Safety App Of The Week

December 29, 2014 No Comments

Below is this week’s “Safety App of the Week“.  Every Monday we publish an article that reviews and rates a new workplace safety app.  Our testing is done on Apple iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tab 3s.  We rate each app from ♥ to ♥♥♥♥♥ (♥♥♥♥♥ is the best).  Prior app of the week articles are archived here.   

Cargo Decoder Plus

Official Description  

“Cargo Decoder is your guide to what is in the truck or tanker next to you on the highway.  Enter the 4 digit number from the DOT placard to learn about a material.  See details from both the 2012 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG 2012) or the 2008 Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG 2008)

Powerful search capabilities will help you quickly find information by matching just part of the UN/NA placard number or material name.

Protective distance information, toxic inhalation hazards, and ERG2012 reference pages are just a touch away for emergency responders and HazMat personnel.  A simple touch quickly gets you to the information you need.

Cargo Decoder Plus uses no network bandwidth so information will always be available even if your network is not.

– Find safety information on hazardous cargo
– Search by name or input DOT number
– View ERG2012 and ERG2008 reference pages
– Access directly on device, no network connection required
– Share information with friends and colleagues
– Learn about the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)”¹

Thumbs Up

• cost is only $1.99 (Android is only $.99)
• easy to use, no instructions needed
• can set app to read in feet/miles or metric
• available in English, Spanish and French
• search for data on chemicals by the chemical’s name or DOT number
• this data base contains information on thousands of chemicals
• each chemical has information on: placards, type of hazard, labeling, guides, and GHS
• useful appendices
• email chemical data sheets to co-workers
• a must have app for HazMat team & first responders
• works off-line

 

Thumbs Down

• this app basically just takes some free governmental HazMat publications and reformats them into an easier to search and use format – not much original stuff here

 

Overall Rating

• iPad / iPhone  – ♥♥♥♥
• Android – ♥♥♥♥
• Overall – this app is not just for highway or railroad car accidents, it also is a valuable tool if you have a chemical spill in your building

 

¹ Description courtesy of  iTunes

 

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