Safety First in New Product Development

Posted on March 24th, 2016 by Regina Javier in Chemical R&D

Navigating a competitive market, chemical companies are trying to squeeze increased revenue out of new product development (NPD) while addressing health and safety concerns at all stages. With new changes in national, international and even state standards – most of which are being enforced more strictly than ever – regulatory compliance has become a minefield.

A new article from Elsevier R&D Solutions, “Right From the Start: Early Integration of EHS Principles in NPD,” highlights some of these regulatory challenges, particularly the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which has recently been updated, thus setting new standards for the EPA. Also noted is the fact that the volume of research data, chemical products and technology developments has become almost as overwhelming as the increase in regulations. There’s no question that R&D heads have a lot to juggle these days.

The paper suggests a two-pronged approach to enhancing environmental health and safety (EHS) compliance in support of R&D, particularly for leaders who are truly committed to maximizing ROI:

1. Enable and improve EHS risk assessments in early phases of NPD
2. Fully integrate EHS resources and processes into R&D idea-generation and feasibility phases

Essentially, safety is not just an ethical obligation – in the current environment, it actually has the power to provide a competitive edge.

Read the article here to learn in more detail about the role that EHS compliance has in R&D success for today’s chemical companies.

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All opinions shared in this post are the author’s own.

 

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Regina Javier

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