Product category

Product category is a way to classify risk sources based on what they are used for, not on their chemical composition or risk level. Ester uses the European classification system EuPCS (European Product Categorisation System), developed by ECHA, to categorise risk sources in a standardised way.

Risk sources in an organisation can have similar names but very different uses — and vice versa. Without categorisation, it is difficult to get a structured picture of what types of risk sources are used.

With product categories you can:

• Get a consolidated overview — for example "we have 47 risk sources in cleaning agents"
• Filter and search the inventory by category
• Identify opportunities to reduce the number of risk sources within a category
• Compare risk sources of the same type during substitution work

The categorisation is set by Ester automatically, based on information from the safety data sheet: trade name, area of use, composition, specific end use as well as physical properties such as flash point, pH and physical form. You as a customer do not need to categorise the risk sources manually.

The product category tells you how a risk source is typically used, which affects what exposure looks like. An aerosol product, for example, presents an inhalation risk in a way that a solid material does not. The category therefore gives Ester additional context to support the right risk assessment — but is a complement to, not a substitute for, the actual risk assessment.