Our consultants often evaluate legal compliance as part of supporting clients with ISO14001 (Environmental) or OHSAS18001 (Health and Safety) Management Systems.
We have noticed that there is often a weakness around the purchasing, storage, use and disposal of hazardous substances.
In particular, there is often a misconception that obtaining Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) from the supplier keeps a company compliant in relation to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. This is not so. Regulation 6 requires employers to carry out an "assessment of the risk to health created by work involving substances hazardous to health."
Conducting COSHH Assessments is a specialist skill. Anyone tasked with carrying out such assessments should receive relevant training.
COSHH Assessments should be recorded using an appropriate form. We have made our COSHH Assessment form freely available to help with this task. We'd love to know what you think of our form; is it better than what you have in place already, or have you spotted any ways we could improve it?
If you've downloaded the form but still need help with your COSHH Assessments, get in touch to discuss training for your team.