Chemical Management
Track chemicals across your organization with auto-populated safety data and NFPA-compliant hazard ratings.
The chemical inventory tracks substances with auto-populated safety data, lab and bench assignments, and aggregated NFPA hazard ratings.
How the chemical system works
Lab Belay uses a two-tier model:
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Global chemical catalog — a master database of chemical substances maintained by Lab Belay. It contains pre-populated SDS information, NFPA 704 ratings, GHS classifications, CAS numbers, and physical properties. This catalog is read-only and shared across all organizations.
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Your chemical inventory — instances of chemicals from the global catalog (or custom entries) that belong to your organization. Your inventory records include the assigned lab and bench, and any custom notes.
This separation means common chemicals come pre-loaded with accurate safety data, and you only need to fill in your specific details (where it is and any site-specific notes).
Adding chemicals
AI search
Go to Chemicals and click Add Chemical. Enter a name, CAS number, manufacturer, or catalog number and click AI Chemical Search. Beaker searches for the SDS sheet, extracts the chemical data, and asks you to confirm before adding it to your inventory. You then assign it to a lab or bench.
Upload an SDS
If Beaker can't find the chemical automatically, you can upload an SDS sheet yourself — either a PDF from your computer or a direct URL to a PDF. Beaker extracts the chemical data from the document.
Add from a lab or bench
From any lab or bench page, click the + button in the Chemicals section to search the global catalog and add chemicals directly to that lab or bench — without going through the main Chemicals page.
Bulk import from CSV
Open Beaker AI and use the Auto Chemical Upload workflow. Upload a CSV of your chemical list and Beaker will parse it, match chemicals to the global catalog where possible, and create the inventory records after your review.
What's tracked per chemical
Each chemical record in your inventory includes:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name and CAS number | Identification (from global catalog) |
| Location | Which lab and/or bench |
| Notes | Free-text notes specific to this instance |
| NFPA 704 ratings | Health, fire, reactivity, special (from global catalog) |
| GHS classifications | Pictograms and hazard statements (from global catalog) |
| SDS reference | Link to the Safety Data Sheet (from global catalog) |
| Storage requirements | Temperature, ventilation, segregation rules (from global catalog) |
Chemical safety ratings and aggregation
NFPA 704 ratings from individual chemicals automatically roll up to their containing bench and lab. See Safety & Compliance and NFPA Ratings for a full explanation of how this works.
Beaker AI
Beaker can search your chemical inventory and bulk-import chemicals from a spreadsheet:
"Find all flammable solvents in Lab 3."
"Search the global catalog for acetonitrile."
"What chemicals are assigned to the synthesis bench?"
To bulk-import, open Beaker and use the Auto Chemical Upload workflow. Beaker parses your file, matches chemicals to the global catalog where possible, and creates inventory records after your review.
Related
- Safety Ratings — understanding NFPA 704 and GHS data
- Safety & Compliance — how hazard data aggregates across labs
- Beaker AI — bulk import and AI-assisted chemical search