Multiple regulatory agencies oversee chemical manufacturers and their compliance requirements depending on the vertical they occupy within the industry. Which state, federal, or international organization supervises a chemical manufacturer is determined primarily by the sectors they supply, as well as their end-products and production methodologies.
The EPA oversees most chemical manufacturers in the USA by virtue of their production processes which can potentially affect the environment. The FDA administers the American food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and biological materials markets and any items related to those categories, including plastics, rubbers, and resins that are used in conjunction with those products. OSHA provides safety guidelines for personal interaction with chemical ingredients and products. The ISO and the UN are the primary international agencies that regulate chemical manufacturing.
All of these bodies impose their own sets of rules for chemical manufacturers that must be navigated and fulfilled to achieve compliance. The majority of these requirements rely on supplying processing data consistently to demonstrate adherence to the law. Enterprise Management (formerly Sage X3) is a comprehensive ERP solution that delivers improved value for compliance data management functions for chemical manufacturers.
Here are five of the most important compliance tasks that must be addressed by chemical manufacturers and how they are fulfilled by Enterprise Management from Sage:
1. Process Management
EPA regulations are singularly focused on how much harm chemical manufacturers and their products could potentially inflict on unprotected organisms. This includes the environment (including animals and vegetation) as well as consumers. A primary consideration within these provisions is how much injury could the production processes themselves lead to, whether due to negligence or lack of oversight.
Enterprise Management enables chemical manufacturers to capture a comprehensive overview of their systems and produce processing data on-demand. Leveraging end-to-end supply chain visibility, you are able to analyze all batch production and related procedures to review against regulatory mandates. Sage Enterprise Management chemical management software affords you the ability to encapsulate your processes and deliver data for each stage of the value chain, which enables you to demonstrate compliance to regulatory agencies.
2. Resource Management
Managing resources within chemical manufacturing imposes a two-part obligation: carefully documenting and managing potentially hazardous substances as well as accurately analyzing any and all effects on environmental sources. The latter includes measuring the rate of pollution within water, air, and soil that is related in any way to a chemical manufacturer’s processing procedures. Tracking toxic or otherwise harmful chemicals also involves being able to alert users of end products of their inclusion in a manner that is adequately informative and consistent for each use.
Utilizing Enterprise Management’s inherent data capture and reporting features allows you to compile all of the information related to the processes which involve these resources. Lists of hazardous substances are recorded within the system for use in generating labels for products, whether for consumers or professional operators. Customizable data fields allow you to measure and track pollutants and use of natural resources in processing tasks. Enterprise Management connects otherwise disparate data siloes to provide you with a “single source of truth” that delivers all the information you need to achieve compliance.
3. Waste Management
Chemical manufacturing is also regulated on the byproducts that batch processing in this industry produces. This waste can potentially harmful to consumers and the environment and must be properly disposed of or be handled carefully if repurposed for other uses. To fulfill this segment of industry regulation, chemical manufacturers must be able to track byproducts at every point from their original creation to their final destination to display compliant waste management.
Chemical byproducts can be managed through Enterprise Management process manufacturing functions that sort through and separate waste generated by batch. Waste subtracted from completed batches can be traced by the system to point of disposal to reflect compliance with chemical manufacturing regulations. Repurposed byproducts can also be tracked through your Enterprise Management ERP for chemical manufacturing, allowing you to display adherence to proper waste management at every stage of production.
4. Quality Management
There are multiple factors that determine whether an end product in chemical manufacturing will be considered safe under existing regulations. Among these are standards for cleanliness in processing and storage facilities, as well as precision in product mixtures and inventory distribution. As a process manufacturing sector, the chemical industry is reliant on accurate formulations in batch production to generate end products. Deviations from established recipes, in base components and potency variations, will greatly affect chemical regulatory compliance.
Quality assurance functionality delivered by Enterprise Management grants the ability to effectively manage end product safety and value. User-defined guidelines are programmed into your chemical manufacturing software to automate processing functions and ensure consistent quality across each batch. Inspections are enforced at predetermined checkpoints along the production chain to prevent adulterated products from entering distribution.
5. Reporting & Data Management
Generating accurate reporting is the most essential imperative required of chemical manufacturers in demonstrating compliance to regulatory agencies. Detailed records reflect a business’s efforts to adhere to regulations, and chemical manufacturing in particular generates a significant amount of processing data which must be navigated to determine compliance. Chemical manufacturers must report on factors such as new chemicals being introduced into the supply chain, emissions from all of their associated facilities, and efforts to minimize exposure to hazardous substances.
Enterprise Management provides precise, detailed reporting populated by data captured at every stage of the supply chain, as well as lot-level traceability for all end product packages. Items are traced from distribution up to their original batch and even to their base ingredients. Reports produced in Enterprise Management allow you to establish automated audit trails that document every processing function, including recording individual user input.
Chemical Manufacturers Achieve Compliance Easier with Enterprise Management
Sage Enterprise Management enables chemical manufacturers to capture and produce the data they need to fulfill compliance requirements. A single source of truth enables chemical manufacturers to control all of their processes and manage tasks mandated by local, national and international regulations.
Watch the Avlon Industries success story to see how a cosmetics manufacturer and distributor achieved compliance with chemical manufacturing regulations through Sage Enterprise Management.