Source Intelligence Addresses Critical Opportunity for Chemical Management And OSHA Compliance in the Trucking Industry
Ooltewah, Tenn, April 4, 2014 /3BL Media/ – Each year in the United States, the exposure to harmful substances and environments has an economic cost impact of over half a billion dollars, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration cites that more than 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials (hazmat) are transported in trucks every day in the United States - exposing thousands of shipment companies to the liability of a spill. Source Intelligence is addressing the risk involved in the handling of these materials through its Chemical Management solution by providing assurance that the companies carrying these materials will comply with the regulations for maintaining material safety data sheets and safety data sheets.
Speaking to the Tennessee Truckers Association, Scott Hepner, Director of Chemical Management and Compliance at Source Intelligence, addressed the need for transportation companies to comply with material safety data sheet and safety data sheet requirements. In doing so, Mr. Hepner marked the need for OSHA’s Hazard Communications Standard (HCS) compliance not only in Tennessee, but in all companies, in all industries, and in all 50 states.
“It’s important for any employer that requires employees to work with chemicals to comply with the OSHA 1910.1200 standard because it provides the necessary safety information, so your employees can handle chemical products safely and because non-compliance can draw regulators to companies,” said Scott Hepner. He continued, “Once regulators are drawn to a company, it can become very costly because these regulators often also want to audit the company’s chemical handling and disposal procedures. Helping companies to comply, keep their employees safe, and avoid these costs is our mission at Source Intelligence.”
Material safety data sheet management is required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.1200 standard. The Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) is now aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). Employers must be in full compliance with the revised HCS.
“U.S. Xpress is committed to excellence and believes in setting high standards for our company and our employees,” commented Amy Lokken, Vice President, Safety, “To provide superior service to our customers we sought a new generation compliance platform that integrated technology and environmental experts available 24/7 that could handle our MSDS compliance and expand into other compliance programs for regulated materials up and down the entire supply chain. Source Intelligence’s® solution and team of experts offered exactly what we were looking for.”
The problem goes beyond transportation. Bloomberg underscored the magnitude of chemical management related risks by citing that, in 2013, 1,374 different facilities were involved in leaking 287 chemicals, for a total of 194 million pounds of chemicals released. A sample of seventy-six publicly traded, American companies self-reported 3,885 spills in the last year alone. These are just the reported, spill-related accidents. Other types of accidents could be exposure or ingestion related. The Workers Compensation Fund estimates that for every dollar of direct accident cost, there can be 5 to 50 dollars of indirect costs. Source Intelligence helps companies mitigate these very high risk incidents by providing them with the tools to manage compliance.
Source Intelligence does this by providing training on the new label elements and SDS format in addition to a service that enables companies to comply with the modified provisions of the final rule by June 1, 2016- when employers must be in full compliance with the revised HCS. To improve their risk mitigation processes, transportation companies are turning to Source Intelligence to provide a chemical compliance management service, which assures that companies are compliant with regulatory requirements surrounding chemicals and materials throughout the supply chain.
Source Intelligence delivers a comprehensive environmental, social, and sustainability compliance platform that goes far beyond addressing MSDS and SDS compliance. It also includes hazard classification, labeling and marking, regulatory reports, disposal requirements, and information distribution and training.
Most recently, Source Intelligence launched its regulatory alert and monitoring service which provides chemical management compliance alerts in real-time to its customers allowing for pre-emptive action. To ensure its customers’ needs are addressed completely, Source Intelligence also provides environmental experts who are available 24/7 to handle a variety of compliance programs for regulated materials up and down the entire supply chain. With these solutions, Source Intelligence serves a stable of industry leaders like U.S. Xpress.
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About Source Intelligence (www.sourceintelligence.com)
Source Intelligence® is a value chain risk management company that helps customers make informed decisions about their business partners and suppliers, so they can offer products that meet legal, ethical, and environmental standards. Its cloud-based information and analytics platform provides customers with visibility into product supply chains and material sources in order to comply with the law, minimize operational and brand risk, and improve efficiency.
To protect its customer’s interests, Source Intelligence has built the private industry’s largest registry of suppliers, a platform to manage and connect business partners, and a portfolio of programs for regulated materials. Founded in 2009 by career experts in environmental solutions, management consulting and analytics, Source Intelligence® has headquarters in Carlsbad, California and has operations around the world.
Source Intelligence® Contact:
Adam Harriss, Business Development Director
(877) 916 6337
aharriss@sourceintelligence.com
