However you look at it, chemical manufacturing—and the chemicals industry in general—is 
central to the U.S. and global economies. So many essential products and services—from materials to medicines, batteries to biotechnology, and across the spectrum from everyday household cleansing items to rare earth mineral extraction—are manufactured by or depend upon the chemicals business. However, the public perception of this industry continues to be driven by the belief that the chemicals business is a hazardous one, and that the industry must be dealt with from a perspective of extreme caution.
While this view is not entirely incorrect, it is only accurate with regard to a very small portion of the chemicals industry. That it is applied to the entire chemicals business and industry leads to an environment in which governments often regulate the chemicals business to a disproportionate extent. There are strict regulations at multiple levels with regard to the transport, storage, and labeling of chemicals and federal policy in this area continues to move towards greater and more exacting regulation. Additionally, laborious and difficult compliance requirements mean the manufacturing process and procedures for the safety of employees must evolve in tandem with regulations for those companies that are involved in the chemicals business.
This is a reality that chemicals companies have to deal with, and it creates a market that is not entirely controlled by quality. Companies that want to stay competitive must chart out a plan to integrate their compliance requirements as deeply as possible into their process, so that they can approach it in a manner that enhances efficiency. Part of creating a plan for dealing with the complexities of implementing compliance as part of their process is having a thorough knowledge of regulations and engaging more actively with federal policy in the chemical industry. For instance, a good understanding of the tax code would enable many companies to be able to reduce their tax liabilities by applying for R&D tax credits. This would allow them to offset some of the costs that are imposed by compliance, and thereby put them ahead in their market. Here are three tips that can help in making your compliance a ticket to your efficiency and competitiveness rather than a hindrance.
- Regulations are a part of the process.
Far too often, companies consider chemical industry regulations as a burden and thus put them at a lower priority in designing or implementing their processes. They consider compliance and its related quality management processes as a separate, secondary part of the process, and thus often place all the related work in a specific part of the process, which is often inefficient. If, however, the compliance requirements are thought of and set up in a manner that least encumbers the process by breaking them down and placing them as a part of the process itself, this often increases the efficiency of the process across the board, reduces the costs of maintaining compliance, and enhances overall profitability.
- Go back to the drawing board.
Don’t be afraid of recreating your entire process from beginning to end. Often enough, when faced with new regulations, you will attempt to modify the current process to save yourself time and effort. However, it can actually be substantially more beneficial to re-imagine the entire process. Working through modifications tends to make it seem easier to change very little, when this could add delays that substantially impact your overall efficiency. On the other hand, sometimes an additional cost in changing the process now could save your company substantially more resources, effort and time over the long run.
- Get professional help.
As a company involved in the chemicals business, your know how and acumen have served you well in the past. You are unlikely to want, seek out, or accept outside help. However, professionals in specifically the compliance field often have great experience and expertise especially in dealing with complex or abstruse compliance regulations, and professional advice is the only reliable way to be absolutely sure your process is compliant in the planning stages. The cost of taking this advice might seem prohibitive, but it can save you much more in the long term.
Fortunately, the cost and time of getting expert help can be reduced with online training tools such as webinars and conferences. You can get such advice from the comfort of your home or office, with web events such as this one in which industry expert Ryan Davison discusses the impact of federal policy in chemical industry regulations and how to avoid negative impacts upon your chemical business growth and profits. The legalistic pressures on chemical industry manufacturers have produced an equal amount of practical compliance knowledge; take advantage of what your industry peers and consultants know and get the advice you need.
