Posted By Alison Dando What package you require really depends on the size of your organisation, how many risk assessments do you envisage requiring, the numbers of staff who are going to access it, are you going to network the package or is it going to be a stand alone system etc. etc. You need to scan the adverts, phone them up and see their packages. They will all have advantages and disadvantages. I work in an NHS Trust and in this part of the country most of the local Trusts are using the Sypol COSHH software system. I have at least 300 different work areas who use anything from 5 - a couple of hundred different products that require a COSHH risk assessment. I can pull of lists for Occ. Health giving them areas where staff may require skin checks, lung fuction tests etc. The system can do other things but there is a cost implication, it is a closed system which you buy a licence to operate it and the user receives updates every few months. It can be networked or used as a stand alone system. Out of the systems at the time I was looking, this best suited the size of the organisation,we could be reconfigured to a larger Trust and still use the package,it would do the numbers of assessments required, there was customer support and other parameters which some of the others couldn't match but it was the dearest. There isn't really another easy route to you chosing the right package for your organisation. Make your choice, ask for other customers and then phone these customers up to see what it the package is really like (and go and see it in action) before signing on the dotted line.

Posted By Nick Higginson Trudy, We used Sypols CMS system too, and have had difficulties. It does tend to be somewhat over the top at times with the things it recommends - reasonable practicability seems to go out of the window. There is always a problem with these generic packages - the whole point in COSHH assessments is that they should be tailored to your individual use. It is at times difficult to fit a particular use of a product into the Sypol system. It is also a bit too easy to type in a substance and carry out the recommended controls. At no time in that process is there a reminder of the need to substitue for a less hazardous alternative - a vital component of the COSHH regs. I agree this is not a problem if safety practitioners are carrying out the assessments, but it is a problem if supervisors or administrators are doing it. We had an audit of our safety management system (ISRS) by DNV, and I have to say that they weren't exactly impressed either so we didn't get much credit for it. Kind regards, Nick

Posted By Peter Rees Trudy, I agree with the previous responses - it all depends upon your particular circumstances. I have recently attended a seminar organised by Sypol, where they had a sales pitch for their CMS system. It looked good, but doesn't give you all of the advantages that the Lexware gives you. The SHE 2000 can automatically link all of your COSHH, DSE, risk, fire assessments to training records, occ health records, PPE issue etc...... The only thing stopping you with this is the depth of your purse. Two disadvantages that it does have, though, are:- 1. It won't give you a ready-made COSHH MSDS. 2. It won't automatically e-mail you when something needs to be reviewed. You still have to view the software to check. This second point is overcome very well with QSi from Gimlett, which is Lotus Notes based, rather than MS Outlook. This is an excellent method of integrating all of your safety, environmental and quality management systems into one. As I said - it all depends upon what you want, and what you can afford. If you want any further information please e-mail me. Pete