A QR Collection lets you group substances and risk assessments behind a single QR code. Anyone who scans the code sees the collection's contents on their phone, so the right safety information is available at the point of use, such as on a workshop door, a chemical store or a notice board.
This guide explains how to create a collection. To print, update or switch off a collection afterwards, see the article Publishing and managing a QR Collection.
Before you start
You need a role that can create QR Collections. If you open QR Collections and see "QR Collections unavailable", or "Draft access unavailable" when creating a collection, your role does not currently have access. Ask your Safety365 administrator.
A collection is either Private or Public. Private collections need the person scanning to sign in to Safety365, and they only see the items their location and role allow. Public collections can be opened by anyone with the link, without signing in.
Publishing needs its own permission. On Safety365's default roles, Super Users and Managers can publish private and public collections. Risk Assessors and Administrators can create and edit drafts but cannot publish them. See Publishing and managing a QR Collection for the full list.
Create a collection
Go to QR Collections and select New collection. The editor has three steps: Details, Contents and Review. Use Continue and Previous to move between them.
Nothing is visible to anyone until you publish. To keep your work and come back later, select Save draft at the top of the page. Moving between steps does not save on its own.
Step 1: Details
Enter a Collection name (required, up to 160 characters). Choose something people will recognise on their phone, for example "Workshop 2 - Chemical Store". You cannot move to the next step without a name.
Add a Description if you want one (optional, up to 500 characters). It appears at the top of the page when the QR code is scanned.
Choose the audience: Private (sign in required) or Public (anyone with the link). Public collections never show assessment PDFs or confidential records to people who are not signed in. People from your company who sign in on a public collection also see what a private collection would show them.
Under On the scan page, choose what people see when they scan the code:
Location names and grouping: show which location each item belongs to, grouped by location.
SDS documents: let people open the Safety Data Sheet.
Assessment PDFs: let people open the assessment PDF. On a public collection this only applies to signed-in users.
All three are switched on by default.
Select Continue.
Step 2: Contents
Contents decides which substances and assessments are in the collection. You can add whole locations, individual records, or both. Collections only ever show published risk assessments.
Location sources. Use Add a location to pick a location from your company structure. Each location you add shows how many SDSs and assessments it currently contributes. For each location, set:
Location scope: This location only, Include sub-locations, or Sub-locations only.
Substances and Assessments: tick which of the two to include from that location. Both are ticked by default.
Future records: tick this if new substances or assessments added to the location later should appear automatically. It is off by default.
Select Remove next to a location to take it out.
Selected records. To include specific items regardless of location, select Add records. In Find a substance or assessment, search by title or reference (type at least two characters) and select a result to add it. Added items are marked Added. Select Done when you have finished. Added substances show the latest published revision, and added assessments show the latest assessment. Use Remove to take a record out.
If a selected assessment is still a draft, it is marked "Draft: publish it or remove it to save". Publish the assessment or remove it from the collection before saving.
Step 3: Review
The Review and publish page summarises the collection: the audience, the number of location sources, any records added directly, the number of items to publish, and any scan page options you have switched off.
Below this, What scanners will see shows the items the collection will contain. For a private collection, the preview is shown for your own access; people who scan only see the items their location and role allow. For a public collection, SDS links start working once the collection is published.
If you see "Nothing to show yet", the locations and records you chose have no eligible items. Go back to Contents and add a location or record that has content.
If you see "The preview could not be loaded", check the locations and records in Contents.
When you are happy, select Publish collection. If a public collection has Future records ticked on any location, you will be asked to confirm, because future eligible records from those locations may become public automatically, without another approval.
After publishing, the QR & sharing tab shows your QR code and collection link. From there you can copy the link or select Download PNG to print the code. See Publishing and managing a QR Collection for more.
Tips
Start with a private collection. You can see how it looks before deciding whether a public one is appropriate.
Use Future records for a location that changes often, such as a store that receives new products, so new items appear without you having to edit the collection.
Keep names short and specific. They are the first thing people see when they scan.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a collection after creating it? Yes. In the QR Collections list, open the collection's actions and select Manage collection. Changes to a published collection stay as a draft until you select Publish changes, and people scanning keep seeing the published version until then. The QR code stays the same when you republish.
Does anyone see my collection while it is a draft? No. Nothing is available to scan until you select Publish collection.
Why is the Publish collection button greyed out? The preview must have loaded without errors and contain at least one item that can be shown.
Why can't I add a draft risk assessment? QR Collections only show published risk assessments. Publish the assessment first, then add it.