How to prepare, control, and send an SDS without losing control of versions

Preparing a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is only part of the job. Once it is ready, it needs to go through review, be approved, reach customers, and remain available for consultation in the correct version.

This is where problems arise, such as outdated documents, shipments without records, duplicate files, and difficulty retrieving the revision history.

To avoid these problems, the laboratory needs to define how the SDS will be managed from preparation through distribution and archiving. Here is how to organize each stage and where a LIMS can help.

1. Preparation: gather the necessary information

Preparing the SDS starts with collecting and consolidating information about the product. This includes composition, physicochemical properties, hazard classification, toxicological and ecological information, and applicable regulatory data.

The SDS must follow the 16-section structure set by the Brazilian ABNT NBR 14725. To fill in this information consistently, it is important to identify the sources used and to define who is responsible for preparing and updating the document.

When data is scattered across spreadsheets, documents, and different systems, the risk of inconsistencies between versions or across related product documents increases.

How to organize this stage: keep each product’s data identified and up to date, assign someone responsible for preparation, and set up a workflow for handling changes to the source information.

2. Review and approval: verify before distributing

A completed SDS is not necessarily ready for distribution. Before release, you need to verify that the information is consistent and that the document meets the applicable requirements.

The checkpoints include:

• Consistency between the composition, the hazard classification, and the hazard communication elements.
• Updating of telephone numbers and emergency information.

• Completion of the document identification, the date, and the revision number or identifier, according to the procedure adopted.
• Verification of the applicable regulatory information.

• Recording of the review and approval by the competent people responsible.

Approval must leave a verifiable record: who reviewed, who approved, and when the document was released.

How to organize this stage: establish review criteria, define each participant’s responsibilities, and prevent a version that has not yet been approved from being treated as the current document.

3. Version control: know which SDS is current

One of the main risks in SDS management is the circulation of different versions of the same document.

This can happen when a file is updated in one folder but an older version remains in an email, in a shared area, or on the computer of whoever sent it last.

Simply saving the new file does not solve the problem. You need to identify the current version, preserve the history of earlier ones, and control the locations where the document is available.

How to organize this stage: keep a clear identification of revisions, define where the current version will be published, and establish how superseded versions will be removed from the points of access without deleting the necessary history.

The current SDS also needs to be accessible to the people who need to consult it during storage, handling, shipping, and other relevant activities.

4. Distribution and sending to the customer: record what was sent

Making an SDS available is not the same as proving that it was distributed.

When a customer requests the document, the team needs to locate the correct version and send it. If a later revision exists, there should also be a rule for determining when a new shipment is required, who is responsible for sending it, and how the communication will be recorded.

Without this control, it is hard to answer simple questions: Which version was sent to a given customer? On what date? Was the document updated after that? Does the customer need to receive the latest revision?

How to organize this stage: record, according to the applicable process, the product, the version sent, the recipient, the shipping date, and the evidence available. Also define the criteria for notifying customers of revisions.

These records make it easier to track shipments and to retrieve information when there is a request or an audit.

5. Archiving and updating: keep the history

SDS management does not end after shipping. Earlier versions need to be preserved in accordance with the applicable requirements and the organization’s retention policy.

It is also necessary to establish when the document will be reviewed. In addition to the periodic reviews set out in the procedure, changes to the composition, the product properties, the hazard classification, or the regulatory requirements may call for an extraordinary assessment.

The key point is to ensure that a relevant change is identified, assessed, and referred for review, without relying solely on the memory of whoever manages the documents.

How to organize this stage: define the criteria that trigger a review, the people responsible for the assessment, and how to keep the history of changes and approvals.

How can a LIMS help with SDS management?

Managing this flow manually becomes more labor-intensive as the number of products, customers, and revisions grows. Spreadsheets and shared folders can store documents, but they do not always provide the traceability needed to follow the whole process.

A LIMS can support management by centralizing information related to products and integrating document control into the laboratory’s routines. Depending on the available features and system configuration, this can include:

• Centralized information: organization of the data associated with each product.
• Revision control: identification of the current version and preservation of the history.

• Review and approval workflow: recording of the steps and the people responsible, according to the configured features.
• Traceability: retrieval of the change history and of the actions recorded in the system.

• Support for distribution: organization of shipment records and tracking of revisions, when this workflow is included in the solution.

It is important to define the role of technology: the LIMS does not replace technical assessment, hazard classification, or the professional responsibility for preparing and approving the SDS. Its role is to help organize the process, reduce parallel controls, and make the information more traceable.

At Actiz, SDS management can be part of a more integrated laboratory routine, in which information, documents, and records are handled in an organized way.

Also learn how SDS management in the LIMS works and see how to prepare an SDS with LIMS support. If your starting point is the change of document name, read the guide to replacing the FISPQ with the SDS.

Frequently asked questions