#whmistraining

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System training with green world group

WHMIS has been aligned with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) . This alignment ensures consistency in hazard classification, labeling, and safety data sheets across different countries and industries.

Yesterday wasn’t a good day… major anxiety, major breakdown. Fortunately(?) I’m the sort of anxious person who gets motivated to do things when I’m triggered… make plans, make lists, check things off the list.

During yesterday’s spiral, I somehow put renewing my WHMIS certification on the list. The last time I could recall having done WHMIS training was back in 2010 or thereabouts and it came to my attention that I had no idea where to even begin looking for that certificate and that the WHMIS standards changed in 2015… so, “TADA!“… today’s plan to make my day feel purposeful and well spent was to spend 4+ hours on a nosebleed inducing, mind splitting online course.

As I recall… or maybe I don’t recall things properly (that’s often a difficulty for me when trying to recall the long and distant past)… WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) used to be downright simple… Now its not.

I grasped the concepts of the two groups and the various classifications, but man-alive are the particularities of the classifications difficult! The system used to be qualitative, now its quantitative. I will agree that the concept agrees with me… specificity is good. To borrow from Black Adder (because I’m feeling a little like Baldrick at the moment)… knowing that I have 4 beans is preferable to knowing that I have some beans, but I feel like the Renaissance was something that happened to other people!

What, you say?

The discussion of UN tests and Draize units far exceed my understanding of Chemistry. I was proud that I remembered some basic things like what is oxidation, what is standard temperature and pressure and some basic chemical compounds (HCl, H2O2, HNO3, etc… and Mr. Hall thought he couldn’t teach me anything… bah!), but I found myself thinking that for what I needed the content of this course was aiming a bit high. Being a visual and kinesthetic learner, I’m given a greater respect for the dangers of compressed gasses by my father’s gory retelling of a story which involved a young fellow having a hole punched through his chest by an welding cylinder which failed and was not properly tied down.

I feel that with this new system that despite its many improvements (ie. the goal of global standardization) they almost need to create different levels of WHMIS training… a level 1 to serve as a basic training and overview of the system and a level 2 in order to give greater instruction to people working in sectors that work more closely with the materials which fall in a specific group or classification.

So what are my take-aways from today’s class…

#1… My WHMIS certification is now not only up to date… its likely more up to date than most folks I work with as the new standard is being grandfathered in… with a final & full implementation date of December 31, 2018! Sweet!

#2… I learned a new word!… Pyrophoric. It means “something that will combust in contact with air.” Pretty freakin’ cool.