OSHA doesn’t provide us with any msds binder requirements as far as the layout or organization of the binder goes. But OSHAs hazard communication standard is very specific about several things related to your msds book or binder.
The most important part of the regulation is that OSHA requires that your employees have access to the document throughout the work day. If an employee has a situation, and a question arises as to the safe handling of any of the products that your employee is working with, that employee should be able to find the safety data sheet and see exactly what the manufacturer recommends to prevent an adverse effect.
Your employee is not required to remember all of the information included in all of the material safety data sheets for every product he or she may be working with. Therefore, the msds book is a reference book, and should be accessible through the work day.
Where you keep your msds book should be known to your employees, and made part of your written hazard communications policy.
If your employee might be in multiple work environments through the work day, for example a carpet cleaning service, then it would be required that the msds book travel with the employee, so keeping an msds book in each van would be compliant with the regulation.
An employer who may have multiple workplaces throughout the work week, like a general contractor, could have an msds book in each of the job trailers on each job site and also be compliant.
A small business could keep the msds binder in the break room, in the office, or hanging on the wall of the shop. As long as your employees know where it is at all times, and the location is included in your written hazard communication policy your company would be in compliance with OSHAs hazard communication standard.
Your employee must also be trained to be able to find the msds sheet they need, and understand all of the sections of a safety data sheet.
The GHS, the Globally Harmonized System, has now been put into effect and has several important regulation requirements pertaining to the classification of chemicals, product labels, and the information provided on safety data sheets (the new name for msds sheets).