University of Texas at Arlington
IN-2: Innovation 2

The Chemical Environmental Management System (CEMS) is a barcode-based system used to record and manage information about the quantity, location and properties of chemical stock, biological agents, and hazardous waste. It has the capability to automate record-keeping and waste removal requests for material in its original container, allows campus labs to share materials, and can broadcast messages. This system will be incorporated in the implementation of the Environmental Management Systems at UT Arlington. Key features and benefits of CEMS that users can take advantage of include: • Saving money and space by reducing or completely eliminating unnecessary purchases, saving time by maintaining stock at an appropriate level. • Increasing efficiency by making chemicals easy to locate. • Maintaining current and up to date inventory of all chemicals. • Calculate total amount of certain chemicals to comply with the Department of Homeland Security’s Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards. • Provide access to more than 23,000 material safety data sheets (MSDS) updated regularly. • Knowing when to remove old or expired chemicals, identifying chemicals with specific shelf life and specific storage requirements. EH&S personnel can use CEMS to provide periodic reports to emergency service providers. Equipped with this information, EH&S can provide support to firefighters or hazmat teams if they respond to a spill or fire in a laboratory. Some of the potential chemical hazards that could be found in a lab may include: flammable materials, water reactive, corrosive or explosive. Information on chemicals in surrounding rooms would be vital information to emergency responders and can also be obtained from CEMS. Inventory updates can be performed quickly with a hand-held PC and a scanner. UT Arlington CEMS Facts: 1. 43,209 containers total saved in CEMS; 2. 521 registered users; 3. 22 departments have been inventoried; 4. About 67,600 activities have been registered under CEMS Application Logs since CEMS went live on campus in January 2010 (on average 180 activities a day!).