May 2, 2012 – Documents And Details

QUESTION:

I have a question regarding labels and MSDS revisions and prepared-by dates. I have an account that needs dates of the most current labels and MSDS's posted in their logbook. Can you please let me know where I can find this information on the label? I have looked at a couple and can't find dates on the labels.

ANSWER:

This is a very good question Randy, and one that we struggle with constantly as we  strive to maintain the Product Documents resource on PestWeb. I believe it is extremely important for us (Univar) to provide the PMP with the most up-to-date documents available, and we review this database constantly throughout the year. The only method we  currently have is to compare the documents on PestWeb with those on each manufacturer's website, opening each document to compare the "version" dates, and we update documents regularly. You can be advised by email immediately when any change is made to any product document important to you, by creating your Quick List of products in our Product Documents and then selecting "Add Notification" next to each product. 

What you will also find in this resource on PestWeb is the version date for each document, so you can provide this to the customer when you download the Labels or MSDS's for them. There is a terrible inconsistency among vendors and their documents. Nearly all MSDS's will have the version date clearly listed on the MSDS, either near the top or near the bottom of the document. However, and very frustrating, the version dates on Labels are often not so clearly defined. Some vendors put NO version date whatsoever on their labels, and we  have spoken with some of them on this but it has not changed for some, while others agreed with the need for it and now do add the version date. 

Many vendors have a "date code" somewhere on their Labels, and this is often tough to decipher, and I don't know why they continue to do this. A simple, standard date would say the same thing and be much more recognizable to the industry end users, which is who these labels are intended for. My suggestion to you is to use the date in the MSDS or Label column to the right of the product name for any vendor in our Product Documents database as the most accurate and current version date for that document. Where there simply is no date or date code on a vendor's label we have put entered it as 1/1/00, and I apologize that this is the best we can do if those vendors will not add the dates.

I will also admit to some odd anomalies now and then. We review most vendors numerous times during the year to look for newer versions than those already on PestWeb. Now and then a "new" version of a Label or MSDS shows up on the manufacturer's website that has a date already several years in the past, but it definitely only recently was placed there. This is the reason you may get a notification of a document update where the document's version date is 2 or 3 years old instead of that day's date. It is an interesting challenge, but we do our best for you. 


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