Elite - Professional Training & Development

Workplaces often hold safety data sheets that nobody reads, risk assessments that list substances but not how people are exposed, and personal protective equipment used as the first control rather than the last. Local exhaust ventilation is installed but never tested, exposure is not measured, and health surveillance is missing or treated as a routine medical check. Contractors and maintenance staff are frequently the most exposed and the least informed.

This programme follows the logic of the COSHH approach. It moves through five stages: understanding hazardous substances and how they harm health, assessing risk, applying the hierarchy of control, maintaining controls and monitoring exposure and health, and planning for emergencies and building a lasting chemical safety culture.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references the UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) and the HSE Approved Code of Practice and guidance L5, the HSE EH40/2005 workplace exposure limits, the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management and the ILO Chemicals Convention. The UK approach is used as a proven model; participants are shown how to map it to the national regulations and exposure limits that apply in their own country.

Decisions this programme improves. Whether a substance can be eliminated or substituted; whether an assessment reflects how work is really done; which controls are adequate and which rely too heavily on PPE; when exposure monitoring or health surveillance is needed; and how to act when controls fail or an incident occurs.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: a maintenance workshop and plant area that uses solvents, cleaning chemicals, welding and cutting processes and produces dust. Participants read and interpret safety data sheets, complete a COSHH assessment, select controls using the hierarchy, review a ventilation inspection record and plan an emergency spill response.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own substances, processes, national regulations and HSE management system, and can include a walk-through assessment of one of your work areas.

Who Should Attend

Supervisors and team leaders: in operations, maintenance, laboratories, workshops and facilities

HSE staff: safety officers, HSE advisers and coordinators new to hazardous substance control

Technical staff: engineers, technicians and laboratory staff who handle chemicals

Facility and contractor managers: staff who manage cleaning, maintenance and service contractors

Occupational health staff: nurses and health staff supporting exposure and health surveillance programmes

Objectives

Explain the purpose and main duties of the COSHH approach and how it relates to national regulations

Identify hazardous substances, including those generated by processes such as dusts, fumes and vapours

Interpret GHS hazard classifications, labels and safety data sheets

Describe routes of entry and the acute and chronic health effects of exposure

Carry out and record a COSHH risk assessment that reflects actual work tasks

Apply the hierarchy of control and select suitable engineering, administrative and PPE controls

Explain how local exhaust ventilation works and what inspection and testing it requires

Describe when exposure monitoring and health surveillance are required and how results are used

Plan storage, handling, spill and emergency arrangements for hazardous substances

Prepare effective information, instruction and training for workers and contractors

Course Outline

Understanding Hazardous Substances and How They Harm Health

What counts as a hazardous substance: chemicals, dusts, fumes, mists, gases and biological agents
Process-generated substances and why they are often missed
Routes of entry: inhalation, skin contact, ingestion and injection
Acute and chronic effects, sensitisers, carcinogens and occupational disease
GHS classification, hazard pictograms and labels
Reading safety data sheets: the sections that matter most

Assessing the Risk

The COSHH regulatory framework and ACOP L5 in outline
Duties of employers, employees and contractors
Workplace exposure limits and how to use them
Carrying out a COSHH assessment: steps, observation and worker input
Recording, communicating and reviewing assessments
Chemical inventories and digital substance registers

Controlling Exposure: The Hierarchy of Control

Elimination and substitution
Engineering controls: enclosure, process change and local exhaust ventilation
Administrative controls: safe systems of work, permits and hygiene
Personal protective equipment: selection, face-fit testing and limitations
Good practice principles of control
Special cases: confined spaces, hot work and maintenance activities

Maintaining Controls, Monitoring Exposure and Health Surveillance

Inspection, maintenance and thorough examination of control measures
Exposure monitoring: when it is needed and how to interpret results
Health surveillance: purpose, types and record keeping
Information, instruction and training for workers and contractors
Supervising and auditing COSHH arrangements
Integrating COSHH into an ISO 45001 management system

Storage, Emergencies and a Lasting Chemical Safety Culture

Safe storage, segregation and handling of hazardous substances
Spills, leaks and emergency arrangements
First aid and incident reporting
Waste and environmental considerations
Adapting controls for hot climates and outdoor work
Action plan: improving hazardous substance control in your workplace

Competencies

Hazardous substance identification

Safety data sheet and GHS label interpretation

COSHH risk assessment

Hierarchy of control selection

Local exhaust ventilation awareness

Exposure monitoring and health surveillance planning

Safe storage and emergency spill response

Worker information, instruction and training

Istanbul

Train in Istanbul with access to Elite Academy’s full portfolio of professional programs. In a city known as a major international business crossroads connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia, organizations and professionals can join upcoming courses or request any program to be arranged locally. Professional training in Istanbul is not limited to a specific group of subjects. Elite Academy makes its complete portfolio available in the city across management, business, technical and industry-focused disciplines. With a major international business crossroads connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Istanbul provides an effective setting for international learning. Use the schedule below to view courses already planned for the destination, or contact our team to request another program and preferred dates in Istanbul, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)