MSDgen MSDS Administration & Management

Beyond producing globally compliant, consistent and accurate MSDSs and hazard communication documents, MSDgen provides a powerful set of features that assist with version control and maintenance of MSDS revisions, as well as management of vendor-supplied MSDSs.

Version Control

The maintenance of “draft” versus “release” versions of authored MSDSs is managed through MSDgen’s Version Control & Archiving feature set. Upon approval for finalization, each MSDS document/language combination is automatically archived as a read-only, portable document format (PDF) for current distribution and availability on the web through the iMSDgen MSDSviewer web distribution add-on. Archives are maintained for each new version, so that a listing of every document/language combination is available for historical reference and thirty-year archival compliance.

Vendor-supplied MSDSs, Technical Data Sheets, labels, regulatory reference documents, etc. may also be archived for future reference.

User-definable Queries

User-definable database queries, called Search Objects, provide a powerful means for searching, locating, and retrieving material data and HazCom documents stored within the MSDgen database. Search Objects provide the ability to perform ad hoc queries on virtually any set of data in the database.

MSDgen includes dozens of Search Objects “out-of-the-box” with the ability to create new Search Objects based on any desired data combination, which can then be saved for future use as well as the basis for additional, more detailed queries. Results Sets may be quickly and easily exported in a variety of file formats for ad hoc analysis and reporting outside of MSDgen.

Reports

MSDgen comes fully equipped with hundreds of pre-defined reports that enable users to organize, display, and distribute valuable information for internal review and analysis. New MSDgen reports may be created at any time and catalogued along with those provided “out-of-the-box”.

System Security

With MSDgen’s robust security access management, corporate-wide security access is controlled at the User, Group, Activity, Menu, and Window level. MSDgen has been audited by security experts at Hewlett-Packard and Pepsi-Cola Company with the objective of ensuring that MSDgen provided the best possible security measures for protecting their valuable trade secrets.

Workflow & Notification

MSDgen users can streamline internal processes in cases where collaboration among different users is required for the successful completion of the MSDS creation and approval process. This includes the ability for a system administrator to assign user-defined tasks, with each task having one or more user group assigned. Email notification ensures that appropriate members of the Workflow are notified as certain activities occur in the sequence. Users can instantly view all tasks that are relevant to them, and may instantly approve, reject or recall any of the tasks in the list.

External System and ERP Interfacing

MSDgen was designed to interface with essentially any type of ERP or legacy system, enabling a high degree of business process automation. The following ERP interfaces are currently available:

• Adage Technologies
• AS400 (Customer applications)
• Infinium
• Intenia Movex
• JD Edwards/PeopleSoft
• Oracle ERP
• Ross iRenaissance
• SAP
• Other internal legacy systems

Multi-Language User Interface

MSDgen supports a multi-language Graphical User Interface from the same system. Additional languages are easily added at any time simply by loading the application translations.

Certification Management

A valuable feature for companies within the Flavor industry, MSDgen offers a business extension for the management of ingredient level Certification tracking (for Kosher, FDA, GMO, BATF, Halal) and the logic-based determination of product-level Certification status. Certifications are tracked at the component level and mixture level algorithms automatically use this data to make mixture level assessments, such as whether or not a given product is Kosher certified. MSDgen’s Certification features also manage all corresponding electronic certification documents, such as Kosher certification approvals.

Vendor MSDS Management

MSDgen also provides a complete subsystem for the management of in-bound vendor MSDSs. Vendor MSDSs may be received electronically in a variety of formats, or they may be scanned directly into the system. Users can associate any number of vendors to a single material so that MSDSs are readily available for all suppliers of a particular raw material. Additionally, MSDgen supports the management of vendor MSDSs in multiple languages, so that MSDgen may serve as a central repository for the management of MSDSs for facilities internally.

Vendor MSDSs managed by MSDgen are automatically available for viewing and printing from the iMSDgen MSDviewer Intranet website, where MSDSs may be searched by any variety of user-defined details.

Fully Open, Normalized Database

MSDgen employs a fully open and normalized database backend for its Client/Server as well as Web components of the application. Everything is based on the tried-and-true industry tools and techniques such as relational data modeling, standard database objects, and SQL query logic. This open approach allows MSDgen to use any standard relational DBMS such as Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle as its backend, with the very same source executable program.

MSDgen is also built on a normalized data model. From a practical point of view, a normalized database architecture provides many unparalleled advantages over ad hoc, non-normalized ones. These include data consistency, real life data modeling that allows the database schemes to closely reflect and replicate real-life situations, the consumption of less storage space since data is stored in an optimum manner, and significantly higher level of support of commercial level database optimization techniques.