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3E's Ariel WebInsight Helps Akzo Nobel's Flexsys Stretch EH&S Efficiency to the Max
Flexsys
Background
A multi-cultural and diverse company, Flexsys is the world's leading supplier of chemicals to the rubber industry. The company's chemicals can be found in compounded rubber products ranging from tires, hoses and belts to the rubber in food contact applications, such as conveyer belts and stoppers on medicine bottles. With sales of approximately $500 million, more than 1000 employees, and 20 locations throughout the world, the company was searching for a global chemical regulatory compliance reference tool to simplify environmental, health and safety (EH&S) compliance efforts.
Challenges
Flexsys America previously used Suspect Chemicals Sourcebook, a print guide to industrial chemicals covered under major federal regulatory and advisory programs, but found that it did not address global regulations. Access to the highest-quality, most comprehensive global regulatory data is critical when managing compliance for multiple products and facilities as it provides decision support for a number of business issues that must be considered when manufacturing products, such as making sure Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are compliant within the markets in which the products are sold.
"Our biggest challenge was finding a solution that addressed global regulations —- not just North American chemical regulations and lists," said Sharen Breyer, ES&H Specialist / Product Safety Manager with Flexsys. "With customers and locations all over the world, a regulatory management solution with a global reach was absolutely essential."
The Solution
In March 2003, Flexsys began using 3E Company's Ariel™ WebInsight when Akzo Nobel, its parent company, introduced them to the solution. When Breyer first discovered Ariel WebInsight, she was pleased to learn that the highest-quality, global EH&S compliance information was only one click away.
Since Ariel regulatory content includes more than 700 complete regulatory lists as well as thousands of data points and spans more than 70 countries around the world, Breyer was confident she was receiving the most current regulatory data. Additionally, WebInsight's intuitive and easy-to-navigate web browser interface made accessing accurate, comprehensive, up-to-date, usable regulatory information as simple as clicking a mouse.
Breyer has also appreciated how easy it is to navigate WebInsight. "WebInsight makes it simple to customize reports. The information I'm trying to access always shows up quickly and is easily understood, in its full text and in multiple languages," continued Breyer. "Quick and easy access to the latest global regulatory information is invaluable, especially when I'm tracking specific chemicals and writing MSDSs."
WebInsight also features a sophisticated "generics" capability that helps identify regulatory requirements for chemicals that are not specifically named in the regulations, but are regulated as members of over 5,000 classes of chemical substances, such as "cadmium compounds." This feature helps customers like Flexsys develop a more thorough understanding of the regulations that affect them and helps ensure these regulations are properly monitored.
All of 3E services are provided by its own international, multi-lingual professional staff, which is composed of regulatory specialists, experienced product stewards, industrial hygienists, attorneys, chemists and chemical engineers, MSDS experts and EH&S systems consultants. Staff members are readily accessible to customers through an innovative user feedback tool that facilitates the question-and-answer process in a timely fashion. Additionally, staff members regularly solicit feedback from customers and leverage their suggestions to develop enhanced versions of existing services and solutions.
Results
Breyer has found that Ariel WebInsight greatly simplifies her regulatory data management duties, and enables her small team to easily manage the EH&S compliance efforts of the entire company. With customers and locations all over the world, and regulations constantly changing, this was a very daunting task prior to subscribing to WebInsight.
"WebInsight has allowed two people —- myself and a colleague in Cologne, Germany —- to do the work of an entire team. We're dealing with customers and locations all over the world, from North America to Africa and Asia. WebInsight gives us access to the highest quality data available and helps us meet our global regulatory obligations," said Breyer. "I truly do not think that I could do my job well without WebInsight. It is an extremely valuable resource for companies, such as Flexsys, that run lean-and-mean and have global businesses but limited people resources."
Breyer has also enjoyed attending 3E's User Group meetings, where customers are able to preview new services and solutions and provide feedback on existing ones. "It's great to learn about new functionalities, modules and resources, as well as give feedback to the 3E staff about future needs," said Breyer. "There's a lot of value in these meetings, and I appreciate 3E using my suggestions to even further enhance WebInsight."
Location: Akron, Ohio
3E Services: Ariel WebInsight
Industry/Market: Chemical Manufacturer
Company Web Site: http://www.flexsys.com