Todd:Use of the Inventory

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Operation of the Todd Group Chemical Inventory

How to Keep Track of Orders

It is very important we maintain an up-to-date chemical inventory. This allows us to find compounds we own quickly. We need to check regularly that our inventory is up-to-date and this can be extremely tedious, but we can take steps to make this task easy, simply by keeping track of all new purchases and deleting chemicals from the inventory as they are used up or thrown out.

Management of the Inventory

A IN/OUT tray system is in place to manage additions and removals from the inventory. This applies to any chemical that contains has a barcode except NMR solvents and, for the moment, sand, magnesium sulfate and silica.

• New Chemicals: (internal or external), print out TWO copies of the order form. Have both copies signed by either Mat or a postdoc. Use one copy to order the chemical, and leave the other copy in the inventory IN tray.
• When the chemical arrives add the barcode number to the form in the IN tray.
• Fill in the relevant columns into an excel spreadsheet and email the rows to the nominated person (Paul) with the subject heading "[INVENTORY]"
• Whenever a chemical runs out or is to be discarded, the barcode and it's name/identifier must be placed in the OUT and the container can be disposed of.
• Periodically (first Monday of each month) the nominated person will delete the relevant entries listed in the OUT tray and add the entries for the IN tray. They will also add the emailed spreadsheet rows to the database, thus insuring that it is up-to-date.
  • If insufficient information is given to maintain, they will find you.
  • If you have not provided the relevant .xls file by email, they will find you.

Responsibilities

• You are responsible for the accuracy of the entry in the database.
  • Location, safety/transport data, barcode etc.
• You are to ensure that you have emailed the relevant spreadsheet rows before the first Monday of each month.
• You must use the IN/OUT trays. That means that you are not to maintain private stocks of chemicals that are not listed on the inventory.

The person in charge of inventory (currently Paul) is responsible for:

• Ensuring the IN/OUT tray contents are added/deleted accordingly.
• Will chase people who if there is insufficient information provided in the documentation trays and/or no relevant spreadsheet information has been provided.

Entering Chemicals into the Spreadsheet

The following steps can be used to provide the relevant information for inclusion into the spreadsheet by the nominated person. This is the information you must include in the emailed spreadsheet rows.

Check out this video for instructions on finding and entering things like DG and UN numbers from the MSDS. Full instructions, with links, are below.

When you receive a new chemical, go to the Sigma-Aldrich web page, search with the CAS number, and download the MSDS. For multiple hits on the website, use something sensible like ACS Reagent, or ReagentPlus. You need to look at sections 2 and 14 of the MSDS. To enter your chemical into the inventory you must include:

1. the chemical name (being careful with prefixes - see examples already in the inventory)
2. the quantity (of the full bottle)
3. the location (i.e. under which hood, or in the Flammable cabinets, fridge, freezer or Level 1 store)
4. the hazard data (compulsory, from Section 2 of the MSDS). Try to use terms that are similar to ones already listed
5. the CAS number (the MOST IMPORTANT thing, since this is how we search for chemicals unambiguously). Please note, CAS number ends with -XX-X (e.g. 523-24-5, 52473-22-8) and is not the same as the Aldrich Catalogue number
6. The UN number - this is a 4-digit code found in section 14 of the MSDS. If there is no UN number, write "n/a" - there will in that case be no Dangerous Goods code later on.
7. You also need to supply the Dangerous Goods (DG) code (Section 14 of the MSDS), and the standard words that go with that classification (these are on posters near the entrance to the labs, or can be found here)
8. For any chemical that has a DG code, you must also supply the packing group, which is also on the compound's MSDS (Section 14). Write I, II or III
9. From section 2 of the MSDS, if the compound is a carcinogen, this needs to be indicated. If things are vague (e.g. “prolonged exposure can cause cancer”) put words to that effect in the column. If the compound is clearly a carcinogen, it needs to be stored in the carcinogens lab. There's also an explicit list here
10. Indicate whether the compound is on the PACIA Illicit register, by writing I, II or III (i.e. find the relevant class). The list is here (pdf) (if this is dead, Google "PACIA illicit code practice appendix")
11. Indicate whether the compound is on the Chemical Weapons Convention by writing 1, 2 or 3 in the relevant box. Otherwise leave blank. The chemicals on the Chemical Weapons Conventions Lists are here - look half-way down the page, Table 4, there are Word documents for Schedules 1, 2 and 3.
12. Indicate whether the compound is on the Poisons List NSW by putting the number corresponding to its schedule, as on the list. The poisons list is very long and very tedious, but checking off your items shouldn’t take long as it’s alphabetical. The list is here
13. Indicate whether the compound requires an End User Declaration. These are very rare, but some chemicals require us to fill in an EUD before we can receive it. I’m expecting this whole column to remain mostly blank, however. You'll know when you have to fill out an EUD when you order the chemical and receive a phone call

These steps are dull, but we are legally obliged to do all this, and it saves a huge amount of time if we do it all as we go along.

New compounds must be labelled with "MHT" and its location on the bottle in permanent ink upon arrival. Make sure they are then allocated to the correct space - under the hoods or in the fridge/freezer (labels often come with storage recommendations), and is in the correct place, alphabetically (excl. prefixes such as 1,3- and N,N-). Try to keep on your bench only those compounds you are using frequently.

Our inventory is held on a shared drive along with the inventories of all the other groups. The complete inventory for the building may be searched in the service room, or by emailing Gemma Thompson. Note that this inventory is separate from the store inventory. Thus to search for a chemical, search: i) us, ii) building, iii) store. IF you come up blank, we order the chemical.

• If you don't have access to the inventory, ask Paul/Mat/whoever is in charge of the inventory.
• Do not share the inventory with people outside the group. Be careful when editing the database, in particular when sorting data, which can scramble the columns
• Do not, in a moment of drunken confusion, delete the database