Yes, if OSHA's hazard communication standard covers your workplace. Electronic access is allowed when it creates no barrier to immediate access. Employees must be able to reach the sheets from their work areas during each shift.
Reviewed October 17, 2026
Check access from the employee's work area
Required SDS copies must be kept at the workplace. Employees must be able to get to them easily from their work areas during each shift. §1910.1200(g)(8)
Electronic access, or another alternative to paper, is allowed only if it does not create barriers to immediate employee access at each workplace. §1910.1200(g)(8)
Ask an employee to pull up a sheet the normal way. Watch for locked permissions, dead devices and lost connections. These are our suggested checks. They are not a product certification.
Cover traveling employees and training
If employees travel between workplaces during a shift, the SDS may be kept at the primary workplace. The employer must still make sure they can get the information right away in an emergency. §1910.1200(g)(9)
Employees must be told where the written hazard communication program, the chemical lists and the safety data sheets are, and that they can use them. §1910.1200(h)(2)(iii)
Required training includes how to read an SDS and how employees can get and use the hazard information they need. §1910.1200(h)(3)(iv)
In your manual, describe the access method your company has checked and name who keeps it working. If staff cannot pull up the information, fix the gap. Uploading the files is not the finish line.
Questions and answers
Is it enough to store the files in the manager's account?
No. Test the employee's own access under working conditions. A saved file helps only if everyone who needs it can open it.
About Bill Stomp
Bill Stomp built Propane Safety Pro. He is a war veteran who ran over 87 propane branch offices across 12 states, and he has helped more than 200 propane companies improve their profits, sales, safety and operations.
Next step
Ready to write down how your crew gets to SDS in the field? Start with the Policies & Procedures manual for propane companies.
General information, not legal advice.