Chemical inventories, COSHH assessments and asbestos registers in one place.
Manage hazardous substances under COSHH 2002: chemical inventories, assessments, safety data sheets and exposure controls linked to tasks.
Quick answer
COSHH compliance means identifying substances hazardous to health, assessing exposure risks and putting controls in place to prevent or reduce harm. HSE COSHH guidance covers chemicals, dusts, fumes, vapours, biological agents and other hazardous substances used or created at work. Records should show assessments, safety data sheets, controls, monitoring and reviews.
The duty falls on the employer whose work exposes people to hazardous substances. They must assess the risk, prevent or adequately control exposure, maintain control measures, provide information and training, and arrange monitoring or health surveillance where required.
COSHH assessments should be reviewed when the substance, task, exposure route, workplace or evidence changes. Local exhaust ventilation usually needs thorough examination and testing at least every 14 months, with shorter intervals for some higher-risk processes.
Keep COSHH assessments, safety data sheets, exposure-control records, LEV test reports, PPE requirements, air-monitoring or health-surveillance records where needed, training evidence and review history. Records should show what the substance is, who is exposed, how risk is controlled and when controls were checked.
CertFlow links each substance to its assessment, data sheet, storage location, PPE, control measures and review dates. Teams can complete COSHH checks on mobile, attach evidence, schedule LEV or control reviews, and keep a searchable register for audits and site teams.
The duty
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require employers to assess the risks from hazardous substances and put control measures in place, supported by safety data sheets and exposure monitoring.
CertFlow links each substance to its assessment, data sheet, storage location and the PPE required, so the control measures are visible wherever the substance is used.
Your legal duties
Employers must assess the risks to health from hazardous substances before work begins, using safety data sheets together with knowledge of the task, the quantities and the likely exposure.
Exposure must be prevented or, where that is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled, applying the principles of good control practice and the workplace exposure limits.
Control measures such as local exhaust ventilation must be maintained, examined and tested, and exposure monitored where there is a risk to health or where controls could fail.
Employees must be given information, instruction and training, and health surveillance provided where exposure could lead to a foreseeable disease or adverse health effect.
How CertFlow handles it
Hazardous Substances runs on the same platform as every other discipline, so the workflow, the registry and the audit trail are identical, whatever your team inspects.
A built-in COSHH 2002 report template, plus a drag-and-drop builder and bespoke PDF overlay for any client-specific form.
Put every hazardous substances asset on a recurring examination cycle. CertFlow generates the jobs and warns you before anything falls due.
Readings, photos and signatures are captured in the field on mobile, fully offline, and sync the moment a connection returns.
Every hazardous substances certificate is filed in a searchable, exportable compliance registry with a full timestamped history.
From the field
The defects and gaps that come up again and again on hazardous substances inspections, the ones a good system helps you catch before an auditor does.
Why it matters
Failing to control hazardous substances breaches COSHH 2002 and can bring HSE enforcement, prosecution and unlimited fines, as well as long-term occupational ill health such as asthma, dermatitis and cancer.
Free download: the Hazardous Substances duty-holder guideQuestions
That employers assess the risks from hazardous substances, prevent or adequately control exposure, maintain and monitor the controls, provide information and training, and arrange health surveillance where it is needed.
A documented assessment of the substances used, the hazards and routes of exposure, who is at risk and the control measures in place, supported by the relevant safety data sheets.
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) must be thoroughly examined and tested at least every 14 months, and more often for certain higher-risk processes.
CertFlow links each substance to its assessment, safety data sheet, storage location and required PPE, so the control measures are visible wherever the substance is used.
Yes. Asbestos registers and other hazardous-material records can be held as assets with their own inspection and review schedules.
Further reading
What the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require of employers, in plain English.
References
Links to primary UK legislation and official regulator guidance. CertFlow is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.
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See it on your data
We'll set up a live environment with your asset types and branding, then walk you through a COSHH 2002 job end to end.
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