COSH SO2 cheat sheet

Primary duty holder: the employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety, health and welfare of all employees (general duty).

Risk assessment is a legal duty when more than 5 employees are employed; the significant findings must be recorded.

The hierarchy of control for hazards is: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE (last resort).

Employees have a duty to take reasonable care of themselves and others, cooperate with the employer, and report hazards and accidents.

Competent person: someone with sufficient training, experience and knowledge to assist the employer in meeting statutory duties.

RIDDOR reporting: fatalities and specified injuries within 10 days; over-7-day injuries within 15 days; dangerous occurrences without delay.

Consultation with employees (or safety representatives) is required on health and safety arrangements, including changes affecting risk.

Enforcement: inspectors may issue improvement notices (remedy by a date) or prohibition notices (stop unsafe activity immediately).

Risk = likelihood × severity. Use a 5×5 matrix (1–5 each) to rank risks as low, medium, high or extreme.

Hazard identification methods include: workplace inspections, task analysis, incident data review, employee reports, and safety audits.

The five steps of risk assessment: identify hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate risks and controls, record findings, review and update.

ALARP principle: risks should be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable, balancing cost against risk reduction.

Hierarchy of control effectiveness: elimination > substitution > engineering > administrative > PPE. PPE is the least reliable.

Residual risk is the risk remaining after controls are applied; it must be recorded and monitored.

Dynamic risk assessment: a continuous process of identifying hazards and adjusting controls during changing work conditions.

Common construction hazards: falls from height, struck-by, caught-in/between, electrical, hazardous substances, and manual handling.

CDM duty holders: client, principal designer, principal contractor, designer, contractor, and workers. Each has specific legal duties.

Construction phase plan must be prepared by the principal contractor before work starts and updated as work progresses.

Site induction training is mandatory for all workers before they start work on site, covering site rules, hazards, and emergency procedures.

Toolbox talks are short, topic-specific briefings delivered regularly (e.g., weekly) to reinforce safety awareness.

Permit-to-work systems are required for high-risk activities: hot work, confined space entry, live electrical work, and excavation.

Supervisors must ensure that only trained and authorised persons operate plant and equipment; check certification and competence.

Daily site inspections should check: edge protection, scaffolding tags, housekeeping, PPE compliance, and plant movement areas.

Emergency procedures must be displayed, and first-aid arrangements (trained personnel, kits, and signage) must be in place.

Inspection types: routine (scheduled), random, follow-up, and special (after an incident or change).

Accident investigation steps: secure the scene, gather evidence (photos, witness statements, documents), analyse causes, recommend controls, report, and follow up.

Root cause analysis techniques: 5 Whys, fishbone (Ishikawa) diagram, and fault tree analysis.

Immediate causes are unsafe acts and unsafe conditions; root causes are management system failures (e.g., inadequate training, poor supervision).

Accident ratio pyramid (Bird): for every serious injury, there are approximately 10 minor injuries, 30 property damage incidents, and 600 near misses.

Witness interviews should be conducted promptly, separately, and without leading questions; record verbatim where possible.

Corrective actions must be assigned an owner and a deadline, and their effectiveness verified.

Investigation reports should include: date/time, location, persons involved, sequence of events, causes, and recommendations.

Training needs analysis (TNA) identifies gaps between required and current competence at organisational, job, and individual levels.

Effective training methods include: classroom, on-the-job, e-learning, simulation, and toolbox talks; match method to learning objective.

Kirkpatrick's four-level training evaluation: reaction, learning, behaviour, and results.

Safety communication channels: noticeboards, toolbox talks, safety meetings, emails, signage, and hazard reporting systems.

Induction training must cover: site layout, emergency procedures, first aid, PPE requirements, and reporting procedures.

Competence = training + experience + knowledge; records must be kept for each worker.

Barriers to communication include language, literacy, noise, and cultural differences; use pictograms and interpreters where needed.

Safety culture is influenced by management commitment, worker involvement, and open reporting of errors.

Occupational health hazards: chemical (solvents, dusts), physical (noise, vibration, heat), biological (bacteria, viruses), ergonomic (manual handling, repetition), and psychosocial (stress, bullying).

Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs): set for hazardous substances; exposure must not exceed the limit. Examples: noise 80 dB(A) lower action value, 85 dB(A) upper action value.

COSHH assessment steps: identify hazardous substances, assess exposure, control exposure (hierarchy), monitor, and health surveillance.

Health surveillance is required when: there is a disease associated with the substance, exposure is likely, and there are valid techniques for detection.

Noise control hierarchy: reduce at source, isolate, attenuate, and provide hearing protection (PPE) as last resort.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) prevention: limit exposure time, use low-vibration tools, and provide health surveillance.

Manual handling risk assessment (TILE): Task, Individual, Load, Environment.

Biological hazards: control through hygiene measures, PPE, vaccination, and safe disposal of sharps.

Fire triangle: fuel, oxygen, heat. Fire extinguishers are classified by the type of fire they extinguish (e.g., water for Class A, foam for Class B, CO2 for electrical).

Emergency plan must include: escape routes, assembly points, roll call procedures, fire wardens, and contact details for emergency services.

Fire risk assessment steps: identify fire hazards, identify people at risk, evaluate and reduce risks, record findings, review and update.

Means of escape: adequate number, width, and signage; kept clear of obstructions; emergency lighting provided.

Fire drills should be conducted at least annually (or more frequently for high-risk sites) and recorded.

First-aid needs assessment: number of trained first aiders depends on workforce size and risk level (e.g., low-risk: 1 appointed person per 50 workers).

Emergency evacuation: sound alarm, evacuate via nearest safe route, assemble at designated point, roll call, and do not re-enter until authorised.

Fire extinguisher PASS technique: Pull pin, Aim at base, Squeeze handle, Sweep side to side.

Records to maintain: risk assessments, training records, inspection reports, accident reports, maintenance logs, and COSHH assessments.

Accident Book: record all accidents, including minor ones, and retain for at least 3 years (or as required by local law).

RIDDOR reportable events: deaths, specified injuries, over-7-day injuries, dangerous occurrences, and occupational diseases.

Reporting timelines: deaths and specified injuries within 10 days; over-7-day injuries within 15 days; dangerous occurrences without delay.

Document control: version control, authorisation, review dates, and secure storage (confidential where necessary).

Key performance indicators (KPIs): lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR) = (number of lost time injuries / total hours worked) × 1,000,000.

Safety audits compare actual practice against planned arrangements and legal requirements; findings should be actioned.

Retention periods: health surveillance records may need to be kept for 40 years; accident records for at least 3 years.