This COSHH assessment template is written for UK site-based work: builders, roofers, joiners, decorators, cleaning teams, maintenance contractors and anyone using paints, solvents, adhesives, cement or cleaning chemicals. Use it before work begins with a hazardous substance, and keep it with the rest of the paperwork for that job.
Below you will find the template structure, a fully completed cement dust example, a step-by-step process and the mistakes that most often come up on site. If you would rather not maintain files, Graftly provides the same assessment as a guided digital workflow you can complete from your phone.
At a glance
- Suitable for UK construction and trades
- Includes a completed cement dust example
- Covers PPE, exposure controls and emergency actions
- Based on current UK COSHH requirements
- Typical completion time: 5–10 minutes
Built using over 40 years of combined construction experience and written specifically for UK construction and service businesses.
Free COSHH assessment template
Use the fields below as a blank COSHH assessment form for your own records, download the free fillable PDF, or complete the same assessment digitally in Graftly.
Substance details
- Product name
- Manufacturer or supplier
- Hazardous substance(s) present
- Safety Data Sheet reference and date
Use on site
- Intended use / task
- Quantity and frequency of use
- Site or job reference
- Assessor and date
Exposure
- Exposure routes (inhalation, skin, eyes, ingestion)
- Persons affected
- Health effects (short and long term)
- Exposure limits, where applicable
Controls and PPE
- Control measures
- PPE and RPE required
- Training or briefing needed
- Monitoring or health surveillance
Storage, spills and disposal
- Storage requirements
- Emergency actions (spill, skin, eyes, inhalation)
- First aid arrangements
- Disposal method
Review and sign-off
- Review date
- Responsible person
- Team briefing / sign-off
- Notes or comments
Prefer to complete it digitally?
Graftly walks you through the same fields on your phone, stores the assessment against the correct job and lets you export a professional PDF when you need it.
Free PDF · 2 pages · Fillable and printable
What is a COSHH assessment?
COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. A COSHH assessment is a written record of the hazardous substances involved in a piece of work, how people could be exposed to them, and what is being done to keep that exposure as low as reasonably practicable.
Many site teams call it a COSHH risk assessment, and that is a fair description: it is the risk assessment process applied specifically to hazardous substances. Same thinking as any other assessment — identify the hazard, work out who could be harmed and how, then decide the controls — just focused on dusts, fumes, chemicals and vapours rather than the task as a whole.
The purpose is straightforward: protect the people doing the work and anyone nearby from harm that often builds up slowly — dermatitis, asthma, silicosis — rather than showing up as an accident on the day. It also gives you a clear record when a client, principal contractor or inspector asks how a substance is being controlled.
A COSHH assessment is narrower than a general risk assessment, which covers all hazards for a task. In practice the two sit together: the risk assessment covers the job, the COSHH assessment covers the hazardous substances used within it. Kept together across a business, those records form your COSHH register. The HSE's COSHH guidance sets out the underlying duties in full.
When is a COSHH assessment required?
You need one whenever work involves a substance that could harm health — including dust and fumes created by the work itself, not just products that arrive in a container. Common examples on UK sites:
Paints
Solvent vapours, skin and eye irritation
Solvents and thinners
Flammable, vapour inhalation
Adhesives
Isocyanates, vapours, skin sensitisation
Cement and mortar
Corrosive when wet, silica in dust
Silica dust
Cutting, grinding, chasing, drilling
Fuels and oils
Flammable, skin contact, fumes
Cleaning chemicals
Acids, alkalis, bleach mixing risks
Sealants and mastics
Vapours and skin sensitisation
Resins and hardeners
Sensitisation, burns, fumes
Aerosols
Propellants, confined-space build-up
Assessments should be completed before work begins, not written up afterwards. If a new product arrives on site mid-job, assess it before it is opened. For supplied chemical products, use the manufacturer's current Safety Data Sheet as a key input to the assessment. The SDS is not the assessment itself: the control measures must reflect how the substance is actually used on your site. For hazards created by the work, such as dusts and fumes, use relevant task-specific guidance and exposure information.
What should a COSHH risk assessment include?
A COSHH assessment should record the substance, how it is used, who may be exposed, the controls required, PPE and RPE, storage and emergency arrangements, and how the assessment will be reviewed. The blank template above covers each of these areas. For most site work, keeping a separate record for each substance or product makes the assessment clearer and easier to review. Low-risk substances may sometimes be grouped where appropriate.
COSHH form example: completed cement dust assessment
Cement is one of the most common COSHH assessments on UK sites, and a useful worked example because it involves both skin contact and respirable dust. Adapt the detail to your own product, quantities and site conditions.
- Product name
- General purpose Portland cement (25kg bags)
- Manufacturer
- Example UK cement supplier — SDS dated March 2026
- Hazardous substance
- Portland cement powder; respiratory irritant when airborne and highly alkaline when mixed with water. Check the product Safety Data Sheet for crystalline silica content and other hazardous constituents.
- Intended use
- Mixing mortar and screed for blockwork and floor levelling, approx. 8 bags per day, 3 days per week
- Exposure routes
- Inhalation of airborne cement powder during pouring and mixing; skin and eye contact with wet cement; accidental ingestion via unwashed hands
- Persons affected
- Bricklayers, labourers, apprentices, nearby trades, site visitors and occupants of adjacent areas
- Health effects
- Cement burns and dermatitis from wet cement, serious eye irritation or damage, and respiratory irritation from airborne cement powder. Repeated exposure may contribute to occupational respiratory disease.
- PPE
- Waterproof or nitrile gloves suitable for cement work, long sleeves, safety boots and eye protection when opening or pouring bags. Use suitable respiratory protective equipment where airborne cement powder cannot be adequately controlled by other means.
- Control measures
- Use pre-mixed or lower-dust products where reasonably practicable. Cut bags low and pour slowly to limit airborne powder. Mix outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. Keep workers not involved in the task away from the mixing area. Avoid dry sweeping and use suitable vacuum equipment or damp-cleaning methods instead.
- Storage
- Keep bags dry, off the ground on pallets, under cover and away from water ingress; do not stack above chest height
- Emergency actions
- Skin: wash immediately with clean water and remove contaminated clothing. Eyes: irrigate for 15 minutes and seek medical attention. Inhalation: move to fresh air. Spill: contain dry powder, avoid raising dust, vacuum rather than sweep
- Disposal
- Set waste cement in a designated container and dispose of via licensed construction waste collection; do not wash residues into drains
- Review date
- Reviewed 12 months from issue, or immediately if the product, quantity, method or site conditions change
Build this assessment for your own site
Graftly walks you through the same fields, keeps the record against the job, and exports a PDF you can send on.
Other common COSHH assessments
The same template structure can be used across different hazardous substances. For supplied products, base the assessment on the current Safety Data Sheet and how the product is actually used. For dusts, fumes and other substances generated by the work, use relevant task-specific guidance.
How to complete a COSHH assessment
- 1
Identify the substance
List every product used on the job, including the ones people forget — cleaning chemicals, aerosols, fuels and dusts created by the work itself.
- 2
Read the Safety Data Sheet
Get the current SDS from the manufacturer or supplier and check the date. Sections 2, 4, 7, 8 and 13 cover hazards, first aid, storage, controls and disposal.
- 3
Identify the hazards
Note what the substance can actually do — irritation, burns, sensitisation, respiratory damage, fire risk — and how serious it could be.
- 4
Assess exposure
Think about how the substance is used on this site: quantity, frequency, ventilation, confined spaces, and who is nearby as well as who is using it.
- 5
Decide the controls
Work down the hierarchy: substitute for a safer product, control at source with extraction or suppression, then use PPE and RPE to cover what is left.
- 6
Record the findings
Write the assessment down, brief the team on it, and keep it with the other paperwork for that job so it can be found when someone asks.
- 7
Review regularly
Set a review date, and review sooner if the product, method, quantity or site conditions change, or after a near miss.
Step six is where most records fall down. Briefing the team is easier if the assessment is paired with a toolbox talk on the same substance, and anything that goes wrong should feed into your near miss and incident records so the next review has something to work from.
Common COSHH mistakes
Using old Safety Data Sheets
Formulations and classifications change. An SDS several years old may no longer describe the product in the van.
Listing PPE but not specifying it
"Gloves and mask" is not a control. Record the glove type and the RPE rating, and check face fit where it matters.
No review date
Without a review date, nobody knows whether the assessment still reflects the work being done.
Poor storage controls
Storage is part of the assessment. Flammables, corrosives and open containers in a hot van are a common gap.
No employee briefing
An assessment nobody has read changes nothing on site. Brief it, ideally alongside the toolbox talk for that task.
Generic copy and paste
Copying another firm's assessment carries their controls, their quantities and their site — not yours.
Why digital COSHH assessments save time
Most firms do not have a COSHH problem so much as a filing problem. The assessment gets written once, saved to a laptop, emailed to one person and then cannot be found when the site manager asks for it six weeks later. Working digitally changes the workflow rather than the obligation.
COSHH records are most useful when they sit next to the rest of the job paperwork. Graftly keeps them alongside RAMS, risk assessments, method statements and site logs, so one job has one set of documents rather than several folders in different places.
What COSHH paperwork should you keep?
For each hazardous substance, keep the COSHH assessment together with the current Safety Data Sheet and any relevant briefing or sign-off records. Across a business, these assessments can form your COSHH register. On construction projects, they will often sit alongside the risk assessment, method statement and wider RAMS documentation for the same job.
The important part is that the paperwork reflects the substance actually being used and can be found by the people who need it on site.
How COSHH fits with your other site documents
On most construction projects, a COSHH assessment forms part of a wider pack of construction safety documentation. Together with your risk assessment and method statement it helps build a complete RAMS package for clients and principal contractors.
The risk assessment covers the task, the method statement explains how the work is carried out, and the COSHH assessment covers the hazardous substances the method relies on. Keeping all three together — with your COSHH register and the relevant Safety Data Sheets — is what makes the pack usable when someone asks for it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a COSHH assessment?
A COSHH assessment records the hazardous substances used on a job, how people could be exposed, and the control measures and PPE needed to keep exposure as low as reasonably practicable.
Is a COSHH assessment a legal requirement?
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations, employers must assess the health risks from hazardous substances before work starts and put suitable controls in place. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings of the assessment. Businesses with fewer than five employees are not legally required to record it, although keeping a written record is still good practice.
Who completes a COSHH assessment?
Someone competent and familiar with the work — often a supervisor, site manager, contracts manager or the business owner in a smaller firm. They need access to the Safety Data Sheet and an understanding of how the substance is actually used on site.
How often should COSHH assessments be reviewed?
Review whenever the substance, product, quantity, method of use or site conditions change, after an incident or near miss, and otherwise on a regular cycle — many firms use an annual review date.
Can I use one template for every chemical?
You can reuse the same template structure for different substances. For most site work, separate assessments make hazards, exposure routes, PPE, storage and emergency actions easier to manage. Low-risk substances may sometimes be grouped where appropriate.
Do COSHH assessments expire?
There is no fixed expiry date, but an assessment stops being valid once it no longer reflects the substance, the work or the controls in use. That is why a recorded review date matters.
Can I complete COSHH assessments digitally?
Yes. Digital COSHH assessments can be completed on a phone or tablet on site, stored centrally, searched later and exported as PDFs for clients or principal contractors.
What is the difference between COSHH and a risk assessment?
A general risk assessment covers all hazards for a task. A COSHH assessment focuses specifically on substances hazardous to health, such as dusts, fumes, chemicals and vapours.
Do I need a COSHH assessment for cement?
Yes. Cement powder can irritate the respiratory system, while wet cement is highly alkaline and can cause dermatitis and serious chemical burns. The assessment should reflect the specific product and task, including how bags are opened and mixed, how skin and eye contact will be prevented, and what washing and emergency arrangements are available.
Where should COSHH records be kept?
Keep COSHH records where the team can actually reach them — ideally alongside the RAMS and risk assessments for the same job, rather than in a folder back at the office.