The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 make you assess and control exposure to hazardous substances. The hard part for field teams is not writing the assessment. It is getting field workers to read it before they pick up the product.
Guide · Health & Safety
COSHH acknowledgement, recorded on site.
COSHH 2002 makes you assess and control exposure to hazardous substances. For field teams the hard part is getting workers to read the assessment before they start. Here is how acknowledgement gets recorded.
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The rule
What COSHH requires
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 apply to any employer whose workers are exposed to hazardous substances at work. Regulation 6 demands a suitable assessment, Regulation 7 demands control of exposure, and Regulation 12 demands information, instruction and training. Regulation 12 is the one field teams most often miss: the assessment exists, but it never reaches the worker it covers.
The real gap
Communication, not the assessment
Most firms have COSHH assessments filed on a shared drive. The workers who use the products every day have not read them since induction. An assessment written and filed in the office gives no protection if the field worker has never seen it. The information gap at the point of use is where exposure incidents happen.
On site
Recording acknowledgement
- 1
Confirm before work
Before starting a task with a hazardous substance, the worker confirms in WhatsApp that they have read the relevant COSHH assessment.
- 2
Capture site hazards
Where the job involves site-specific hazards, they identify and photograph any hazardous products found on site.
- 3
Timestamp and tie
The acknowledgement is timestamped and tied to the job reference, evidence the information was communicated before work began.
Honest limitation
We record, we do not write the assessment
Quickler records the acknowledgement layer and captures site-specific hazards reported by the worker. It does not replace a COSHH assessment written by a competent person. The wording is rooted in UK compliance, but the workflow runs any inspection or checklist, anywhere WhatsApp does.
The short version
- COSHH Regulations 2002 apply to any employer whose workers use or are exposed to hazardous substances in the course of work, including the small firm running a handful of vans.
- A COSHH assessment written and filed in the office gives no protection if the field worker has never read it. The gap is communication, not paperwork.
- Regulation 6 demands the assessment, Regulation 7 demands control of exposure, Regulation 12 demands information, instruction and training.
- Good coshh risk assessment field teams uk work lives or dies on whether the worker sees the assessment before the task.
- A timestamped acknowledgement record is evidence the worker was made aware of the relevant assessment before starting. That is the heart of coshh assessment recording on site.
- Quickler runs the coshh acknowledgement workflow and captures site hazards. It does not replace an assessment written by a competent person.
The rule
What COSHH actually requires
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 implement the Health and Safety at Work Act requirements for substances hazardous to health. They apply to every employer whose workers are exposed to hazardous substances in the course of work.
Regulation 6 requires a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from exposure. Regulation 7 requires the employer to prevent or adequately control that exposure. Regulation 12 requires suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training on the substances workers handle, the risks of exposure, and the control measures in place.
Regulation 12 is the one field teams most often fail to comply with. Not because the assessment is missing, but because the communication of it to the workers it covers never happens. That makes coshh regulations field workers a communication problem first and a paperwork problem second.
What it covers
The substances on a real van
COSHH covers a wide range of substances field workers use or meet every day.
Solvents: in adhesives, cleaning products, paint strippers and degreasers. Many are flammable, can irritate skin and eyes, and can cause occupational asthma or neurological effects with repeated exposure.
Adhesives and resins: in pipe jointing, flooring and construction. Isocyanate-based products, used in spray foam insulation and some adhesives, are a leading cause of occupational asthma and require specific respiratory controls.
Cleaning chemicals: bleach, disinfectants, descalers and caustic cleaners used by cleaning operatives and maintenance workers. Mixing bleach with acid-based products can produce toxic gases.
Gases: engineers working on gas appliances, refrigerants or in confined spaces may meet flammable gases, refrigerant gases or atmospheric hazards.
Biological agents: workers entering contaminated spaces, working in healthcare settings or cleaning up after flooding may meet hazards including Legionella, leptospirosis and other pathogens. A hazardous substance inspection checklist has to flag these on the ground, not just in a binder.
The real gap
Filed is not the same as read
Most firms that employ field workers already have COSHH assessments. They were written when the H&S policy was set up, updated when products changed, and filed on a shared drive or in the site folder. The workers they cover handle the products every day and have not read the assessments since their induction, if they read them then.
This is not primarily a compliance failure. It is a communication failure. The assessment is written for a process. The worker carrying out that process has no access to it at the point of use. That information gap is exactly where exposure incidents happen.
For site-specific hazards, a product found at a client site or an unexpected substance encountered during a job, the gap is wider still. The pre-written assessment covers the worker's own products. It cannot cover what they find when they arrive on site.
On site
Recording the acknowledgement
The acknowledgement workflow closes the communication gap. Before a worker starts a task involving a hazardous substance, the workflow asks them to confirm they have read the relevant COSHH assessment. Where the task carries site-specific hazards, it asks them to identify and photograph any hazardous products found on site.
The acknowledgement is timestamped and tied to the job reference. The record shows the worker was made aware of the relevant assessment before work started. If an exposure incident follows, that record is evidence the information was communicated rather than assumed.
Honest limitation: Quickler records the acknowledgement and captures site-specific hazard information reported by the worker. It does not replace a COSHH assessment written by a competent person. That assessment must be prepared by someone with the knowledge and training to evaluate health risks from exposure, typically the employer's H&S advisor or a qualified occupational hygienist for complex substances.
How it runs
It happens in WhatsApp
A COSHH acknowledgement workflow in Quickler asks the engineer, before they start the job, to confirm they have read the relevant assessments for the products they will use. Where a client site is involved, it asks them to identify any hazardous products encountered and to photograph the product labels. The responses are timestamped and attached to the job record.
The workflow arrives in WhatsApp. The engineer replies as they would to any message. No login, no separate safety management system to open. The acknowledgement happens at the point of need, not in an induction room three months ago. For coshh compliance small firm operators with no dedicated safety team, that is the difference between a defensible record and a hopeful one.
Questions, answered
Who must comply with COSHH regulations in the UK?
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 apply to all employers and self-employed persons who use or are exposed to substances hazardous to health in the course of work. That includes field workers handling cleaning chemicals, solvents, adhesives, gases and biological agents. If a substance is used at work and it poses a health risk, a COSHH assessment is required.
What must a COSHH assessment cover for field workers?
It must identify the substances used or encountered, the nature and degree of exposure (route of exposure, quantity, duration, frequency), who is at risk, the control measures in place to reduce exposure, any PPE required, health surveillance requirements where applicable, and the emergency procedures if exposure occurs.
Is an assessment in the office enough if field workers have not read it?
No. The COSHH Regulations require employers to ensure employees are given suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training. An assessment written by the H&S manager and filed on the server gives no protection if the worker using the substance has never seen it. It must be communicated to the workers it covers.
Can a WhatsApp message serve as evidence that a COSHH assessment has been read?
It can serve as evidence of acknowledgement, provided the message identifies the assessment (product name, job reference, date) and the worker's response is recorded. A timestamped WhatsApp exchange showing the worker confirmed they had read the relevant assessment before starting work is more defensible than an unsigned paper record filed months later. See our guides on risk assessment software for UK SMEs, site safety inspection software, lone worker check-in software, and how Quickler works in any country.