RSS CHEMICALS Module

RSS Chemicals is a chemical inventory management tool that allows groups to quickly add, transfer, or remove chemicals from their inventory. A chemical inventory is important for safety compliance, emergency response, and efficient resource management in laboratories. It identifies hazards, facilitates regulatory reporting, optimizes waste management, and ensures cost-effective operations. Overall, it plays a key role in maintaining a safe and well-organized laboratory environment.

RSS Chemicals diagram of task icons with a cell phone

Chemicals is available as a mobile app for phones and tablets and in a desktop version.
The app uses a barcoding system to aid inventory management. 

The Chemicals tool requires, at minimum, annual re-certification to confirm that it accurately reflects the group's chemical inventory—and will send annual reminders. However, users should use the tool any time chemicals are added or removed from inventory. The group RP (Responsible Person) is required to certify the inventory annually, but the inventory maintenance can be delegated to a group member with the inventory manager role.

    Please note that although locations that are classified as laboratory or activity areas have hazard assessments, not all hazard assessments will have an associated chemical inventory. Only those areas that actually house and use chemicals are required to have a chemical inventory.

    CHEMICALS Help and Resources

    Before using the mobile app to add chemicals, set up your group inventory locations and sub-locations in the desktop version on the web.

    CHEMICALS Help and Step-by-Step Tutorials
    Adding a Chemical to an Inventory in RSS
    Importing or Exporting with Spreadsheets
    Chemical Inventory Reconciliation Help
    Chemical Inventory Reconciliation Help

    Mini Modules Associated With CHEMICALS

    There are two additional modules available that use inventory information in CHEMICALS:

    Closely integrated with Chemicals, the SDS app serves as a digital Safety Data Sheet library, allowing users to review the hazards of chemicals in their labs and associated considerations like storage requirements, chemical compatibility, first aid and spill response.

    Search for an SDS (in RSS)

    The MAQ app within Chemicals helps groups, departments and EH&S staff manage compliance with California Fire Code defined "Maximum Allowable Quantities" of chemicals in building control zones.

    MAQ Mini-Module (in RSS)

    Quick Links

     

    Instructions for Specific EH&S Tasks

    Example: Search the inventory for dicholoromethane (DCM)

    Open RSS.

    • Select apps > Analytics > Chemicals
    • Go to the 2nd tab at the bottom – “Comprehensive w/Active Containers”
    • Click on the “Filters” on the right hand edge of the screen. It gets a little weird here because only two filters show initially.
    • Click anywhere on the white border of your chemical data (say above the Sublocation or Department heading) and a bunch more filters appear to choose from. One of these is CAS number.
    • Enter the CAS in the search bar of this filter. In this case, DCM is 75-09-2. This step may take a moment as it searches the CAS numbers of your entire inventory.
    • A list will populate that contains all chemicals in your inventory that contain that CAS #.
    • Select all the boxes as this will capture mixtures that contain DCM. This is your inventory.
    • Go to the 3 dots in the upper right corner of your data. It will say “more options”.
    • Click on Export Data, Data with current layout, Export.
    • Here is your campus inventory with all formulations, locations, quantities and owners of (in this case) DCM.