UCL’s Safety Services team needed to improve how controlled chemicals were tracked and reported across the university. With thousands of substances stored across 35 departments, gaining accurate visibility over what was held, where, and by whom was critical for managing risk and ensuring compliance.

Challenge

The existing process relied on annual spreadsheet returns submitted by each department, leading to:

• Inconsistent records of chemicals, storage locations, and ownership.

• Nearly 3,000 records manually reviewed and aggregated each year.

• Missing or incomplete data with varying levels of detail.

• Inconsistent formats and measurement units.

This made audits time-consuming, reactive, and difficult to complete with confidence. It became clear the team needed more than a data collection tool, they needed a system to structure and validate information at source.

Objectives

• Create a consistent, organisation-wide approach to tracking controlled chemicals.

• Improve data quality and completeness across 35 departments.

• Enable reliable aggregation and reporting of ~3,000 records.

• Simplify the annual return process for both departments and Safety Services.

Approach

Standardised data at source

We replaced free-text inputs with structured fields, controlled dropdowns, and validation rules. Pre-populated reference data allowed departments to confirm or update records rather than start from scratch, ensuring consistency in:

• Chemical names and classifications.

• Locations (building, floor, room).

• Quantities and storage methods.

• Ownership and responsible individuals.

This made it really easy to spot incomplete or incorrect data immediately and enable the teams to update the return before submitting it for audit.

Central control with local ownership

We introduced a central master list of controlled chemicals to standardise references across the university. Departments maintained their own records within a controlled structure, balancing consistency with local ownership.

A clear, guided process

The annual return process was redesigned with step-by-step guidance in plain English, tailored for non-technical users. Supporting materials, including embedded videos, helped departments complete submissions accurately.

Automation and reporting

• Calculated fields reduced manual input by automatically determining remaining balances.

• Microsoft Power Automate was used to roll forward previous years’ data, removing repetitive administrative work.

• Interactive dashboards built in Microsoft Power BI enabled analysis across departments, highlighting patterns, risks, and anomalies.

Results

• Confident source of information and guidance: The SharePoint site has become the go-to source for the university to explain what controlled chemicals are, the regulations and licensing, building trust within the community and making it easier for the team to keep people up-to-date.

• Consistent, reliable data : The data is now structured consistently across all 35 departments, helping the team easily spot gaps in data.

• Clear oversight of controlled chemicals: Safety services can now quickly answer critical questions about which chemicals are stored and where, and by whom, and identify potential risks. This enables more proactive safety management, including identifying unusual ordering patterns, excessive quantities, or potential chemical loss.

• More efficient, targeted audits: Auditors now know where to go, what to expect, and who is responsible. This reduces time spent locating information and increases confidence in compliance.

Impact

By transforming how data is collected and managed, UCL Safety Services now benefits from:

• Clear oversight of controlled substances across the university.

• More reliable and defensible compliance processes.

• A stronger foundation for data-driven risk management.

The organisation has shifted from fragmented record-keeping to a structured, scalable system that supports ongoing analysis and continuous improvement.

Next Steps

With a consistent dataset now in place, the focus is on:

• Refining dashboards and reporting capabilities.

• Identifying trends and introducing risk alerts.

• Continuing to improve data quality year-on-year.

More website development projects