APPENDIX D

The University processes for acquiring goods and services by campus departments occur in a variety of ways, using multiple systems with very different user interfaces and levels of functionality. For example, acquisitions can be made using PAS, Central Stores, departmental stores, Publication Services, Facilities Services and petty cash. This multitude of central and departmental systems makes managing and tracking purchases unduly complicated for University departments.

This initiative, proposed by Purchasing/Stores and Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S), seeks to provide a simple to use web-based system for purchasing that leverages existing systems capabilities and improves and simplifies processes and procedures, both manual and automated, associated with campus purchasing activities. This new system would aid departments in most aspects of purchasing and fiscal management. Purchasing capabilities at all levels could be improved, making it easier for departments to purchase from outside vendors, University Stores, and other campus departments.

The Chemical Purchasing and Disposal System for Environmental Health and Safety has been selected as the first application linked with this web-based upgrade. The selection of chemical purchasing and disposal was made because of the impact that it would have at both the University and departmental levels.

Over the past decade, the University has been faced with expanding regulatory requirements regarding the use of chemicals on campus. These requirements have largely been driven by federal requirements that mandate communities have the right to know about potential hazardous exposures in their area; federal and state requirements that mandate workers must be informed of the health and safety risks of the products to which they are exposed; local fire requirements that mandate how, and where chemicals can be stored; and federal and state requirements that mandate storage, transportation and final disposal of hazardous wastes. In particular, the requirements for waste minimization, chemical inventories and disposal have major impact on both academic programs and administrative programs at the University. Meeting these requirements is challenged by the lack of a centralized system that can clearly link departments and researchers "up front" to systems essential for managing chemical inventories, maintaining material safety data (MSDS information), and securing hazardous waste services.

Improvements in the goods and services acquisitions system to a web-based system allows the campus to manage chemicals from initial order through final disposal, by linking purchasing, inventory data sets, hazard information, surplus chemical exchange information and the hazardous waste disposal service. The resulting "Chemical Purchasing and Disposal System" would provide user-friendly, "one-stop" access to these components through a seamless web interface for the campus researchers and their support staff. This could remarkably simplify information exchanges and inventory maintenance, essential for meeting regulatory requirements as well as grant and contract application approvals.

Long-term benefits for the campus are as follows:

• Chemical inventories provide necessary information for appropriate emergency response and disaster planning. This new system will assist in assuring such inventories are accurate and available across the campus.
• An efficient inventory management system will assist in encouraging better participation across the campus, and result in fewer regulatory violations that result in fines or shutdowns.
• Accurate chemical inventories help in preventing large stockpiles of unused chemicals and encourage the exchange of surplus chemicals, reducing the need for and cost of new chemical purchases and waste disposal.
• Early identification of gaps in the material safety information available on campus will provide faster retrieval of chemical hazard information, assuring safer work environments and appropriate worker protection across campus
• Spill response and clean up will be safer and more efficient when departments have hazard information and personal protection information readily available to responders before they enter an area.
• More accurate inventory and safety information made easily available should reduce the incidence of events associated with mishandling chemicals and resultant injuries/workmen compensation claims.
• Place the UW in a leadership role within Washington State and the country with a truly integrated chemical purchasing and disposal management system.

This project would be organized in two phases.

Phase 1 - Acquisitions Process Review

The objective of Phase 1 is to examine the goods and services acquisition business rules, policies and processes and hazardous material management business rules, regulatory compliance, policies and processes.

Phase 1 will:

• Define the current acquisitions, inventory and disposal processes and define the extent of the acquisitions process problems, especially how the campus departments define them
• Establish criteria to measure the success of process changes
• Explore best practices at other universities, medical centers and companies (e.g., bar coding, Electronic Document Interchange (EDI), procurement cards)
• Identify feasible options with estimates of costs and benefits
• Provide important process information to the technology infrastructure development

Phase 2 - Application Development for EH&S Chemical Management Systems

This phase involves the development and implementation of EH&S Chemical Management Systems modifications and the campus-wide web interface for chemical acquisitions, inventory information and disposal.

Phase 2 will:

• Develop and implement web user interfaces for chemical acquisitions
• Develop and implement EH&S chemical database management systems
• Develop and implement new EH&S chemical billing and accounting system
• Provide information to facilitate sharing surplus chemicals across campus
• Empower faculty and staff with knowledge, authority and responsibility for the process

- Inquiry to policies, procedures, located on the web page

- Implement post transaction audit concept

- Provide help text, instructions, codes etc. on the web page

- Campus-wide implementation training