Who is responsible for coshh assessments

Training Plan Access to all courses with no limits. Talks Plan Get daily health and safety talks. Free Tools Free and simple health and safety tools. Blog Best practice and safety guidance. Log In Support Contact Us. Blog About Support Contact Us. Working with others Your employer responsibilities under COSHH can be straightforward to manage when you are working in your own premises. Employees often visit other workplaces or premises. Recent posts like this Read Post. Spend less time on paperwork.

A good place to start a COSHH assessment is by collecting the safety data sheets SDS of all the substances stored and used in the workplace, which outline the risks associated with each of them. Many chemicals also have hazard warning labels on their containers which contain relevant information about their hazardous properties. For substances that are less obviously hazardous, employers should keep up to date with the latest health and safety guidance in their industry. There is also a lot of useful information provided by HSE that outlines certain hazardous substances associated with different industries, along with the EH40 Occupational exposure limits list which offers advice on reducing risk as well as identifying hazards.

Employers should make a list of every hazardous substance that is present in the workplace as a starting point for their COSHH report, consulting product manufacturers and industry specialists if needed. It is vital that every hazard is identified, no matter how small the risk.

Once every potentially hazardous substance has been identified, the next step of the COSHH assessment is to identify who is at risk from these substances. Start with employees who work directly with the substances, then work outwards and consider every other person who may come into contact with them.

As well as identifying everyone who could be affected by hazardous substances, a COSHH report also needs to consider the different ways that these individuals may be harmed. This will be influenced by how harmful each substance is, how likely exposure is and the duration and level of exposure for each individual.

Substances can also cause harm in several different ways, including inhalation, ingestion, coming into contact with the skin or eyes, or entering the body through cuts in the skin. Substances that are more dangerous will need more severe COSHH procedures put in place to keep the workplace safe, such as PPE for employees and appropriate health and safety training.

After identifying all the people who may be at risk and the ways in which they could be harmed, a COSHH assessment should outline the different levels of exposure and risk for each individual, dictated by how much they come into contact with a substance and how long they are exposed for.

At this stage in a COSHH assessment, the report should detail all of the hazardous substances that employees may be exposed to in the workplace and the different levels of risk that individuals visiting or working in the space may encounter. The most critical step of the assessment is to then evaluate each of these risks and hazardous scenarios, and decide how to minimise damage to health as much as possible.

Risk reduction should deal with the hazards that pose the most serious risk to health first. Actions can also be prioritised by considering which substances present the most immediate risks, and which will be the quickest to reduce. When deciding how risks are to be controlled and reduced, traditionally the hierarchy of control is followed.

This outlines 6 different ways of controlling risk from most effective to least effective, and is helpful in guiding what measures employers can put in place to minimise risk.

This hierarchy can be used to decide on appropriate COSHH control measures for every risk that has been identified. All of this information must be recorded and then implemented in the workplace before any hazardous substances are brought in.

The containment and storage of hazardous substances is another key part of a COSHH assessment, to ensure that certain substances are kept safe when not in use. It is the overall responsibility of a workplace employer to manage COSHH procedures and health and safety measures, so it is their responsibility to organise and ensure that a COSHH assessment is carried out. If you are self-employed and work with hazardous substances in a profession such as hairdressing, for example, it is your responsibility to complete a COSHH assessment for your working environment and the substances that you handle.

This may be the case if a workplace is particularly large and has multiple departments, a substance poses a significant risk, or a substance is being dealt with which is quite rare. The course also includes knowledge of control measures and emergency procedures.

Alongside this, the course helps you work towards compliance with legislation and is suitable for both employees and employers. By using our website, you agree to our cookie policy. Get in touch with us today to arrange a free LEV site assessment and no-obligation quotations. In addition, keep in touch with us on our social media channels, Facebook , Twitter or LinkedIn for updates. Find out more about our capabilities, accreditation and expertise.

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