The Secret World of COSHH and RAMS
Duncan Bosomworth, NPTA Technical Manager
Talking about the above can create an uneasy, sometimes fearful look in people’s eyes.
Many folk just look blank or appear embarrassed and look away BUT there is no need to feel this way. So be brave and have a read.
The HSE dictate that when we carry out our jobs that we risk assess what we’re going to do first, so we (ourselves and our employees), others (people/public) and the environment don’t get harmed as a result.
It applies to what we do (The Management of H&S at Work Regulation 1999) and what we use, especially when using substances that may harm our health (COSHH Regulations 2002).
Lots of regulations relating to what we do when we’re at work exist within the H&S at Work Act of 1974, some are very specific; the Work at Height Regulations 2005 or the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 may ring a bell or two. Where specific regulations are created, they’re normally guidance notes to accompany them. These are readily available from the HSE to download and either study or even hand out to your employees. Regulations generally mean you have to follow them by the way.
All of this sits within the realms of the HSE. Staying with the Management of H&S at Work Regs for a moment (yes, there are guidance documents to explain the regulations on the HSE’s website) the regulations were created to safeguard people at work, it also safeguards “others” and the environment too. Before doing something at work that may include a risk to life/health etc you have to familiarise yourself with the situation and pre-empt what may go wrong and mitigate against it.
You can have generic task related risk assessments such as applying rodenticides, or have one for applying insecticides, bird proofing, servicing EFKs, shooting, the list goes on really. Alternatively, you can have generic risk assessments for different types of locations such as schools, farms, shops, factories. Anything not covered by the above would normally be what you call a site-specific risk assessment. Normally created on site, it could be based on a generic risk assessment to start with but with site specific hazards added to the list, working in a chemical factory, a building site or an airport would generally come under a site specific RA due to the increased risks.
The skill required when creating risk assessments is to think of the potential hazards (what can go wrong) in each case. Don’t forget you have to think of the things that could harm the operator/technician, those around him and the environment.
A good imagination helps as does your mind set. So I’ll set the scene: You’re at home, it’s late, it’s dark and you’ve run out of milk. You decide to get your 5-year-old daughter to go down to the corner shop a mile away and get some for you. Any thoughts? Of course, those that have kids will be right on the ball with all the terrible things that could happen; getting abducted, getting run over, getting lost, tripping over and hurting herself, some may say that she could injure herself trying to carry the 4-pint carton all the way home. These potential hazards have to be addressed, so you offer control measures (mitigation) to lesson the risk of the hazard occurring, if you can’t think of a way to lesson the risk to an acceptable level then the task / job isn’t carried out for health and safety reasons.
Getting abducted is a hard one to control as accompanying the little girl is really the only way to reduce the risk of abduction. Teaching her the highway code would help with the next hazard rather than relying on PPE for example! Getting lost could be mitigated against by showing her how to use Waze on your phone, then you risk her getting robbed.
These are hypothetical situations obviously, but the process is the same when creating real life risk assessments. If you have templates or examples to start with it helps enormously. These can all be found on our website in the top left corner under “Workplace H&S”.
In the workplace, in order to prove that you have carried out this legal obligation you have to document it really. Now whether you have 5 people in your company or not, it’s a good idea to document risk assessments as more often than not your customers may want to see them and if I employed anyone I’d like to sleep at night, so I’d make sure my employees had copies too with proof of receipt and understanding.
The other side of the process are the method statements (how the job is to be carried out). Together they form your RAMS, your customers will want to see these, your staff should want to see these as these documents describe how the jobs are to be carried out in a safe manner (similar to a checklist of consecutive events). Arrive on site, undergo site induction if required, collect any permits, secure area of work if required etc etc, finishing with, collect all equipment, open area to others, complete report, leave site.
These documents are on the Workplace H&S portal on our homepage.
So, what’s a COSHH assessment all about then? Well, the HSE have decided that as far as “chemicals” go (remember this is within the workplace) if the label has a pictogram on it (red edged diamond with a symbol in it) then it is deemed a “hazardous substance”, so comes under the COSHH Regs, you can only use it if you are fully conversant with it , one way to prove this is to produce a document which shows you know all about the correct and safe use of the product. So who made it, what species its cleared for, where you can use it, what the dose or application rates are, how hazardous it is to the operator, others and the environment, what PPE is required, what first aid you should carry out should someone get exposed to it, how to store, transport and dispose of it etc etc . All of the information you need is on the label and safety data sheets, remember, one assessment for each individual chemical/ insecticide/rodenticide and yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s all on the Workplace H&S portal. Remember these are only templates / examples to help you create working documents for yourself, you are the one that has to be conversant with the product, you in turn have to pass the knowledge down the line, proof of this is via your COSHH assessments, your folders and portals should contain assessments of the products you use on site. When you do a wasp nest hand over your COSHH assessment for the insecticide you’ve just used. Shows you know all there is to know about the product you’ve just used in their home. They now have access to safety information should they need it.
Where else can you find out about RAMS and COSHH? The NPTA have online webinars, tutorials, the Technical Managers run courses around the country, they can help you individually online, they’re just an email or phone call away. If you’re at all unsure about any of these important documents, please do contact us.
