Chemical Safety’s ICS is an uncomplicated program useful for gathering or updating data on the chemical inventory in place.

ICS’s simplified form for adding chemical information can be opened on any PC or laptop and has low space requirements. The application may include a pre-populated table of chemicals assigned to a location, if one is available. A user can add or update chemicals they have in possession. ICS will fill in such information as CAS number and other chemical reference data once given the chemical name. Drop-down selection tables are available to fill in chemical name, vendor or other data fields. The end result is a complete, accurate, up-to-date table of the chemicals in a specific location. This information is then readily available and easily added to the master inventory table in EMS.

The advantages of ICS are many:

	It is simple to learn and use
	It makes adding chemicals to a location’s inventory easy and quick
	It is small and can be emailed as an attachment, sent on a single floppy disk, and used with few disk space restrictions
	It works with bar-code scanners for quick data entry
	It easily uploads data from spreadsheet or database files and simply transfers this data to EMS
	It can be used to update inventory information on a periodic basis for audits, spot-checks or annual reporting
	It creates simple inventory reports

ICS is the ideal place to begin to create an inventory database for EMS. The inventory can then be updated on an ongoing basis through interfaces or standard operations, or can be periodically checked and updated with ICS. This program is perfect for facilities with many locations, researchers or labs that have their own inventories of chemicals, particularly if there is no central purchasing or receiving for chemicals.