The critical role of SDSs

SDSs, in fact, contain detailed information about chemicals purchased and used within the company, including physical and chemical properties, health and environmental hazards, preventive measures, and precautions for safe use. If not properly received and managed, the enterprise can incur serious risks.

The importance of a well-defined process

Despite its obvious importance, the process of receiving and managing SDSs is often neglected or not clearly assigned to a manager. This represents a strategic mistake . In fact, a company's governance should not afford to manage such a relevant business process in an unstructured way.

Take, for example, the management of orders received from customers: in every company this process has been refined and structured to ensure that no document is lost. A well-defined workflow has been created, normally entrusted to the sales administration, from the receipt of the order, to its digitalization, to its entry into the computer system for proper handling. This process, taken care of in every detail, is essential to ensure the business continuity of the company and to avoid possible problems such as delivery delays, billing errors and, ultimately, the loss of sales, if not even customers.

Similarly, a process for receiving and handling incoming SDSs needs to be refined and structured. Such a process should include the timely receipt of SDSs from suppliers, their digitalization to ensure easy access and search,continuous updating according to new versions or regulatory changes, and finally training workers on their proper use.

The role of the digitalization

In this context, which may seem like a usual supply chain process, a peculiarity also emerges that should be taken into account from the outset: for the SDS management process to be truly efficient, it is not enough that we simply receive and store the documents (SDSs, which contain so much detailed information, are normally made available as simple PDFs).

It is also necessary for the documents received to be digitalized, meaning that the most important information is "extracted" from the documents and transformed into "classified digital information" so that it can be used in subsequent processing, such as research, reports and analysis. In addition, digitalization of the data allows the information from SDSs to be integrated into the company's information system, thus facilitating chemical risk management, compliance with current regulations, as well as providing relevant—and, most importantly, traceable and measurable—data for sustainability reporting.

Given the type and amount of information that is important digitalize, uploading it manually into the management system is not sustainable, as it would be too onerous and not sufficiently reliable (the data to be uploaded would be dozens, when not hundreds, for each SDS received). It is therefore essential that the SDS management system be able, upon receipt, to subject the documents to an automatic digitalization process.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it is necessary for a company's senior management—if it has not already done so—to understand the importance of a well-defined and efficient process for receiving and managing SDSs, and to be a diligent part of ensuring that it is properly implemented. Ignoring this reality can pose serious risks, operationally, reputational and legally. Conversely, proactive attention to this process is a hallmark of accountability and business excellence.

Today, thanks to the evolution of Digital Transformation, there are services, methodologies, and technologies that allow this process to be simplified and made efficient as well in ways that were not available just a few years ago. Tools such as artificial intelligence, process automation, and cloud solutions offer new opportunities to improve SDS management. These innovative solutions make it possible to automate the entire process of receiving, digitalization and managing SDSs, thereby reducing the time, effort required and increasing efficiency.

They also help to ensure that all SDSs are always present and up-to-date, not only for new products to be purchased, but also for new versions of SDSs of products in use, issued by chemical manufacturers to adapt to frequent regulatory changes. This ensures that the company is always in compliance with current regulations and that workers always have access to the latest information relevant to their safety.

So there is no excuse for not addressing and resolving the inadequacy of the process of receiving, managing and digitalization SDSs. The solutions are at hand, and the benefits, whether for business needs in terms of safety, regulatory and commercial compliance, and sustainability, are too great to ignore. Implementing an effective SDS management process should be a priority for every responsible company.

Roberto Di Martino

Every Software Solutions

CEO & Solutions Manager

We are clearly in an era of "digital revolution," which is rapidly changing the way we work, interact and live our lives. This metamorphosis has generated a range of terminologies that are sometimes misunderstood and confused with one another.

I have been involved in Digital Transformation for some time, and I often find that certain terms, which have a definite meaning, are used interchangeably, almost as if they were synonyms.

Definitions such as Dematerialization, Digitization, Digitalization and Digital Transformation are frequently used as casually as possible and without us dwelling on their real meaning. The result: misunderstandings and unfulfilled expectations.

Let's see if some clarity is possible.

Dematerialization

It is aimed ateliminating the need for physical media to store, manage and transmit information. This reduces the need for physical space, production and/or transmission costs, and environmental impact.

The conversion of paper documents by "image" scanning, which produces a digital copy of them (for example: "raster" PDF or JPG format files), immediately comes to mind. But this is just one example, as Dematerialization can be applied in many other contexts, effectively extending to any process that intends to eliminate the need for tangible media.

For example, in the case of audio, Dematerialization may be the transfer from physical media such as magnetic tapes or vinyl to digital formats such as MP3, AAC or WAV files, which can be stored, managed and transmitted electronically. In the case of video, it may refer to the replacement of media such as VHS tapes with digital formats such as MP4, AVI or MKV files. Even in these cases, Dematerialization involves the ability to store, manage and transmit video through electronic media.

It should be noted that Dematerialization activity can occur at various stages of the information management process. It can be at the origin, whereby the creation of physical media is completely avoided, thus achieving the greatest benefit in terms of efficiency, savings and minimization of environmental impact. But it can also occur at later stages, such as when the initial producer of the information sends it on a physical medium and the recipient dematerializes it, for example by scanning a paper document with the aim of obtaining a digital copy that can be stored or transferred more easily. Conversely, one sometimes encounters "high inefficiency" processes in which a document is received digitally, printed by the recipient to write a manual note on it, and then scanned and stored digitally and finally ... destroyed. It goes without saying that such processes cause unnecessary labor, cost, environmental impact and waste--completely avoidable by simply optimizing the process through proper use of digital technologies.

Digitization

It concerns the conversion of analog information into digital information. In practice, it is not limited to the removal of material media but deals with the transformation of content into digital format. This contemplates the conversion of text, images, audio and video into digital data that can be processed, stored and transmitted electronically in a better way than described above. An example of Digitization is the scanning of a paper document apt to create a digital version of it, somewhat as described in the case of Dematerialization, but applying during the scanning also an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) process, which extracts the text by interpreting its graphical representation and generates a PDF file "with text." The content thus becomes copyable and searchable, but it is not really processable with evolved processes because no rules are applied to classify and structure the data and information. Digitization is applied in processes where content is given in analog format on material media and it is sufficient to have a digital copy, without proceeding with processes of digitalization.

Digitalization

Whereas Digitization is limited to the conversion of data from analog to digital, the Digitalization goes further, classifying digital information (however obtained) to assign it a semantics that makes it informatically processable. For example, certain information is extracted and classified from a document, such as document type, author, title, date, body of text, as well as other specific data that may be of interest for later processing. The transformation of digital information into Metadata (achieved by classifying, organizing, and structuring it) enables improved or changed processes, business models, and interactions. The digitalization creates new business opportunities and optimizes existing resources through the integration of digital technologies and solutions, such as automation, digital signatures, artificial intelligence, big data, and IoT (Internet-of-Things).

Digital Transformation

Instead, Digital Transformation involves a radical change in an organization's approach and strategies. It is a renewal process that involves revising processes, skills, business models and technologies in order to create new ways of operating and generating value. Digital Transformation goes beyond the simple adoption of new technologies, as it also involves a cultural change within the organization.

It is important to emphasize that Digital Transformation is a transitional path. While it involves a radical change in an organization's approach and strategies, it can be applied gradually. This means that companies can progressively introduce new technologies, processes, and skills to adapt to the challenges and opportunities that emerge during the transformation journey. This scalable approach enables organizations to better manage the risks and investments associated with Digital Transformation and avoid facing too drastic or rapid changes that could create internal problems or turbulence.

In conclusion, although the terms Dematerialization, Digitization, Digitalization and Digital Transformation may sound similar, each represents a distinct aspect of everyone's journey toward an increasingly digital world. Dematerialization eliminates the need for physical media, Digitization converts analog information into a digital format, Digitalization classifies and structures digital information in a way that enables process improvement through its processing, and Digital Transformation enables the redefinition of business strategies and the creation of new business models by taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technologies and requires a major shift in organizational strategy and culture.

Understanding these differences is critical for companies and individuals seeking to adapt and thrive in the digital age. Each process plays an important role in shaping our future, and together these concepts form the basis for continued development and innovation in technology, business and, ultimately, the very way we live.

Roberto Di Martino

Every Software Solutions

CEO & Solutions Manager