I'll add my little bit for what its worth.
COSHH is about informing all staff, visitors or customers about risks and safety measures but also about making choices about which substances to use.
An example might be you have a sofa to clean.
Should I use Fabric Restorer which is labelled as an irritant and comes with a list of control measures and PPE to wear. Or could I use Fabric Pre-Spray which doesn't have a warning label on it? It still has control measures but the risk is perceived as lower.
Bear in mind that we often take our products into the customers home or premises we need to show that we have done everything reasonable & practicable to minimise risk.
This could include:
Using the lowest risk product suitable for the job in hand.
Diluting concentrates outside of the customer premises - back door of van, plenty of ventilation.
Only carrying or storing enough product to meet your needs.
Control of access to the working area.
Your completed form doesn't have to be a great lengthy thing that goes on and on. Just show that you have given it some thought and have control measures in place. High risk areas will have a greater demand than low risk obviously.
Agree with Kevin though. I did them at my last 'proper' job and the only person who read it was the H&S auditor. And he skim read through it to check it had the correct dates and signatures. The actual content seemed irrelevant so long as boxes could be ticked.
