If upper management saw the program and understood the how well it would
assist them in regards to budgeting, staffing, etc. they would love it.
Selling upper management on spending money is hard. My justification was
as follows:
 Without
an inventory we had no idea as to the amount of chemicals
stored on campus.
 There was no way to perform a risk assessment without the information.
 MSDSs were for the most part useless because they were outdated or
could not be found or were not properly organized for review.
 UNLV could have been fined by OSHA for failure to follow regulations.
OSHA also requires that SDSs be checked and updated when
appropriate.
 Chemicals that needed to be removed from the campus because they
were outdated, no longer useable and posing a threat could not be
identified.
 Chemicals that could be shared were not being shared which resulted in
unnecessary purchases.
 There was excessive waste.
 No one knew what they actually had in their inventory.
 There was no way of locating chemicals.
 Rooms and buildings were not being identified with related hazard
information warnings.
 We could not provide our police and fire department with chemical
information should there be a fire or other emergency.
 We did not know what chemicals were in the rooms thus we could not
take immediate action in case of a fire or other type of incident.
 We had no idea of what was on campus so we could not properly
complete the Department of Homeland Security report or State
reports.
 We had no control of the chemicals thus we could not state that
explosive chemicals were not be stolen from campus to make a bomb
or for other needs.
Also: My motto is: What is not measured can not be managed.
Time and Cost Savings:
To give you some idea as to how much time and cost CHIMERA can save you please
consider the following:
1. When we compared the old manual way of conducting inventory to the new way
using CHIMERA we calculated more than 23,000 hours saved which means we would
have to hire about 10 more full time employees and our operating cost would increase
by over $500,000 if we did it the old way. We track over 110,000 chemicals. To
calculate your savings simple perform an inventory by recording everything manually
and then via CHIMERA. Include everything like writing down the chemical info, typing
the info into the computer, etc. We can assist you in showing you everything that needs
to be considered.
2. About two years ago we transferred 80 faculty members from one building to a new
one. By a simple click of a button we were able to transfer their inventory info. Try doing
this manually.
3. Calculate the time saved by not having to update ALL the hardcopy manuals at every
location. With CHIMERA all you need to do is add a new SDS to CHIMERA and
everyone is immediately updated.
4. Calculate the time it would take to make certain everyone had a manual copy of
SDSs available. SDSs can be found by simply logging into CHIMERA via a computer,
IPad, IPod and phone.
5. Calculate the time it would take if you had to review all the SDSs and sort out the
hazard info.
6. Consider OSHA fines if the info is not available to personnel.
CHIMERA helped us to locate and remove chemicals that have been on this campus for
30- 40 years, disposing of chemicals that SDSs could no longer be found and has
helped us to inform personnel of where chemicals they may need can be acquired on
campus rather than purchasing more. This has helped to reduce purchase and reduce
waste.
The following reflects UNLV's reduction in waste and cost despite increases in waste
disposal. (In 2012 we had to clean out a lab and dispose of a lot of old and useless
chemicals)
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
$49,228
$24,317
$18,984
$31,668
$20,802
$16,948
$14,566
$30,571
$17,963
As to UNLV, by tracking chemicals via the use of CHIMERA we have been able to move
from a large quantity generator to a small quantity generator. This alone saved us
money by being able to ship waste less often.
CHIMERA has helped significantly by generating doors signs that indicate room
hazards.
CHIMERA provides everyone with quick access to info regarding the proper storage of
chemicals and the various rating programs such as GHS, NFPA and HMIS.
As to the other CHIMERA applications the following savings has been realized:
To maintain the integrity of the Risk Management and Safety program we conduct over
27,000 inspections:
Fire and Life Safety
Radiation Safety
Building inspections
143
AED inspections
83
Fire extinguisher
inspection (approx.
2000 Inspected every
month)
24,000
Eye wash and
showers
391
Lab inspections
(approx. 45 every
month)
549
Radiation and
contamination
surveys
310
Air samples
528
Occupational Safety
and Health
Building and shop
inspections
119
Environmental Mgmt.
& Lab Safety
Lab inspections
408
Hood inspections
(243 Biannual)
486
Total
27,017
COST EFFECTIVENESS:
This technology has saved an estimated 1731 hours or 43 weeks of work and
assisted the RMS staff in meeting the additional demands placed on them due to
expansion of buildings, labs etc. while maintaining the same workforce. The following
table reflects estimated savings per task:
TASK
Environmental mgmt. and lab safety Inspections
Hours
149
Fume hood inspections
80
Fire extinguisher inspections
643
Fire extinguisher repair orders
36
Eye wash / shower inspections
19
AED inspections
36
Building inspections
307
OSH air quality inspections
33
OSH building, shop etc. inspections
416
Rad lab inspections (Currently in development)
Total hours saved
12
1731
These CHIMERA software applications have made the UNLV Risk Management and
Safety program a huge success. It will do the same for your program.
ALLOCATING COST:
CHIMERA can allocate cost to each business location based on the percentage of
chemicals per business location to total cost and by adding the cost of the other
software applications.
We take great pride in our customer service. Our goal is to help our clients develop a
state of the art chemical inventory, SDS and inspection program and assist them in the
process.
Thanks again.
Johnny Centineo
Executive Director
702-895-5522