Chemical inventory management best practices don’t have to be complicated. Through changes in protocols, reporting requirements, and lab manager responsibilities, we’ve seen hundreds of labs make impactful improvements fast in order to stay compliant, cut costs, save time and generate reports with ease.
In this short guide, we’ll show you how to manage your chemical inventory with best practices in mind.
All you may need is a few new tools and adjustments, and it all comes down to reframing how you work with technology, processes, and people.
Technology: Invest in the best chemical inventory management software
Lab managers are being asked to do more, faster, and with less people. What’s the best way to streamline many of the tedious processes your team will be glad to leave behind? Finding the right chemical inventory management software.
But before you can start to implement a new system that cuts down management time, first you need to assess your data accuracy.
Whether you’re moving off of spreadsheet tracking or replacing a discontinued product, you’ll need to decide if you want to import your current data, or start from scratch. Some questions you should consider in making that choice:
- When was the last time staff did a hands-on, full container inventory?
- Do you want to track amounts in your new inventory system?
- Do you trust the legitimacy of the data entered by your staff today?
- Do you trust the business processes of the past to yield accurate results? For example, are you taking over from a previous lab manager without knowing their inventory process?
Your answers will help define your buying criteria and set manageable expectations in light of our next best practice. As for a complete guide to choosing the right chemical inventory management solution, we suggest reviewing these 7 key principles.
Get organizational buy-in
After your assessment of your inventory’s current state, include your team in the decision-making process. Efforts like this can shift your inventory management processes from an obligation to a strategic advantage.
Map out your needs for the upcoming year in terms of experiment changes and chemicals you know you need to have on hand, along with anticipated staff changes or student rotations. That clear sense of what you’re working towards in both the short and long term will help inform the features you need, along with training schedule and audit checkpoints.
The goal is to allow staff to breathe easier as change comes up (which it will), making you more accurate and agile in your processes.
Processes: Train, audit, repeat
Consistency is king across all processes
Once you’ve chosen the tools you need, take a step back to review your chemical inventory management processes:
- What’s coming into your laboratory?
- What’s being used?
- What’s being thrown out?
Consistency of reporting across all 3 tracks is key, and your inventory management system should at minimum capture amounts, dates and staff responsible for each logged receipt, use and disposal.
Maintaining clear documentation and training across staff is critical as students or visiting workers rotate through your lab. Regular, thorough maintenance checks (along with a convenient barcoding system) help minimize the discrepancies between reporting periods, and alleviate the strain of having to put staff through rigorous, all-inclusive audits.
Processes across labs surrounding the following need to be amply documented:
- How to run and record regular maintenance checks/audits
- Standard inventory amounts and policies surrounding protocols for ordering new supply, including when and where to direct orders and deliver stock
- Chemical lifecycle policies from receipt to disposal, and the reporting required at each critical stage of the process
- Data logging to and from EHS systems and ERP/MRP systems
- Safety procedures for all chemical handling
Make sure you have the right training & tools
Your lab’s success in stock taking matters often comes down to how well staff is trained, across key lab functions. With multiple processes to remember surrounding stock rotations, reporting, disposal, ordering and forecasting, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks. Your chemical inventory management software can help by:
Making requisition easier. You may need to narrow the scope of who can order chemicals and when, but digitizing the purchase process makes taking a pulse on stock levels much simpler.
Making stock-taking mobile with barcode-enabled tracking systems saves considerable time while increasing the accuracy of your container records – all in real-time. Mobile physical inventory capabilities should allow users to transfer chemicals, adjust amounts, and record container information on the fly as the container is being handled.
Tracking amounts and procedures for waste disposal. The more you can digitize the running of reports and sending waste container pick-up requests, the better. Make sure you have full visibility into the Waste Disposal Process including:
❖ Be able to keep track of all the waste generated in laboratories
❖ Generate reports with all the information on waste products available in the System
❖ Send waste container pick up requests internally to Disposal Operators
People: Optimize your team
Save your team time
Empower your lab technicians to take a proactive approach to inventory management. It’s as simple as setting up alerts for:
- Expiration dates – combined with a streamlined requisition process these alerts can save loads of valuable time each month.
- Amount threshold updates for your critical chemical stock – make sure you never over-order again with amount limits and full stock amount visibility built into your system.
- Audit assessments – taking smaller, regular checks at critical turning points throughout your year means you can shorten the time it takes for an all-encompassing (time-consuming) yearly audit.
Make safety your #1 priority
Being content with standard safety measures is the norm, as these processes are often seen as adjacent to the business, but the added effort in this arena protects you from your biggest liability. Hiring an EH&S consultant is expensive, but worth it in the end if an initial assessment gets your lab on track (plus, accidents will always be more expensive than prevention). Bigger labs – especially those handling hazardous waste – may opt to hire dedicated EH&S staff, but creating a committee to pool knowledge has shown to be successful for any size lab.
In closing: Chemical inventory management can be better
A more efficient, cost-effective chemical inventory management process takes hard work and careful planning – but the upfront investment is well worth the effort! Most importantly: know your own limitations, strengths and weaknesses in terms of tools, staff and processes, and seek out solutions that work with your unique lab. Compliance, accurate reporting, and a view into lifecycle stages across your chemicals starts with choosing the right tools for you and instilling a few new habits.
Resources:
- #1 organic search – Google: https://www.mlo-online.com/management/article/21130719/best-practices-in-lab-management
- Note: see how this competitor handled their content & site LP in one: https://www.scishield.com/chemical-inventory-software-purchasing-guide
- https://www.mpofcinci.com/blog/ways-to-streamline-chemical-inventory-management/
- https://www.mpofcinci.com/blog/chemical-management-tips-and-best-practices/
- Competitor folder