Product Compliance Bulletin - Feb 2009

February 2009

Today’s economic climate is posing great challenges for companies in the manufacturing industry. The financial requirements will point to a more competitive landscape, with a focus on cost control.

To reduce risk and costs, companies will be tasked with demonstrating a much higher level of regulatory compliance, and the importance of integrating product compliance early in the product life cycle to reduce future costs will be more valuable than ever.

The Challenges of GHS …Is It Really Harmonized? And Are you GHS-Ready?

Despite the fact that the UN’s Globally Harmonized System was designed to provide harmonization and thus ‘ease the compliance burden’, chemical manufacturers are grappling with its application in their own unique political and business environments. Since GHS is not a regulation but merely a model, so far, each country has implemented it differently causing disharminization. The European Classification, Labeling and Packaging Regulation (EU CLP) is an other example of how the GHS model can be implemented differently.

For the manufacturing community, the activities required to comply with all the flavours of GHS are comparable to the deployment of commercial activities in a new country enforcing an unknown regulation. Therefore manufacturers must:

• Understand the new regulation to assess obligations and appropriate application
• Revise the classification of each product
• Ensure that enforced translated phrases and pictograms are used
• Re-create all ‘hazard driven’ documents (SDS, Labels, Workplace Safety Cards)
• Ensure compliance with the new format for SDS and labels
• Distribute updated documents to their clients

…And since GHS is implemented differently by geopolitical location, these compliance activities must be performed for each country of operation. Are you equipped to handle the logistics of a disharmonized GHS model?

Learn more on how Atrion’s latest release of Intelligent Authoring can help you navigate through the merky waters of GHS disharmonization.

Paint & Coatings

When it comes to regulatory product compliance, Atrion is the market leader in the Paint & Coatings vertical. Our solutions have functionality to resolve issues that are specific to coatings manufacturers and formulators, and our automated tools are scalable for enterprise or mid-market capabilities.

Atrion's Paint & Coatings Specific Functionality & Content

• Authoring system enabled to produce multi-lingual (over 40 languages) document creation, validation and distribution
• Integration with most ERPs
• Managed Content (regulations, rules, phrases, forms, pictograms) specific to the Paints & Coatings industry including industry templates (SDS and labels conform with the CEPE Guidelines), VOC regulations support for Australia, Canada, United States (CARB, EPA and OTC), Hong Kong, EU, UK and Switzerland
• Rule coverage including latest modified legislation and guidelines from around the globe specific to Paint and Coatings
• Intelligent Authoring grouping & framing functionality – ideal for multiple products with the same general characteristics and components but with a different shade / color
• Web-enabled document management application for storing, archiving, and retrieving your inbound documents (supplier SDS) and for publishing / distributing your outbound documents. Learn more about our Chemical Management solution.

Flavors & Fragrances

The threat of fines and missed shipments are no longer driving compliance. Instead it is the very real possibility that one major recall can hold the brand at ransom. In the Flavors & Fragrances industry, the key to addressing food safety, health claims and ingredient usage is integrating compliance in an automated way early in the product life cycle.

Atrion's Flavors & Fragrances Specific Functionality & Content

• Authoring system enabled to produce multi-lingual (over 40 languages) document creation, validation and distribution and can be integrated with most ERPs
• IFRA certificate production taking in account concentration limits for all substances and categories, and automated determination of Maximum Allowed Concentration (MAC) for substances and mixtures
• Managed Content (forms, phrases, pictograms and rules) specific to the Flavors & Fragrances industry including: up-to-date IFRA CoP and EFFA CoP data leveraged for classification of substances and mixtures. and the Fragrance Safety Evaluation Form prescribed by COLIPA
• Legislative rule coverage including latest modified legislation and guidelines from around the globe specific to Flavors & Fragrances. (i.e. full implementation of the EU Cosmetic Directive (76/768/EEC)
• Web enabled document management application for storing, archiving, and retrieving your inbound documents (supplier SDS) and for publishing / distributing your outbound document. Learn more about Atrion's Chemical Management solution.

Atrion's Product Compliance Roadshow 2009

"Practical Guidance on Implementing REACH & GHS"

Experience a complete range of dynamic regulatory content, software applications, and services, which can help you automate and streamline product compliance - packaged into a Roadshow. Sessions are delivered free of charge in USA and Europe. The location changes throughout the year allowing you to attend an APC Roadshow event near you.

Who Should Attend?

EH&S, Regulatory Affairs, Supply Chain Managers and IT professionals directly involved with Regulatory/Product compliance.