INFORMING, TRAINING AND SUPERVISING EMPLOYEES
The final step of the COSHH assessment requires the employer to provide instruction/training for all employees about the key parts of the Regulations and details of the COSHH / health and safety assessment, particularly:
About the substances the employees will work with (their properties and hazards and the risks to their health should they become exposed to those substances)
About control measures the employer will provide (which measures will be used, e.g., PPE, how they will be used and how their use will be monitored)
About emergency procedures the employer will have in place (which steps to take to avoid exposure in the case of accidents or unforeseen events)
About the exposure the employer will monitor (how exposure will be measured and the results of any measurements)
About health surveillance the employer will put in place (results from health checks)
The need for an employer to inform their staff and provide the training they will require is a vital part of good working practice. Well-informed people are more likely to:
Trust an employer than one who keeps information away from them
Have confidence that their employment and working environment is safe
Take less time away from work because of perceived health-related effects
Be more productive
The Completed COSHH Form: Development of Latent Fingerprints with Aluminium Powder
All of these considerations need to be assembled in a form that can be read by anyone likely to be involved in the process, from the person actually carrying out the process to those responsibility for managing and maintaining a safe working environment in the workplace. The completed COSHH Assessment Form for the process of Development of Latent Fingerprints with Aluminium Powder can be seen HERE.
And Finally
But, do not forget, once an assessment has been completed, this should not be thought of as the end of the process since it will be more than likely that changes to processes or the substances used in them will occur from time to time. A review of the COSHH assessment should be included in any review of a process.
Go Back to: Step 7 of the COSHH Assessment