COSHH assessment template

A COSHH assessment looks at a hazardous substance, or a task that uses or creates one, and records how people could be exposed and how you will prevent or control it. This free Word template covers what HSE says to consider, from the safety data sheet to controls, PPE, monitoring, health surveillance, emergencies and review.

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COSHH is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. They cover most harmful substances at work in Great Britain, including dust and fume your own processes create; lead and asbestos have their own regulations.

What's in the template

COSHH assessment

Company
Task or process	e.g. mixing two-part floor resin
Location
Assessed by
Date
Next review

1. The substance

Product and supplier
Safety data sheet date
Form	Liquid, powder, dust, fume, vapour, mist or gas
Hazard statements	From the label and section 2 of the data sheet
Workplace exposure limit	If any; see HSE's EH40/2005
Amount used, and how often

2. Who could be exposed, and how

Who	Route (breathed in, skin, swallowed)	How often and how long	Notes
Operators
Maintenance and cleaning staff
Contractors, visitors or the public

3. Controls, in order of priority

Control	In place now	Further action	Who	By when
Eliminate, or substitute something safer
Use a safer form (e.g. paste, not powder)
Change the process to release less
Enclose the process
Extract near the source (LEV)
Keep as few people exposed as possible
PPE that fits the wearer

4. Checks, monitoring and health surveillance

LEV thorough examination and test	At least every 14 months; last done:
Exposure monitoring	Needed? Why?
Health surveillance	Needed? What, how often, by whom
Records of checks	Where kept; keep for at least five years

5. Accidents and emergencies

Spill kit and protective equipment for clearing up
First aid steps from section 4 of the data sheet
People trained to deal with a spill or a casualty
Disposal of spill waste; information ready for the emergency services

6. Information and training

Workers told the hazards, the controls and any exposure limit
Trained to use the controls and PPE properly
Told monitoring results and collective health surveillance results
Contractors told the risks and controls

7. Review

Date	Reason for review	Changes made	By

How to carry out a COSHH assessment

List the substances and tasks: products with hazard symbols or a safety data sheet, plus what your work creates, such as wood dust from sanding, silica dust from cutting tiles or welding fume.
Read the safety data sheet, concentrating on sections 2 and 16 for the dangers and sections 4 to 8 for emergencies, handling and storage. Ask the supplier if one is missing.
Work out who is exposed and how: breathed in, through the skin or swallowed; how often; for how long. Include maintenance staff, cleaners and contractors.
Choose controls in HSE's order of priority: eliminate or substitute; use a safer form; change the process; enclose it; extract near the source; limit how many people are exposed; and only then PPE, which must fit.
Plan the checks. Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) needs a thorough examination and test at least every 14 months, more often for some processes. Monitor exposure when you need to show you're under a limit or that controls work, and arrange health surveillance where a substance is linked to a disease that can be detected early and your conditions make it likely.
Prepare for spills, train the people involved, record the assessment and set a review date.

Example: a fictional 70-person bakery

An extract from the assessment for diluting a caustic cleaning concentrate before the nightly wash-down.

Substance and form	Caustic cleaning concentrate (liquid), diluted at a wall-mounted dosing station
Hazards (section 2)	Causes severe skin burns and eye damage
Who and how	Four night-shift hygiene operatives: splashes when changing drums, mist when spraying
Controls in place	Closed dosing station, not pouring by jug; low-pressure spray lances; drums in a bunded cage
PPE	Chemical-resistant gauntlets, visor and apron, checked each shift
Health surveillance	Regular skin checks by a trained supervisor, as the assessment found a risk of dermatitis
Emergencies	Eyewash station by the dosing point; spill kit; an operative on every shift trained in the section 4 first aid steps
Further action	Fit a drum pump so nobody tips drums by hand (hygiene manager, by month-end)

Common mistakes

Filing the safety data sheet as the assessment. HSE says a data sheet is not a risk assessment: it describes the product, not how your people use it.
Going straight to masks and gloves. PPE protects only the wearer, and only while it's worn and working.
Thinking only about breathing. Ventilation does little for skin contact, which needs its own controls.
Extraction that's never examined, and monitoring or health surveillance results nobody reads.

What the law says

Great Britain. Regulation 6 of COSHH says an employer must not carry out work that could expose employees to a hazardous substance until it has made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk and put the necessary steps in place. The assessment must consider, among other things, the substance's hazardous properties, the supplier's safety information, the level, type and duration of exposure, maintenance work, any exposure limit, and the results of monitoring and health surveillance. It must be reviewed regularly, and at once if it may no longer be valid, the work changes significantly or monitoring shows a need. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings and the steps taken to control exposure.

US. COSHH is British law. OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires US employers with hazardous chemicals in the workplace to have labels and safety data sheets for exposed workers, and to train them to handle the chemicals appropriately.

Frequently asked questions

Is a safety data sheet the same as a COSHH assessment?

No. The data sheet is the supplier's information about the product. It's the first input to your assessment, but it can't take account of how, where and how often your staff use the product.

Who can carry out a COSHH assessment?

No particular qualification is needed, but the person must be competent: they understand hazard and risk, know how the work exposes people, and can gather the information needed and act on it.

How often should a COSHH assessment be reviewed?

Regularly, and at once if it may no longer be valid, the work changes or monitoring shows a need. Reviewing means checking it still fits and updating what doesn't, not starting again.

The template doesn't replace professional or legal advice, so check HSE's COSHH guidance for your industry too.