During the summer lull, your facility may have a scheduled shutdown or your school is free of students and other staff. These shutdowns are an excellent time to service equipment and to switch out fluorescent lights. This is also a great time be to properly carry out a chemical inventory and chemical disposal.
When was your last chemical inventory?
In some industries, a chemical inventory is required at least yearly while some may be more strict and have a monthly or even weekly inventory. You may ask “Why is an inventory required?” or “why so frequent?” The answer; so chemicals are tracked and an overabundance of chemicals that are not being used is stored on site. It’s important that your inventory list is updated every time a chemical is added in order to maintain an accurate and updated list at all times. The inventory should be posted outside of the storage room and kept at the front desk or main office in case of an emergency.
Why is this inventory useful?
For the easy answer, it is so you can see what you have for chemicals in the facility at a glance. Also if there was a fire or any other emergency, the fire department would know what they were dealing with before entering a room. Lastly, when it comes to purchasing chemicals, the inventory becomes a tool for knowing what needs to be purchased. For a school, it is recommended that no more than a 2 year supply of hazardous chemicals be in the inventory.
Lastly when you successfully conduct an inventory and find those old or unused chemicals, it is time to properly dispose of those chemicals. Items that are 2 years or older or that may not be used anymore should be set aside and properly disposed of. If a facility can perform a chemical inventory and manage its inventory appropriately, less chemical waste is accumulated. Proper management of chemicals makes it easier to reorder what the facility actually needs rather than what a facility thinks it needs.