PPG launches Global Product Stewardship project
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PPG employees helping to implement the new Global Product Stewardship (GPS) system in Australia include (from left): Gilbert St-Mart, industrial hygienist, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Vivien Kony, EHS facilitator, Tullamarine, Victoria, Australia; Jean-Francois Mercier, manager of product compliance, Marly, France; Paul Adeney, technical director, Clayton; Kim Andree, product compliance specialist, Allison Park, Pa.; John Chapman, manager of process technology, Clayton; Scott Benton, senior product compliance specialist, Allison Park; and Charles Clark, senior IT manager for global EHS, Allison Park. |
October 5, 2006 - PPG is developing a Global Product Stewardship (GPS) system to consolidate and standardize environment, health and safety (EHS) data about products as well as the procedures for generating Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), hazard label content and other regulatory documents.
MSDS and hazard labels are designed to quickly communicate product hazards and are necessary for many PPG products, according to Kevin Fay, director of product and supply chain stewardship for corporate EHS. “GPS will enable us to move from multiple, region-specific systems for generating MSDS, hazard label content and other regulatory documents to a single, efficient system serving all of PPG, which will help improve EHS support to PPG’s growing global businesses,” he said.
GPS system implementation is already under way in Australia. Corporate EHS and information technology associates, PPG Australia technical and EHS representatives, and specialists from software provider Atrion International participated in a two-day GPS training workshop and a five-day conference-room pilot at the Clayton, Victoria, Australia, coatings plant.
The second phase of implementation, for the rest of the Asia/Pacific region, began with a pilot in Tianjin, China, to tailor the system for PPG products sold in China, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and other countries in the region. Global implementation will continue in October for the Americas and in October 2007 for Europe, and the project should be fully implemented in late 2008.
“Once implemented, GPS will save time and money by providing an efficient tool for all PPG’s businesses to use for managing product compliance requirements globally," said Mark Howe, director of raw material and product stewardship and GPS project manager.
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The second GPS system pilot, in Tianjin, China, included (from left): Scott Harter and Kevin Butler, Atrion International; Thunyarat Pengart, senior chemist, PPG in Bangplee, Thailand; Mark Howe, PPG director of raw materials and product stewardship, Allison Park, Pa.; Mercier; Shelly Yang, technical manager, product stewardship, PPG in Shanghai, China.
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