Common COSHH challenges in construction
Health and safety best practices are constantly changing. Therefore, despite their best efforts, many construction companies struggle to keep up with the latest rules and regulations. Having spoken to our customers within the construction industry, we’ve identified the six main COSHH challenges they face.
Lack of COSHH education and expertise
While construction organisations have dedicated health and safety teams, these rarely include a COSHH expert. Therefore, businesses often unintentionally mismanage risks, exposing workers to dangerous substances and hampering workflow efficiencies.
Time and resources
Health and safety teams do not have the time or resources to manually write hundreds of COSHH assessments and keep them updated in line with changing legislation. As a result, this can lead to inefficiencies and non-compliance.
Below par COSHH support
Health and safety teams generally work 9 to 5. However, many construction firms work around the clock. COSHH management must be an ongoing priority, with a competent COSHH expert on-site at all times.
Quality and standardisation of COSHH assessments
In many cases, multiple employees spread throughout different departments write COSHH assessments. This leads to inconsistencies in how substances are handled, managed, and reported on.
Outdated systems
Many companies still rely upon manual, paper-based COSHH processes. Therefore, COSHH assessments are often out of date, out of sight, and only reviewed when something goes wrong.
Lack of employee engagement in COSHH
The entire business is responsible for COSHH management—not just the health and safety team. However, it’s common for workers not to understand COSHH, or to lack information on how to protect themselves and those around them.