Re: Need clarification on terms in chemical industry

mrsethbullock@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I am new to the chemical industry and am struggling with understanding
the difference between a few basic terms - in particular, the precise
difference between a Certificate of Analysis, a Specification ***
and a Product Information ***.

Can someone please clarify how these three documents differ from each
other? Both in terms of intent as well as in terms of the information
that goes on each ***.

A COA is issued by an analytical lab that did
a chemical analysis on the material. A specification
is what you asked for (but maybe not what was delivered,
compare it with the COA). A data *** is what you
give your customer, which might differ from the spec.
Your spec might specify certain properties and
characteristics, but you might not propagate these
as guarantees to the customer.

Put more simply, the spec is your order to your
supplier. The COA closes the feedback loop by
giving you an analysis from an impartial third
party to confirm that what you received from the
supplier meets your spec. The data *** is what
you give your customer, and your responsibility
is delivering a material that meets the data ***
specifications.
.