chemical watch list. This regulation asks companies to be able to prove if they have any chemicals of interest pertaining to the list; and chemical inventory systems provide just that. A data base provides chemical location, quantity, size, expiration, hazards, and msds reports. Separate reports can be created to run: flammable limit alerts, low chemical level amounts and DHS chemical watch list alerts. Many systems can also be configured to custom specifications desired by the user.

I have done a bit of inventory in my time; some may call it redundant or even boring. But creating a massive data base, that completely revolutionizes a client’s ability to tract their chemicals and bring them to the cutting edge of chemical management is far more gratifying and beneficial to Triumvirate then anyone could imagine. After a week or two, a relationship grows through the process of creating the inventory. Green becomes a familiar color in the labs. Researchers have been watching for days as TEI chemists delve into hoods and flame cabinets carefully excavating chemicals out; to record size, make, product number, cas number, chemical name, location, bar-code and finally scan them into the system. Then meticulously place them back into their habitats as if they had never been touched. It is a great way to establish a presence in labs and show Triumvirates’ professionalism, hopefully influencing the prospect of providing more services. Going from lab to lab waste streams are observed, lab practices and a general feel for how a company operates. This knowledge is a great advantage and tool for getting the premeditated WOW out of future work Triumvirate draws from the Chemical Inventory service.

Chemical inventory can be applied anywhere that uses chemicals. Some places may take more effort to manage than others; but these are the places that need it most. It just means more chemicals are falling through the cracks. Companies are losing money not knowing what they have in stock and how much they use. They will not be able to accurately account for what they have if they are asked. Using a chemical inventory database provides the best and most up to date information of every chemical’s quantity, type and location, and is the safest and most practical way to manage chemical supplies to date.