Did you know it’s possible for an SDS to load its structured data automatically?

The 848 Electronic Data Interchange EDI transaction set defines the exchange of structured (Material) Safety Data Sheet SDS data between trading partners

Stedi.com Looks like Zapier for EDI to me

I was part of a trade group back in the 90’s, ESDX, the Environmental and Safety Data Exchange (shout-out Rick Ferguson of Skylonda Group).

ESDX was a 501(c)(3) that worked on standards for the structured exchange of environmental and safety data. Automotive and electronics manufacturers were key members, along with consultants and companies developing environmental software (a barely getting started field at that time).

(I still remember Rick Ferguson bringing in boxed copies of Mosaic and telling us that the internet (known as the world wide web at the time) was the Next Big Thing. And encouraging us to start using email. That long ago)

If you’re not familiar with EDI, Electronic Data Interchange, it’s the original way that big companies exchanged structured data. Think Fortune 500 companies and big box retailers.

The specific technologie for exchanging the information continue to evolve, but all are still based on the ANSI standards.

Sample datasets include the 850 transaction set, Purchase Order, 856 transaction set, Advance Shipping Notice, and the 857 transaction set, Shipment and Billing Notice, think Invoices.

The 848 transaction set is for the structured exchange of (Material) Safety Data Sheet information.

The intention was that an 848 transaction set for each Safety Data Sheet that was part of a Purchase Order, Shipment, or Invoice would accompany the appropriate 850, 856 and/or 857 transactions. This would mean that the Safety Data Sheet information would be inherently integrated with the electronic information about the shipment itself.

It took us 7 years to get an ANSI X-12 transaction set approved, but we got there. (Notably, pre-GHS). Long story about why it never became widely adopted (better told over a beverage).

At the 2021 SCHC Society for Chemical Hazard Communication meeting last November, a business case for reviving this standard came to light.

Authors of Safety Data Sheets frequently send their SDS’s to companies that provide the translations into other languages. Using a structured data exchange methodology would standardize how to send this information. That would mean that SDS authors and SDS translators would only need to setup their system once, no matter what trading partner they use.

Which opens the door for users of chemicals to request the same structured data. This would make it possible for chemical users to automate a workflow for importing the SDS information into their EMS/EHS application(s). (An automotive client did this using a lower tech method back in the 90’s, which will be the topic of my next blog post).

Each EDI transaction set has an Implementation Guide that describes how to use it. I can’t find one on-line for the 848.

Time to develop an Implementation Guide for the 848 Transaction Set that includes how it would be “tweaked” to accommodate the Global Harmonization System GHS? Join me for the effort!

What does this have to do with Visual Chemical Safety?

Having the data load itself would massively reduce the keystrokes required to get the data into the system that the Visual Chemical Safety system will use as its input.

Community Outreach: Reach out if you’re interested in working on this project! (volunteer effort)

Until next time…