Employers Must Comply With WHMIS 2015 By 2018: Are You Ready?

WHMIS stands for the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. It is a comprehensive system for providing health and safety information on hazardous products intended for use, handling, or storage in Canadian workplaces. Any person providing or using hazardous products must comply with it. WHMIS is governed by provincial and federal laws and regulations.

Since February 11, 2015, the date the Hazard Products Regulation (HPR) entered into force, the WHMIS is now integrated into the (GHS) Globally Harmonized System to standardize the information for hazardous materials, regardless of the origin. The revitalized system is now called WHMIS 2015. The transition period will end for manufacturers and importers on June 1, 2017, for distributors on June 1, 2018, and for employers on December 1, 2018.

Try Our WHMIS Symbols Quiz

There are 3 Key Components You Need To Meet In Order to Comply With WHMIS 2015

1.The Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

1988 WHMIS only contained 9 section, with WHMIS 2015 in went from 9 to 16, and their order of presentation, as well as their titles and contents, has been standardized. This is the new order and list on the SDS for WHMIS 2015:

1. Identification
2. Hazard identification
3. Composition/information on ingredients
4. First-aid measures
5. Fire-fighting measures
6. Accidental release measures
7. Handling and storage
8.Exposure controls/personal protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and reactivity
11. Toxicological information
12. Ecological information
13. Disposal considerations
14. Transport information
15. Regulatory information
16. Other information

2. Workplace Label

Workplace labels are placed by the employer on packages of products used transferred into another container, or on site. The label and signage must be clearly displayed, on a visible surface, under normal use conditions of the product.

The workplace label must display the following elements:

1. The name of the product as displayed on the safety data sheet
2. General precautionary statements and those concerning prevention, intervention, storage, and disposal
3. Reference to the safety data sheet

3. Supplier Label

The following information must be placed on packages using a label by the supplier.

Product identifier – the exact product name as appearing on the safety data sheet.
Pictogram(s) – corresponding to the classes and categories of hazards to which the hazardous product is attributed.
Signal word – a word such as “Danger” or “Warning” used to alert the reader to a potential hazard and to indicate the severity of the hazard.
Hazard statement(s) – standardized phrases which describe the nature of the hazard posed by a hazardous product.
Precautionary statement(s) – standardized phrases that describe measures to be taken to minimize or prevent adverse effects resulting from exposure to a hazardous product or resulting from improper handling or storage of a hazardous product.
Initial supplier identifier – the name, address and telephone number of either the Canadian manufacturer or the Canadian importer.