In the U.S., chemical companies are held to increasingly stringent health and safety regulations, with heavy consequences for noncompliance. In 2023, the EPA issued 770 Notices of Violation of the EPA’s Clean Air Act to companies in the chemicals industry.
The EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP), part of the Clean Air Act, requires companies that process regulated substances to submit a risk management plan every five years. Companies are also required to submit a standards GAP analysis to the EPA.
OSHA requires many companies to follow the Process Safety Management (PSM) Standard’s recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEP) related to process equipment design and maintenance and inspection and test practices/frequences. Examples of RAGAGEP include widely adopted codes, consensus documents, non-consensus documents and internal standards.
Standards and documentation play a big role in adhering to EPA and OSHA requirements and other state/local governmental regulations. Without a digital standards management tool, handling all the technical information and recordkeeping, while also maintaining profitable, efficient operations, can be a major challenge for chemical companies.
If you are in the chemicals industry and are struggling with compliance, read this blog post to learn:
- Why regulatory compliance is critical for your company’s success
- How traceability can help you prepare for an audit
- Which solutions from Accuris can help you manage standards and documentation
Regulatory compliance solutions to mitigate the risks of noncompliance in the chemical industry
Environmental and safety regulations exist to keep workers and the general public safe and to prevent environmental damage from chemical substances. The risks of noncompliance are high: agencies like OSHA and the EPA can issue citations, fines and stop work orders. In serious cases, the EPA can order companies to take corrective actions, like cleaning up spills, or even take legal action against companies and individuals.
Failing to comply with applicable laws and applicable regulations can lead to serious legal and financial consequences and could ultimately shut down or bankrupt your organization – and cause serious harm to people’s health and the environment.
Simplifying chemical regulatory compliance with digital standards tools
Compliance is one of the biggest challenges chemical companies face today. Maintaining an up-to-date library of standards and adhering to stringent EPA and OSHA regulations can seem like an insurmountable task.
Understanding and aligning business processes with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and regulations is crucial for improving efficiency and ensuring compliance. Additionally, chemical compliance is a critical aspect of regulatory training and management in the chemical industry.
Fortunately, digital standards tools can simply the compliance process. Accuris Thread™ and Engineering Workbench Professional (EWB Professional) help engineers in the chemical industry manage compliance and enable safe, efficient operations:
Technical content
Industry standards are critical for helping companies implement the right processes and best practices to maintain safe, environmentally friendly operations while navigating complex chemical regulations and regulatory requirements. They are also required for complying with governmental mandates.
- Accuris has the world’s largest library of specs and standards, including standards from key SDOs for the chemicals industry: ANSI, API, ASME, ISO, NFPA, IIAR, CI and more.
- Purchasing standards from a single provider ensures that you have easy access to all the standards you need, in one convenient platform.
Managing changes to standards and regulations
Publishers update standards frequently, and new revisions or releases of a standard can have significant impacts on engineering processes. EWB Professional’s advanced features simply standards management:
- Micro-Alerts: Users can highlight a section, paragraph or sentence of a standard and set up a Micro-Alert. When anything within the highlighted section changes, you will receive an automatic alert linking to that section and show exactly what changed.
- Smart Compare Premium: This tool provides intelligent auto-comparisons between versions of standards. Compare different versions of standards side by side and filter for insertions, deletions or other edits to understand how an update to a standard will impact your workflow.
Staying informed about current and upcoming regulations is crucial for compliance and operational efficiency.
Traceability
In the event of an audit or accident, having a traceable digital record of all standards and processes is critical. Effective hazard communication and maintaining up-to-date safety data sheets are essential for regulatory compliance and safety in the chemical industry. Tools like EWB Professional and Accuris Thread™ can help engineers create a unified digital library for all standards, project requirements, specifications, best practices, guidance and engineering information.
With a single source of truth, you can:
- Gain visibility into all workflows/processes and associated standards/documents – including internal standards
- Easily keep track of engineering standards and ensure that you have the correct versions
- Demonstrate that your company’s processes and facilities are meeting or exceeding industry standards
- Prepare for audits by using EWB Professional’s Section-Level Get Link tool. This tool allows you to create traceable links to sections, paragraphs or sentences within a standard and paste the link into another document or PLM tool in your workflow.
Innovation
Intelligent search tools speed up the R&D process and connect engineers to the critical data they need. Effective chemical management and thorough risk assessment are crucial components in ensuring safety and compliance in innovative projects:
- Research Assistant: this AI-powered virtual SME searches Accuris’ curated engineering content library and groups search results into logical categories based on your query.
- Smart Search: this advanced search tool uses natural language processing to search for critical information inside a standard. Type your question into the search box, and Smart Search will highlight the relevant sections within a standard that answers your question. With Smart Search, engineers spend 70% less time looking for an answer compared to traditional search methods.
Taking the complexity out of compliance
Meeting EPA and OSHA requirements doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Navigating chemical regulatory compliance, ensuring environmental health, and managing the supply chain are integral parts of this process. Digital standards management tools like Accuris Thread and EWB Professional streamline compliance by providing centralized access to critical standards and automatic notifications for standards updates. These tools also help engineers prepare for audits by enhancing traceability throughout engineering workflows.
Beyond compliance, these tools empower engineers to optimize processes, enhancing safety and drive operational efficiency – a crucial step towards meeting governmental mandates and improving performance.
Want to see how Accuris can help your team simplify compliance and improve engineering workflows? Book a demo today or learn more about our solutions!