CUSTOMER IMPLEMENTATION / LABORATORY CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Every gram of hazardous reagent accounted for
At SUEZ’s Shanghai site, three laboratories keep hundreds of hazardous reagent bottles. Since 2022, Bluetooth smart locks, an approval app and RFID-tagged bottles that are weighed on the way out and back have replaced padlocks and paper logs.
SUEZ is now part of Veolia. Accurate digital records of how much of each reagent was used also make the system valuable for R&D laboratories.
- Customer
- SUEZ
- Industry
- Environmental services
- Location
- Shanghai, China
- Solution
- Lab management
- Year
- In use since 2022
THE CHALLENGE
Hazardous reagents, recorded by hand
The site has three laboratories, each with its own administrator. Around 800 to 1,000 bottles of toxic and hazardous reagents, both liquids and powders, are kept in explosion-proof cabinets and refrigerators. The cabinets are custom units connected to the ventilation system, so they cannot be moved or modified.
Taking and returning a bottle was logged by hand, with nobody managing it full time. Records of who used how much were unreliable, and a bottle that went missing or was misused could be a real safety risk. It could not meet EHS requirements.
China’s hazardous chemical rules also call for “two people, two locks”. In practice a manager had to walk to the cabinet with the lab technician every time a bottle was needed, which cost management time and slowed every approval.
01
The tag on the bottle
Every bottle gets its own identity when it is received.
THE SOLUTION
Lock, tag, weigh: every bottle accounted for
Because the cabinets could not be modified, the solution works around them: a smart lock replaces the padlock, and the bottle itself carries its identity.
Bluetooth smart lock
Replaces the physical padlock on each cabinet. Staff request a bottle in a mobile app, a manager approves, and a one-time code, valid for only a few minutes, opens the lock.
Two-person control, from anywhere
The manager approves through the system from wherever they are, so two people still control every bottle without the manager walking to the cabinet. Management cost falls and approval is faster.
RFID tag on every bottle
A UHF RFID tag on the bottom of each bottle gives it a unique identity from the day it is received.
Weigh on the way out and back
A weighing platform with a built-in reader sits beside the cabinet. A tablet guides each check-out and return, recording who, when, which bottle and its weight, so how much was used is always on record.
Reports and alerts
A management platform shows live stock, expiry dates and operation logs, and raises alerts on unusual access. Usage data guides how much to order, how often, and where to place frequently used reagents.
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