Posted By Chris Morgan I am currently investigating knowledge management in health and safety. The tools available, short-comings and possible solutions. I am interested in opinions on the new website COSHH-essentials developed by the HSE. http://www.coshh-essentials.org.uk Any comments on this will be gratefully recieved.

Posted By Nigel Hammond Hi chris I had a brief look at the web site and feel the same way as Michelle. The site seems to be a bit industrial. It would have been a very useful tool back in my Occupational Hygienist days. However, now my main responsibility is for lots of small Care homes for people with learning disabilities. Usually there will be a handfull of household cleaning materials in a cupboard under the sink. I'm not even convinced that data sheets are required as CHIP 3 seems to require some pretty detailed info on labels. I e-mailed the 'contact us' bit on the website but they said to speak to my local EHO/Care standards Inspector - typical - as if they will be an expert on COSHH!!

Posted By Bill Elliott I agree - the site is almost exclusively industrial - we experience a range of "other" COSHH issues from substances not conveniently packaged or possessing a chemical name eg spit. A biological hazard that we have been hauled over the coals by a friendly HSE inspector for not addressing adequately. I am sure there must be experience of this type of substance out there with assessments in place - how nice it would be for a HSE driven web page to collate and share these substances too!

Posted By Dave Daniel I tried to use it for one of my industrial clients - it was difficult to find all the right info to make it work and all it did was advise changing to another material, which was not a practical option. I gave up in the end. I developed a database for Rover Group when I was there some years ago and we were reviewing and assessing new substances at the rate of 20/month with ease. It would have taken us all year with Coshh Essentials and we'd still have to do a risk assessment afterwards...