Posted By Robert Weiland One of our fitters has said they he now uses the filler as sold by B & Q, he's off to a major site soon and I was wondering in terms of Safety Data sheets etc where do I stand on COSHH, I have done an assessment with regards to the product in general and the name of supplier, but he says that he buys the product as and when and so each time it could come from any DIY store. One or Two health Proffesionals operating in terms of the builders we serve really dot the i's and cross the t's so I am a bit concerned on how to approach this before I approach them. If I do a general assessment of all Fillers from DIY supermarkets would anyone on here accept that or would you want defined it to the particular product.

Posted By Paul Leadbetter Robert If the fillers are chemically similar then one assessment should do. However, to be sure of the similarity, you will need to see the MSDSs for the materials concerned. B & Q are under no obligation to provide the MSDSs to the public but should be able to provide them to trade customers. Having said all that, shouldn't your company be exercising tighter control over the substances being used by obtaining them from authorised suppliers? Paul

Posted By Paul Costelloe Robert, Bear in mind that a CoSHH Assessment shouldn't just consider the substance but also HOW it is used. As an example, our factory staff thought that as a particular paint which was used for touching up scratches with a brush on equipment had been CoSHH assessed - it was OK to start using the same paint for spraying large machines. Same substance - entirely different use, number exposed, route of entry.

Posted By Robert Weiland I've been asking that since I started, very strange way of operating this business. It seems we have had problems in past and therefore have to produce a document / method statement of installation which all Sub contactors must agree to use to register to work for us. But once we receive signiture of understanding after training, little differences occur and thus I am constantly chasing Managers to audit their regions but I am determined to get everyone on board or go Grey which ever happens first.

Posted By Clare Hi Robert B&Q have Safety Data Sheets available for all their products on the website: http://www.diy.com/diy/j.../common/chip3_search.jsp Regards Clare