Chemscape Celebrates 20 Years in Business

Chemscape’s Story and Its Founder Mike Phibbs

This September marks Chemscape’s 20th year in business. Founder and President Mike Phibbs created Chemscape’s first product sdsBinders (then msdsBinders) in 2003.  During his work as an Industrial Hygienist with international chemical companies, he observed a disconnect between the expectations of employers and the realities of what was available to workers.  At the time, MSDSs presented themselves with highly variable and inconsistent data that that was too complex for the average worker to understand. Mike was driven to spare workers the chore of wading through long documents and deciphering scientific jargon to create a more accessible solution. Armed with a deep understanding of industrial hygiene and capitalizing on advances in technology, Mike developed his first product sdsBinders and Chemscape Safety Technologies was born.

Today, Health & Safety professionals are pressed to do more with fewer resources, managing complex operations often remotely, and the need for technology is greater than ever. The regulatory introduction of GHS allowed Mike to develop Chemscape’s second product CHAMP, a chemical management software that utilizes new global standards in chemical hazard communication and creates a technology solution that tells people what their chemical hazards are, the risks associated with them, and how to reduce exposure. CHAMP provides consistent chemical information and eliminates the guesswork of interpreting chemical risk and SDSs.

Chemscape is built through the eyes of an industrial hygienist and with a passionate belief that technology can make a difference by enabling workers to make better decisions, take accountability, and build a stronger safety culture within their organizations.

Mike is also the President and Founder of Chemscape’s sister company Deerfoot Consulting, which has authored thousands of MSDSs and now SDSs. Chemscape and Deerfoot, both headquartered in Calgary, have supported the industry with Industrial Hygiene thought leadership and innovative tools for workers. 

Mike’s professional accomplishments outside Chemscape

For over 4 decades, Mike has provided industrial hygiene leadership at all levels from the field, business unit, corporate and consulting. Over the years, Mike has spoken at many international conferences keeping HSE Professionals updated on regulatory interpretation, hazard communication best practices and control banding.  

AIHA Alberta Award of Recognition

Mike recently was presented with the AIHA Alberta Award of Recognition for his lifetime contributions to the Local Section and field of industrial hygiene in Alberta. Mike has been a long-standing member, sponsor, and regular contributor to the AIHA Alberta Local Section and AIHA National. Throughout his IH career, Mike has also served on the AIHA International and Occupational Exposure and Control Banding Committees. Mike is a published contributor in Patty’s Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Guide 2019 and the AIHA Welding Field Guide for OEHS Professionals: 2nd Edition. Mike automated control banding into a Chemical Hazard Assessment and Management Technology used by the Canadian petroleum industry association using the ILO Chemical Control Toolkit concepts. Mike has also offered many decades of support to the CSSE both locally and nationally.

A personal connection to safety

Mike has always been a fervent champion of occupational hygiene. Mike’s personal passion for protecting workers came from witnessing family members suffer from occupational illness. He pushes professionals to go farther in their efforts to raise the bar in chemical safety in their organizations and prevent occupational illness. 

Passional, vision and influence

Mike has always leaned into the profession as a mentor, influencer and connector of people and ideas. Mike is always thinking of new innovations to make the profession more effective and collaborates with the industry to ensure his technologies serve the workplace. The industry regularly calls on Mike to be a regular contributor to publications and conferences always banging the drum to emphasize the importance of Health which he feels sometimes gets lost over Safety.  Mike’s passion for the profession and generosity to share his experience and knowledge has greatly improved the Health and Safety Industry in Alberta, Canada and abroad.