SHEQ EXCELLENCE GROUP LTD

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English · Version 1.1 · Learner edition

COSHH and SDS

90 min facilitated workshop

Participant name
Date

Independent awareness learning for Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Not HSE approved or accredited; not a regulated qualification or permission to work. Reading online does not establish practical competence or successful course completion.

Learning outcomes

Course scope

Awareness and assessment support workshop. It does not certify occupational hygiene competence, RPE fit testing, LEV examination or specialist chemical handling. Asbestos and lead require separate regulatory consideration.

Workshop lessons

01

COSHH and SDS

Lesson explanation

COSHH concerns preventing harm from hazardous substances at work in Great Britain. This workshop helps you recognise what information a sensible task assessment needs and when to ask for help. Reading a label or owning a safety data sheet does not establish that a particular job can proceed safely.

Think about the whole activity: bringing materials in, applying them, cleaning equipment and disposing of waste. Different people can be exposed at different stages. You will practise connecting product information with workplace conditions, without choosing technical specifications from guesswork. Completing awareness learning does not authorise chemical handling or establish specialist competence.

Key points to remember

  • Chemical risk awareness workshop
  • 90 minutes with a decision exercise
  • SHEQ Excellence Group Ltd
02

Learning outcomes

Lesson explanation

By the end, aim to explain a decision rather than merely name a document. A useful explanation connects a known hazard with an exposure route, the people affected and evidence that controls will work. If information is missing, identifying the gap is part of a sound assessment.

Supplier information describes a product; the employer's assessment addresses how that product or process is actually used. Your contribution may be to report conditions, locate reliable information or follow an agreed method. More complex exposure questions need someone with suitable expertise. Learning when to refer a question is as important as recognising a hazard symbol.

Key points to remember

  • SDS information and task assessment
  • Exposure routes and people affected
  • Control decisions and specialist referral
03

Substances and processes

Lesson explanation

Hazardous exposure can come from bought products or from the work itself. Cutting, sanding and welding can generate harmful airborne material even when no container carries a warning label. An inventory based only on the chemical store will therefore miss some important construction exposures.

Walk through processes as well as products, including maintenance and cleaning. Ask what is released, where it travels and who could contact residues. Do not judge safety by smell, appearance or the absence of a pictogram. Suspected asbestos or lead requires separate regulatory consideration and competent advice; this general COSHH awareness lesson cannot resolve those specialist issues.

Key points to remember

  • Products can contain harmful substances
  • Work can create dust, fume, mist or gas
  • The absence of a label does not establish safety
04

Hazard and exposure

Lesson explanation

A hazard is the potential to harm health; exposure describes contact with that hazard. Risk depends on the substance and the actual circumstances, including the route, amount, frequency and duration of contact. Two people using the same product may face different risks because their methods and surroundings differ.

Consider breathing substances in, skin contact or absorption, eye contact and accidental swallowing where relevant. Contaminated hands can transfer material to food, cigarettes or the face. Controls must address the relevant routes together. Respiratory protection alone cannot resolve skin contamination, and lack of immediate discomfort does not demonstrate that a method is safe over time.

Key points to remember

  • Hazard: potential to harm health
  • Exposure: how contact can occur
  • Risk depends on the actual conditions of use
05

The role of the SDS

Lesson explanation

A safety data sheet, or SDS, communicates supplier information about a chemical product. It supports decisions on hazards, handling, storage and emergencies. It does not describe all the conditions in your workplace, so filing it under a task name does not turn it into a COSHH assessment.

First match the product identifier, supplier and relevant version to the container and intended use. Obtain clarification if documents conflict or appear incomplete. Then connect the relevant information to the real method, people and controls. A revision date helps identify changes; it is not an automatic expiry date. Keep information accessible to those planning work and responding to incidents.

Key points to remember

  • Match the product, supplier and version
  • Read it alongside the label and use information
  • Translate relevant information into a task assessment
06

Finding useful SDS information

Lesson explanation

An SDS has sixteen sections, allowing you to find different kinds of information systematically. Sections 1 to 3 identify the product, hazards and composition. Sections 4 to 8 cover first aid, fire, releases, handling, storage and exposure controls. Later sections include properties, stability, health effects, disposal and revision information.

Read sections together rather than extracting one reassuring sentence. Control suggestions in section 8 still need checking against actual use, while emergency arrangements may depend on other sections. Do not invent a missing value or assume that unfamiliar technical language is irrelevant. Ask the supplier or a competent adviser to explain information that affects a decision.

Key points to remember

  • 1 to 3: identity, hazards and composition
  • 4 to 8: emergencies, handling and exposure controls
  • 9 to 16: properties, stability and supporting details
07

SDS reading practice

Lesson explanation

Reading practice should produce a clear trail from a question to reliable information. Start with a verified SDS and matching label, locate the revision information, then find the hazards, relevant exposure routes and emergency advice. Note exactly where each point came from so it can be checked later.

Separate facts found in the document from assumptions about your site. The sheet cannot tell you who walks through your room, whether extraction is functioning or how long cleaning takes. Record unanswered questions instead of filling them with invented figures. If no matching SDS is available, identify what must be obtained; do not create a substitute document.

Key points to remember

  • Locate product identity and revision
  • Find routes of harm and emergency information
  • List questions the SDS cannot answer about your site
08

The task assessment

Lesson explanation

A task assessment joins substance information to the actual work. Describe application, quantities, frequency, duration and location, then identify everyone who may be exposed. Include cleaners, maintenance workers, other contractors and occupants, not just the person holding the tool. Consider foreseeable interruptions and nonroutine activities as well as normal production.

Explain how exposure will be prevented or adequately controlled, who implements each arrangement and how effectiveness will be checked. Record unresolved information and the person responsible for obtaining it before affected work proceeds. A completed form or numerical score is not evidence that exposure is controlled. Review assumptions against conditions at the point of work.

Key points to remember

  • Who is exposed and by which routes
  • Amount, frequency and duration
  • Workplace, maintenance and cleaning conditions
09

Preventing exposure

Lesson explanation

Start by asking whether the hazardous substance or generating process can be avoided. If not, consider a safer substitute or method, assessing any new risks. Then combine suitable engineering and organisational measures, adding appropriate PPE where other means cannot achieve adequate control. Good practice principles apply together; they are not a ranked checklist.

Minimise release and spread, address every relevant exposure route, make controls proportionate to the health risk and choose reliable options. Check and review their effectiveness, inform and train everyone affected, and ensure controls do not introduce new health or safety risks. These principles turn the hierarchy into workable arrangements rather than an automatic choice of equipment.

Key points to remember

  • Avoid the substance or process where possible
  • Assess a safer substitute and new risks
  • Use reliable controls suited to the task
10

Evidence that controls work

Lesson explanation

A control is useful only when it performs effectively during real work. Before use, check the features identified by the assessment and manufacturer's instructions. Continue watching for failure during the task. A running fan, visible airflow or the absence of visible dust does not alone prove that harmful exposure is adequately controlled.

Arrange maintenance, repairs and appropriate examination and testing by competent people. Applicable requirements depend on the equipment and circumstances; do not apply a guessed universal interval. Keep relevant records and tell users what a satisfactory check looks like. Where exposure or control performance remains uncertain, obtain occupational hygiene advice and appropriate monitoring instead of relying on reassurance.

Key points to remember

  • Checks before use and during the task
  • Maintenance and appropriate examination
  • Specialist exposure assessment where necessary
11

PPE and respiratory protection

Lesson explanation

PPE must suit the substance, exposure, work and wearer. Glove selection and replacement need reliable chemical specific information; appearance or thickness alone is insufficient. Respiratory protective equipment, or RPE, requires competent selection. A particle filtering device cannot be assumed to protect against vapour or gas, and filtering equipment cannot supply missing oxygen.

For tight fitting RPE, a competent fit test establishes whether a particular facepiece fits the individual wearer. A seal check each time it is put on checks its positioning that time; it does not replace the fit test. Facial hair at the seal and incompatible equipment can undermine protection. Users need training, maintenance and suitable alternatives where necessary.

Key points to remember

  • Product and task determine suitable protection
  • Tight fitting RPE needs wearer fit testing
  • A face seal check and a fit test serve different purposes
12

Exposure limits and health surveillance

Lesson explanation

Workplace exposure limits, or WELs, concern airborne concentrations averaged over specified periods. They help assess inhalation exposure, but are not a complete definition of safe work. A missing limit does not mean harmless, and a result below a limit does not remove the need for suitable control or consideration of other routes.

Use current relevant guidance and competent occupational hygiene advice when measurement or interpretation is needed. Some circumstances require exposure to be reduced further. Health surveillance is a separate, risk based arrangement for detecting relevant early health effects where the criteria apply. Occupational health advice helps determine its need and design; it never replaces prevention, and personal clinical information requires appropriate confidentiality.

Key points to remember

  • WELs relate to airborne exposure over a period
  • A missing limit does not mean harmless
  • Health surveillance needs a risk based decision
13

Spills, storage and other hazards

Lesson explanation

Storage, waste and emergencies are part of the assessment, not details to leave until a spill occurs. Use reliable product information to plan labelling, containment, compatibility, access and disposal arrangements. Provide clear instructions on reporting incidents, obtaining assistance and first aid so that people do not improvise an unsafe response.

If a release occurs, follow the agreed emergency arrangements, keep people away and escalate to competent responders. Do not attempt unfamiliar neutralisation or cleanup. A COSHH assessment concerns health risks; fire and explosion hazards may also require consideration under DSEAR. Unknown materials, confined spaces or complex reactions need specialist assessment beyond this awareness course, before a workable method can be agreed.

Key points to remember

  • Emergency action follows reliable product information
  • Storage and waste need planned arrangements
  • Fire and explosion risks may need DSEAR assessment
14

Product A decision exercise

Lesson explanation

The Product A scenario is a decision exercise, not a real coating specification. Two decorators plan four litres over two hours in a small occupied refurbishment area, with a cleaner and another trade nearby. The exact product information is missing, so the stated quantity and duration cannot establish a suitable control regime.

Work through what you need to know about the product, application, room, people and existing arrangements. Explain which decisions depend on that evidence and who can resolve them. Vague instructions such as opening a door or wearing gloves do not justify a particular method. Avoid selecting glove materials, filters or ventilation performance from the fictional description alone.

Key points to remember

  • Small occupied work area
  • Missing SDS and vague PPE instructions
  • Decide what prevents work starting
15

Model decision and review

Lesson explanation

Review means checking whether the assessment still describes reality and whether its controls remain effective. A new product, different application method, changed occupancy, unexpected exposure or failed control can invalidate earlier decisions. A routine review date does not justify continuing when a significant change has already occurred.

Pause affected work where protection cannot be relied upon, make the situation safe and inform the responsible person. Gather the missing evidence, revise arrangements with appropriate expertise and communicate the changes before an authorised restart. A useful decision record explains its basis and remaining limits. It should help the next person understand why the method is acceptable under the stated conditions.

Key points to remember

  • Essential product and task data remain missing
  • Controls need a competent justification
  • Changes and failures trigger reassessment
16

Knowledge check

Lesson explanation

The knowledge check asks you to use the relationships developed throughout the lesson: hazard, exposure, control and evidence. Answer in your own words and connect your reasoning to a workplace situation. Remember that describing a document is different from explaining how a task will be managed safely.

If a question exposes uncertainty, identify the information or competent advice that would resolve it. Avoid guessing technical specifications to make an answer look complete. Review the relevant reading and clarify misunderstandings before applying the learning at work. Completing a check demonstrates learning within this awareness course; it does not validate a real assessment, approve equipment or establish specialist competence.

Key points to remember

  • Eight short questions
  • Explain the SDS and assessment distinction
  • Explain the limits of particle filtering protection
17

Workplace follow up

Lesson explanation

Choose one real activity to discuss with the person responsible for its assessment. Compare the supporting product information with what actually happens, including setup, cleaning and waste. Observe whether workers understand the agreed controls and whether checks show that those controls remain effective in everyday conditions.

Turn any concern into a specific follow up action with an owner and a timescale. If information is missing or controls fail, use the site's escalation arrangements and pause affected work as necessary. The employer must provide suitable task instruction and supervision. This course supports informed participation, but a real assessment and control system require their own competent review.

Key points to remember

  • Review one real task with the responsible assessor
  • Verify the supporting product information
  • Check the controls in use
18

Scope and source references

Lesson explanation

This independent SHEQ workshop provides awareness for work in Great Britain. It carries no HSE approval and does not qualify you to conduct fit testing, examine extraction systems or resolve specialist exposure questions. Keep those boundaries in mind when explaining what your learning enables you to contribute.

Use current HSE guidance alongside reliable supplier information and competent workplace advice. Check that guidance relates to the substance, process and circumstances rather than borrowing a convenient control from an unrelated example. Revisit learning when products, methods or official guidance change. A useful final habit is to distinguish what you know, what evidence supports it and what still needs a competent decision.

Key points to remember

  • Independent SHEQ awareness training
  • No HSE approval or specialist qualification
  • Current HSE references are in the handbook

SDS navigation and control principles

Use the current complete supplier SDS for the exact product. It informs the task assessment and does not replace it. Apply the eight control principles together; their order is not a ranking.

  1. Identification
  2. Hazards identification
  3. Composition or ingredients
  4. First aid measures
  5. Firefighting measures
  6. Accidental release measures
  7. Handling and storage
  8. Exposure controls and personal protection
  9. Physical and chemical properties
  10. Stability and reactivity
  11. Toxicological information
  12. Ecological information
  13. Disposal considerations
  14. Transport information
  15. Regulatory information
  16. Other information

Do not invent missing technical specifications. Record uncertainty and identify the competent person or authorised role needed to resolve it.

Practice case

Fictional discussion exercise. This is not an approved assessment, supplier SDS, traffic plan or permit for live work.

Two decorators propose applying a coating with Product A in a small occupied refurbishment area. They plan to use four litres over two hours. The draft says open the door and wear gloves and a dust mask. The supplier SDS and exact product version have not yet been provided. A cleaner and another trade will work nearby. These quantities and durations are fictional exercise inputs.

Your tasks

  1. List the product, task and workplace information you need before assessment.
  2. Explain why no specific glove, filter or ventilation specification can yet be approved.
  3. Complete the decision worksheet and identify what remains unresolved.
  4. Describe how the assessment changes if the product or application method changes.
Information still missing
Decision before starting or continuing

Planning worksheet

Do not invent missing technical specifications. Record uncertainty and identify the competent person or authorised role needed to resolve it.

Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Issue or work stage
Control or information needed
Owner and check
Pause and restart arrangements

Knowledge check

Answer in your own words. Discuss your reasoning with a competent trainer or supervisor. No automatic pass, certificate or work authorisation is issued here.

  1. Does keeping the supplier SDS replace a COSHH assessment?
  2. Can a dust mask be assumed suitable for solvent vapour?
  3. Name a hazardous substance produced by work that may have no product SDS.
  4. What information connects the product to actual exposure?
  5. What should you consider before relying on PPE?
  6. What does the absence of a workplace exposure limit tell you about safety?
  7. What is needed for tight fitting RPE besides choosing the filter?
  8. What action follows a changed product or failed control?

Workplace action and feedback

One change I will make
Who must help or authorise the change
Target date and supervisor contact
How we will check the change works
Further instruction or practical training needed
What is clearer now? What remains unclear? Were the language, pace and format suitable?

Official HSE sources (English)

Source check: 18 October 2026. Review current guidance and actual site procedures before use. Northern Ireland and other jurisdictions need separate review.

Version 1.1 · Learner edition · SHEQ Excellence Group Ltd