Softcover Managing Chemicals in the Workplace

Description

Managing Chemicals in the Workplace

Chemicals don’t cause incidents. Gaps do.

“Practical systems. Clear responsibilities. Better evidence”.

If your workplace uses chemicals, you need more than a Safety Data Sheet and good intentions. You need a clear system for identifying hazards, controlling risk, assigning responsibility, and maintaining reliable records.

Managing Chemicals in the Workplace is a site-focused guide to hazardous chemical management, WHS compliance, and environmental duty of care. Designed for real workplaces, it helps organisations build a safer, more consistent, and audit-ready approach to chemical management.

Built from more than three decades of practical environmental, WHS, hazardous materials, compliance, auditing, and operational management experience across mining, energy, government, laboratories, and heavy industry.

Why this handbook matters

Managing Chemicals in the Workplace connects chemical hazards, workplace controls, environmental movement, responsibilities, registers, audits, and implementation discipline in one practical framework. It is designed to support real workplace use, not just theory.

This book covers essential topics including:

• chemical hazard identification
• exposure pathways and risk controls
• safe storage, segregation, and handling
• emergency preparedness and response planning
• chemical registers and audit processes
• roles, responsibilities, and action tracking
• documentation, governance, and continual improvement

Developed from more than 35 years of environmental, WHS, and hazardous materials management experience across heavy industry, energy, mining, laboratories, and government sectors. Written for people managing work in the field, not just writing policy documents, this reference supports:

• new entrants to the industry
• supervisors and team leaders, managing day-to-day chemical control
• HSE/WHS professionals, system managers
• site managers and contractors, responsible for governance and auditing
• maintenance and laboratory personnel
• procurement, transport and stores, production, waste management teams

Best suited for:

• workplaces handling hazardous chemicals
• supervisors building chemical systems
• organisations preparing for audits
• sites needing stronger chemical governance
• training and onboarding programs

Whether you are building a system from the ground up or strengthening an existing program, Managing Chemicals in the Workplace provides a structured framework for:

• safer workplaces
• fewer incidents and operational surprises
• stronger compliance evidence
• improved chemical governance across the site

This companion reference text has been developed to support the SafeChemEdu LMS training system and aligns directly with the learning content, concepts, and practical frameworks presented throughout the course. Designed to reinforce both theory and workplace application, Managing Chemicals in the Workplace provides learners with a structured reference they can use during training, on site, and as an ongoing operational resource for chemical management, compliance, auditing, and continual improvement.

More than a compliance reference, this book helps connect procedures, responsibilities, records, and operational controls into a practical chemical management system that can stand up to audits, investigations, and day-to-day workplace demands.

Want guided learning as well as the handbook?

The handbook becomes even more powerful when paired with structured learning. Explore SafeChemEdu courses to move from knowledge into practical workplace application.

• Entry Level Course – Foundational training for learners starting out
• Team Leader / Supervisor Course – Practical training for workplace control and oversight
• Manager / Professional Course – Advanced learning for governance, auditing, and implementation

→ View SafeChemEdu Courses

Prefer the handbook with matching resources?

Pair the handbook with companion resources aligned to your level for a stronger learning and reference package.

→ View Courses and start learning

Buying for a team or organisation?

The handbook can be used as part of a broader training and implementation pathway including courses, companion resources, and system tools. Suitable for teams, contractors, and multi-site operations looking to build consistent chemical management capability.

→ Talk to us team and organisation options

Move beyond the book into a working system

SafeChemEdu connects learning, resources, and implementation into a practical chemical management system you can apply in the workplace.

→ Explore the Full SafeChemEdu System

Book Details

Title: Managing Chemicals in the Workplace
Author: Ralph Gunness MBA
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-7643133-3-9
Length: Approximately 75,000 words
Content: 15 units, 69 tables, 70 figures
Audience: Workers, Supervisors, Managers, WHS Professionals, Environmental Personnel, Trainers and Organisations