COSHH Assessments

COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) assessments are required whenever your work involves hazardous substances. RAMSdoc supports COSHH assessments as part of your RAMS or as standalone documents.

When you need a COSHH assessment

You need a COSHH assessment for any substance that could harm health, including:

• Chemicals — paints, solvents, adhesives, cleaning agents, fuels
• Dusts — wood dust, silica dust, cement dust, plaster dust
• Fumes — welding fumes, soldering fumes, exhaust fumes
• Biological agents — legionella, leptospirosis, mould
• Other hazardous materials — asbestos (separate regulations apply), lead, isocyanates

Note

Asbestos has its own specific regulations (Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012) and requires specialist assessment. RAMSdoc’s COSHH assessment covers the COSHH Regulations 2002 — for asbestos, consult a licensed asbestos assessor.

Creating a COSHH assessment

Within a RAMS document

1. Open your document and go to the COSHH Assessments section.
2. Click Add COSHH Assessment.
3. Enter the substance name (e.g. “two-pack epoxy resin”).
4. Choose to fill in the details manually or use AI generation (2 credits).

As a standalone document

1. Click New Document and select COSHH Assessment.
2. Select the project and site.
3. Complete the assessment form.

Standalone COSHH assessments can be linked to one or more RAMS documents.

What a COSHH assessment includes

Section	What to record
Substance identification	Product name, manufacturer, form (liquid, solid, dust, fume, gas)
GHS classifications	Hazard statements (H-statements) and GHS pictograms from the safety data sheet
Health effects	Short-term effects (irritation, burns, nausea) and long-term effects (sensitisation, organ damage, cancer)
Exposure routes	How workers could be exposed: inhalation, skin contact, ingestion, eye contact
Workplace exposure limits	WEL/OEL values from HSE EH40 where applicable
Control measures	Engineering controls (ventilation, containment), work procedures, PPE
Monitoring requirements	When air monitoring or health surveillance is needed
Emergency procedures	Spill response, fire fighting measures
First aid measures	Specific first aid for each exposure route
Storage and disposal	Safe storage requirements, waste disposal procedures

[Screenshot: COSHH assessment form showing substance details and GHS pictograms]

Using AI to generate COSHH assessments

AI can generate a complete COSHH assessment from a substance name:

1. Click Add COSHH Assessment and enter the substance name.
2. Click Generate.
3. AI produces a full assessment including all sections listed above.
4. Review the output carefully, especially:
   • Workplace exposure limits — verify against the current HSE EH40 publication
   • GHS classifications — check against the actual safety data sheet (SDS) for the specific product
   • Control measures — ensure they are practical for your specific work conditions

Cost: 2 credits per substance.

Caution

AI-generated COSHH assessments are based on general substance data. Always check the manufacturer’s safety data sheet (SDS) for the specific product you are using. Different manufacturers’ formulations may have different hazard profiles, and exposure limits may have been updated since the AI’s training data.

Key information sources

When completing a COSHH assessment, gather information from:

Source	What it tells you
Safety Data Sheet (SDS)	Product-specific hazards, GHS classifications, exposure limits, first aid, storage, disposal. The manufacturer must provide this.
HSE EH40	Current UK workplace exposure limits. Updated periodically — always use the latest edition.
HSE COSHH Essentials	Practical guidance on control approaches for common substances and tasks.
Product label	GHS pictograms, signal word, hazard and precautionary statements.

Linking COSHH to your risk assessment

When you add a COSHH assessment to a RAMS, the substance automatically appears as a hazard in your risk assessment with:

• The substance name and exposure routes as the hazard description
• The COSHH control measures linked to the hazard controls
• A reference to the full COSHH assessment for detailed information

This ensures your risk assessment and COSHH assessment are consistent with each other.

Reviewing COSHH assessments

When reviewing a COSHH assessment, check:

1. Is the substance correctly identified? — correct product name, manufacturer, and form
2. Are GHS classifications from the actual SDS? — not generic data
3. Are exposure limits current? — check against the latest HSE EH40
4. Are controls practical? — can they actually be implemented on your site?
5. Is monitoring specified where needed? — air monitoring for substances with WELs, health surveillance for sensitisers
6. Are emergency procedures site-specific? — spill kit location, nearest eyewash, first aider identified