Who is this article for?

Users who need to use private containers.

Administrator role is required.

The Private Containers feature allows System Administrators to hide specific containers from users who normally have global inventory visibility, particularly useful for sensitive, proprietary, or controlled materials.

1. Understanding when to use private containers

Private containers help protect sensitive materials by limiting access to trusted groups. Key benefits include:

• Protect intellectual property by keeping prototype or trade-secret formulations hidden from general view
• Maintain research confidentiality by shielding unpublished experimental compounds in academic labs
• Enhance compliance and security by limiting exposure to export-controlled or high-security chemicals
• Control competitive risk by restricting access to unique materials such as specialty coatings or adhesives

Example scenarios:

• Academia: Hide research compounds tied to pre-publication studies
• Manufacturing: Protect proprietary chemical blends
• Construction: Conceal high-value specialty adhesives
• Industry: Restrict visibility for export-controlled chemicals

2. Marking a container as private

Only System Administrators can set a container as private.

To mark a container as private, follow these steps:

1. Add a new chemical or edit an existing container.
2. Locate the Private toggle at the top of the form.
3. Switch it to On to restrict visibility to authorised roles only.
4. Save your changes.

Once marked as private, the container will be hidden from:

• All general inventory searches
• Users with global site-wide view permissions (unless they are granted specific access)

3. Granting access to private containers

To allow trusted users (such as EHS managers or compliance officers) to view private containers, follow these steps:

1. Go to Edit Settings, then select Chemical Inventory, then choose Chemical Inventory Permission Access Roles.
2. Assign the View Private Containers permission to an Access Role or Roster Role.

Note: Any user with that role will be able to see private containers, even if they do not have global inventory rights.

To configure a user with the appropriate role, follow these steps:

1. Go to Data Manager, then select User, then choose Edit Details.
2. Select Access Roles.