Generate a Safety Instruction Card
Create a printable workplace safety card showing key hazard, PPE, and first aid information for a product.
A Safety Instruction Card (SIC) is a single-page summary posted at workstations where a product is used. It shows hazards, required PPE, first aid measures, and handling instructions. The wizard lets you choose which sections to include, arrange the layout, and download or save the result as a PDF.
Create a Safety Instruction Card
Open a product from your library, then select Generate Safety Card in the Actions panel. The wizard guides you through five steps.
Step 1: Select SDS
A product can have more than one SDS linked to it, in different languages or for different markets. Pick the one the card should be based on. When the product has only one linked SDS, NextSDS selects it and moves you on to the next step.
Each file lists its language, target markets, and when it was last updated, so you can tell them apart. Archived files still appear, but you cannot base a card on one.
Step 2: Choose Card
There are three ways to begin:
- Templates are the reusable layouts your team has saved. Each one shows its name and language. Select one to load its layout and settings.
- Standard Templates hold the built-in NextSDS layout: hazards, PPE, first aid, handling and storage, fire fighting, and transport. Teams with the German GefStoffV framework switched on also see Betriebsanweisung (§ 14 GefStoffV), which replaces the sections below with the eight blocks that regulation requires. See Create a German Betriebsanweisung.
- Start from scratch creates a new card with default settings.
If you have previously saved cards for this product, they also appear here. Select a saved card to reload it with all settings preserved, or open its Preview first to check you are picking the right one.
Step 3: Settings
Adjust the card's basic properties:
- Document: the language the card is written in. You can choose any of the 24 official EU languages, plus Serbian. This is separate from the language you use NextSDS in, so you can post a Polish card in a Polish workplace while working in Dutch yourself.
- Document Size: A4 or A5
- Document Orientation: portrait or landscape
Toggle additional options:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Color Override | Set the card's colours yourself |
| Page Border | Add a coloured border based on the product's signal word |
| Include QR code for quick access to SDS | Print a QR code that links back to the full SDS |
Color Override opens three groups of colour pickers. Section Headers covers Header Background, Header Text & Icons and Product Name & Underline. Content covers Body Text, Row & Section Background, Table Lines & Dividers and Page Background. Signal Words sets Danger Text, Danger Badge, Warning Text and Warning Badge.
Page Border adds a Border Width (px) field and a colour for each case: Danger, Warning, and No signal word. The card picks the one matching the product's own signal word.
Step 4: Sections
The section editor shows your card's layout as rows. Each row is either full-width or split into two columns. Each section has a colour indicator and a Settings expander, and Header and Footer are sections too, with settings of their own.
Which sections a card holds depends on the template you picked in Step 2. For the full list, what each one prints, and how to translate or rearrange them, see Safety Card sections.
Step 5: Preview & Download
Review the generated card in the PDF preview. The preview shows the exact output you will receive.
Choose how to save your work.
Download offers Download PDF for printing and Download Word if you want to edit the card further. Neither stores anything in NextSDS.
Approve and Save stores the card in the product's attachments. Enter a Card Label. When the product already has saved cards, Replace existing card lets you overwrite one of them; it starts on Create new card, so leaving it alone adds another.
Save as Template turns the current layout and settings into a reusable team template. Choose Create New Template and name it, or Update Template and pick one to overwrite. Update Template only appears once your team has a template to update.
Manage your Safety Card templates
Your team can create and manage reusable templates in SIC Templates settings. A template stores the full layout, section visibility, colours, and page settings. Set one as the default so new cards start with your team's preferred configuration.
What to do next
With Safety Instruction Cards in place, open your workplace locations to run risk assessments and score each product's risk at the point of use.