Environmental Protection Engineering (EPE), a leading supplier of environmental protection services and products, has launched HAZDASH – an intelligent cloud-based platform which allows the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) onboard a ship to be kept fully up to date.

Managed by highly trained and experienced Hazardous Material experts, the new cost-effective platform ensures regulatory compliance by streamlining the IHM maintenance process for both shipowners and suppliers.

With information available in real-time, shipowners and vessels can ensure a fleet’s IHM remains up to date and can easily access and download the required documentation at any time. HAZDASH can be connected to a vessel’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to instantly notify users of new orders and once an order has been placed the system automatically contacts suppliers to request the required IHM documents. HAZDASH also creates an online library of all incoming Material Declarations (MDs) and Suppliers Declaration of Conformity (SDoCs) with the relevant Purchase Order information that shipowners and vessels can access.

For suppliers, HAZDASH removes the burden of uploading documentation for each individual order and prevents unnecessary requests being issued due to relevancy checks carried out by the systems smart filter function. Suppliers can easily browse IHM document requests and generate, upload and submit documents via the platform, and create a product catalogue to ensure all IHM documents are readily available to all stakeholders.

Furthermore, suppliers can generate all of the documentation for a vessel’s order at the click of a button by using the HAZDASH agent, a smart feature which automatically generates and collates the required IHM documentation from the supplier’s HAZDASH catalogue.

Dionysios Konidaris, Head of the IHM Department at EPE said: “We are very pleased to launch HAZDASH and to offer customers a smart, intuitive and efficient IHM maintenance solution that supports robust IHM management.

“To ensure regulatory compliance and that all hazardous materials onboard are correctly documented, it is essential that a vessel’s IHM is properly maintained. In the past there have been issues around obtaining IHM documentation, so EPE designed HAZDASH to offer shipowners and suppliers a platform which allows both sides to exchange information securely and ensure IHM-related orders and documents can be accessed and submitted with ease.”

Eleni Polychronopoulou, Executive Vice President at EPE said: “EPE prides itself on providing customers with solutions which not only support regulatory compliance and efficient vessel operations but protect the environment and ensure crew safety. Identifying, managing and accurately recording hazardous materials onboard are essential to ensure the health and safety of the crew and that the environment is protected throughout a vessel’s operational life and when the time comes for it to be recycled.”

EPE is a global leader in the provision of environmental solutions and services to the marine sector and has been defining standards in environmental protection engineering since 1977. EPE has a proven track record for expertise in oil spill response and a reputation for innovation across a range of new environmental technologies. As an IHM service provider, EPE holds approvals from five Classification Societies and two Flag States.