SYPOL - Basic COSHH

SYPOL

Alcumus Sypol
CMS Training

Delegate Workbook

Version 5

Info Exchange ISOQAR Sypol PSM SafeContractor

Table of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 2

1. Introduction to Ill Health in the UK .......................................................................................................... 3
The Picture of Offupational Health in the UK ............................................................................................................... 3
Occupational Lung Disease. ........................................................................................................................................ 3

2. Introduction to the COSHH Regulations ................................................................................................. 4
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 (as amended)............................................ 4
The COSHH Cycle....................................................................................................................................................... 5
Useful Resources ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

3. Introduction to Alcumus Sypol CMS ....................................................................................................... 6
What is Sypol CMS?.................................................................................................................................................... 6
The COSHH Assessment ............................................................................................................................................ 6

4. Task 1 – Work Area Tools ....................................................................................................................... 8
Logging Into Sypol CMS .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Using the Main Menu................................................................................................................................................... 9
Creating a Work Area ................................................................................................................................................ 11
Creating a Sub-Work Area......................................................................................................................................... 13
Archiving and Unarchiving Areas............................................................................................................................... 15
Task 1 Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 18

5. Task 2 – Creating Assessments ........................................................................................................... 19
Creating an Assessment for an Existing Material ...................................................................................................... 19
Creating an Assessment for a New Material.............................................................................................................. 23
Managing Assessment Requests in Work/Sub Work Areas ...................................................................................... 27
Creating Assessments for a Multi-Task Request ....................................................................................................... 29
Creating a Multi-Task Assessment Request .............................................................................................................. 31
Task 2 Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 36

6. COSHH Summary Sheet Explained ...................................................................................................... 38

7. Task 3 – Completing and Printing Assessments ................................................................................ 39
Viewing Assessment Details in Your Work/Sub Work Areas ..................................................................................... 39
Searching for Your Assessments............................................................................................................................... 41
Completing a COSHH Control Sheet......................................................................................................................... 44
Tailoring Assessments Using the PPE Database ...................................................................................................... 45
Printing an Assessment ............................................................................................................................................. 48
Task 3 Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 50

8. Task 4 – Management of Alcumus Sypol CMS .................................................................................... 51
To Do Section ............................................................................................................................................................ 53
Significantly Changed ................................................................................................................................................ 53
Awaiting Review ........................................................................................................................................................ 56
Requests Tracking..................................................................................................................................................... 57
Awaiting Your Attention ............................................................................................................................................. 58
Incomplete Assessments ........................................................................................................................................... 58
Complete Assessments ............................................................................................................................................. 58
CCS for Completion................................................................................................................................................... 58
Multi-Tasks Awaiting Review ..................................................................................................................................... 58
Internal Requests....................................................................................................................................................... 58
Additional Functionality on Sypol CMS ...................................................................................................................... 59
Exposure Scenario Form ........................................................................................................................................... 59
Copying Assessments Between Work Areas............................................................................................................. 59
Archiving and Unarchiving Assessments ................................................................................................................... 61
Submitting a new Safety Data Sheet Through the System ........................................................................................ 63
Editing a COSHH Control Sheet ................................................................................................................................ 65
Logging our of Alcumus Sypol CMS .......................................................................................................................... 71
Task 4 Summary........................................................................................................................................................ 72

9. Common Questions ............................................................................................................. 73

10. Notes ................................................................................................................................... 87

pg. 1

Introduction

This Workbook is designed to help you get the best out of Alcumus Sypol CMS and to provide
guidance on the functionality available to Alcumus Sypol CMS Editors and Coordinators.
If the answers to the questions you are looking for are not in this Workbook or our other user
guides, please do not hesitate to contact the Helpdesk on +44 (0)1296 678464 or by e-mail
on [email protected].
The Helpdesk is available to all subscribers for their health, safety, environmental and
software queries.

Standard Service - Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays) from 09:00 –
17:00 (UK time)
Premium Service – 7 days a week from 09:00 – 17:00 (UK time)

pg. 2

1. Introduction to Ill Health in the UK

The Picture of Occupational Ill Health in the UK

Occupational ill health includes a number of diseases and illnesses ranging from
musculoskeletal disorders and noise induced hearing loss, to occupational asthma and
dermatitis. Exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace can lead to the following
conditions:

Occupational asthma
Respiratory diseases such as silicosis
Dermatitis
Systematic poisoning (for example following exposure to toxic gases)
Cancer
Organ damage
Brain damage
Sensory loss or damage
Infection
According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics around 28.2 million working days
are lost each year to ill health in the UK. Just new cases alone cost the UK, including industry,
commerce, individuals and the welfare state approximately £15 billion per year.
It is estimated that for each work-related fatality there are 3 more fatalities due to occupational
disease. That is a staggering figure and not easy to determine because of the latency period
of occupational diseases developing after the exposure has occurred at work, incorrect or
missed diagnosis of disease or under reporting etc.

Occupational Lung Disease
Lung diseases is the leading contributor to estimated current annual deaths related to ill
health, a range of different diseases can be caused by past exposure in the workplace:

Figure 1 *refers to “Health and safety at work, summary statistics for Great Britain 2020” - HSEHSE

Occupational lung diseases usually have long latency periods between exposure and
symptoms manifesting. Therefore, the causes are very difficult to identify in some cases and
the figures reflect the effect of past working conditions.

pg. 3

2. Introduction to the COSHH Regulations

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 (as amended)

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) can be viewed as
putting the "meat on the bone" of Section 2.2(b) of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA)
1974;

“Provide arrangements to ensure safety and health in transport, storage and handling of
articles and substances”

It provides managers with a set of regulations on how to comply with this general duty. Its
associated Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) as well as numerous guidance notes
produced by interest groups within the HSE and trade associations means that extensive
guidance and advice is available to employers and employees under a duty to comply with
the Regulations.

Overall, COSHH is made up of 21 Regulations and 9 Schedules. Of these, Regulations 6-13
detail the most important requirements.

COSHH was first issued in 1988 along with other health-based regulations controlling noise,
lead and asbestos. Until the late 1980s there was not much regulation on the ‘health’ in health
and safety. However, it was recognised that occupational illness has a significant impact on
the UK workforce.

COSHH has evolved since then to the current amendment regulations 2004. This has
occurred for a number of reasons, but principally to incorporate European Union (EU)
Directives. The current amendment regulations incorporate the change in the Occupational
Exposure Limit framework. The most recent directive, the Chemical Agents Directive, meant
that the UK legislation controlling occupational exposures to hazardous substances and
dangerous materials such as asbestos and lead had to be updated.

What does this mean for UK industry, commerce and public sector? For those organisations
who had successfully implemented a COSHH management system based on the COSHH
Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) issued in 1999, there were no major changes to be made.
In the main, the changes found in COSHH 2002 made codes of practice and guidance explicit
by regulation. There have been several significant changes that will be discussed throughout
the course and in the accompanying materials.

The 2004 Amendment Regulations came into force in 2005.This was achieved in two parts.
The first in January, addressed the issues arising from the changes to the Marketing and Use
Directive with regard to cement. In order to eliminate the occurrence of allergic contact
dermatitis, cement preparations containing more than 0.0002% soluble chromium VI were
prohibited from supply and use.

The second part made changes to accommodate the new Occupational Exposure Limit
(OEL) framework and to place more emphasis on control via good practice. The categories
of Maximum Exposure Limit (MEL) and Occupational Exposure Standard (OES) were
replaced by a single Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL).

pg. 4

For those organisations that have yet to implement a COSHH management system to ensure
that compliance to the regulations is achieved and maintained, there will be pressure from
enforcing authorities and insurers to improve performance.

The COSHH Cycle

Regulations 6-13 can be addressed in the form of the COSHH cycle. The cycle places an
order of precedence on the regulations in which they should be addressed in your COSHH
management strategy as seen below:

Health Elimination
Surveillance &

(Reg. 11) Substitution
(Reg.7)

Exposure Formal
monitoring Assessment

(Reg. 10) (Reg.6)

Inspect and Implement
Maintain Controls
(Reg. 9) (Reg. 7&8)

Inform,
Instruct &
Train (Reg

12&13)

Repetition of the COSHH cycle process will improve your COSHH management strategy over
time making it more effective and more improved.

Useful Resources

COSHH –

• COSHH – L5 (Sixth edition) - http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l5.htm
• Carcinogens - http://www.hse.gov.uk/cancer/index.htm
• Asthmagens – http://www.hse.gov.uk/asthma/index.htm
• Biological Agents - http://www.hse.gov.uk/biosafety/index.htm
• Legionnaires' disease – L8 (Fourth edition) -

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l8.htm

• Chemical Classification - http://www.hse.gov.uk/chemical-classification/
• ECHA - http://echa.europa.eu/
• UNECE - http://www.unece.org/info/ece-homepage.html
• Authority websites e.g. HSE, HESNI, LA etc.

pg. 5

3. Introduction to Alcumus Sypol CMS

What is Sypol CMS?

Alcumus Sypol CMS is the latest version of our hazardous substance management system
which has successfully helped hundreds of companies comply with the COSHH Regulations
for over 25 years. Driven by the changes to the Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP)
Regulation features of our new enhanced COSHH Management System (CMS) include:

• Full CLP 2015 compliance
• Redesigned assessment and summary sheets
• A new 'Worker Reference Sheet’ element to the COSHH Summary Sheet
• Enhanced navigation and cleaner, fresher user-interface
• Multi-task assessment functionality
• An extensive PPE database
• Updated icons in-line with internationally recognised symbols

Alcumus Sypol CMS continues to offer an effective way to deliver compliant, task based risk
assessments, using simple, easy to read pictograms to communicate the control measures
needed to protect your staff. We work directly with you to produce a suitable and sufficient
assessment, which is compiled by our team of expert consultants. We independently classify
substances using supplier safety data sheets (SDSs) and trusted information sources. As the
system is delivered through a web browser, there is no worry about installing, downloading
or maintaining software. Through our dedicated consultant run helpdesk you can ask
questions and access our consultant’s expertise, knowledge and experience to assist you in
ensuring the health, safety and welfare of your staff.

The COSHH Assessment

A COSHH risk assessment created in Alcumus Sypol CMS can be divided into a
combination of the following five sections:

• Exposure Scenario

This information represents the significant information detailing method, duration and
area of exposure. It also details who may be exposed to the hazardous
material/process as well as a description of exposure and any existing control
measures your company uses. This part of the document is completed when making
a formal request for an assessment on Sypol CMS. This ensures a particular
method, process or exposure can be represented in the overall assessment; hence,
an assessment can be tailored to the correct work practice methods.

• COSHH Summary Sheet

The COSHH Summary Sheet forms the principal part of the COSHH assessment
and needs to be issued to those whom you anticipate being exposed to the
hazardous material/process. This section details hazards about the material and
most importantly, carries a task-specific evaluation of the risk associated with the
intended method of use or exposure. Control measures for the specific method of
exposure are assigned and are represented by easy to read pictograms which can
be described further in the Assessment Interpretation Manual (AIM) found in the help

pg. 6

section of your Sypol CMS. This section also outlines relevant emergency
procedures to follow in the event of spillage, first aid or fire.
• Multi-task COSHH Summary Sheet
A multi-task COSHH assessment may be done to determine appropriate control
measure requirements for several anticipated exposures to hazardous
substances/processes. This may avoid the need to change PPE as you will
essentially have a master set that suits each component of the task. Similarly, to the
COSHH Summary Sheet, control measures are represented by easy to read
pictograms and emergency procedures are visible too.
• Worker Reference Sheet
The Worker Reference Sheet offers a condensed version of the COSHH Summary
Sheet placing particular emphasis on control measure pictograms and comments as
well as the health hazards of the product/process. It provides employees with all the
necessary information about risks associated with the substance/process and the
required control measures to use in an easy to read format.
• COSHH Control Sheet
The COSHH Control Sheet (CCS) is the part of your COSHH assessment in which
auditable compliance with the regulations is demonstrated. The questions asked on
your CCS document are subjective to the inherent hazards associated with the
product/process involved. These questions must be considered when completing the
final stages of your COSHH assessment as they pertain to topics such as
maintenance of controls, exposure monitoring, health surveillance, emergency
procedures, training and more. Additional evidence supporting your answers to these
questions can be added to the ‘further information’ section of your CCS.

pg. 7

4. Task 1 – Work Area Tools

For this training session you will be given access by your trainer to a training version of
Alcumus Sypol CMS.

Task goals:

• To understand logging into the system and how to recover a forgotten password.
• To understand how to create work areas and sub-work areas, and what the

difference is between them.
• To understand how to edit, archive and unarchive work areas and sub-work areas.

Logging into Sypol CMS

Switch on your computer and load up your internet browser, enter the below address into
your web bar:

cms.sypol.com

Note: There is no need to add the prefix www.

Once you have loaded the website, you should be on the login screen. Your trainer will now
provide you with login details to access the training system.

Login screen for Alcumus Sypol CMS

Enter the details provided to you by your trainer:

COMPANY ID: ________________
USERNAME: ________________
PASSWORD: ________________

Note: The password IS case sensitive. Username and Company ID are not.

pg. 8

Once you have entered the provided details, click ‘Log in’.

Note: You can reset your password from this page by clicking ‘Forgotten Password’. This will send a reset link
to the email address linked to the username to specify. If you ever experience problems accessing Alcumus
Sypol CMS contact your system supervisor, or the Helpdesk on +44 (0)1296 678464 or by e-mail on
[email protected].

1. Click Enter on the
Facility Id assigned by

your trainer.
Using the Main Menu
When you first access the system, you will be directed to the Sypol CMS main menu. This
home screen provides direct links to the most important functions of the system. To return
to this screen at any point click ‘Home’ in the pop out menu as shown below.

The slide out menu can be accessed by
simply hovering over the light blue bar.

pg. 9

Note: The location/size of the pop out menu may change if you are using the system on a mobile device like a
tablet or mobile phone. On smaller screens the pop out menu may need to be accessed by clicking:

While we won’t be seeing it in today’s session, please see overleaf the main menu when
using a tablet or mobile device in the future.

Click this symbol to open
the main menu on a

tablet or mobile device.

You will then be able to access
the functions of the pop out
menu as usual. This can be
minimised by clicking the ‘X’.

pg. 10

Creating a Work Area

For this task, we are going to concentrate on setting up Work Areas to use for our session.
These are the building blocks of Sypol CMS and can be thought of as the folders in which
your assessments will be stored. When using your live system, your assessments will be
based in a system you design, follow the steps below to see how simple it is to set up Work
Areas and Sub-Work Areas.

1. Click on
Work Areas.

2. Click Area
Actions.

3. Click + Create
Work Area.

Note: When adding Work Areas or Sub-Work Areas, you must also add two mandatory fields:
Work Area Name and Work Area Code

pg. 11

4. Enter a Code and Name for your Work Area to make it
easily identifiable for the remainder of the session, for
example, the username you have been assigned.

5. Click Save.

6. Click OK in the
pop-up to confirm.

Note: When using Sypol CMS, you may sometimes see the Work Area Name and other times the Work Area
Code. Therefore, always ensure that both are identifiable to avoid confusion, for example:

Correct
Work Area Code: Lab 1
Work Area Name: Laboratory 1

Incorrect
Work Area Code: 1
Work Area Name: Laboratory 1

The Work Areas you have created should now be visible on the left hand side of your
display. Don’t worry if you see other Work Areas on the system, these have been added by
other delegates on the course. You may now notice that the system is showing either your
Work Area Name or your Work Area Code, follow the next steps to understand how to
change the view of this.

pg. 12

7. Click Area
Actions.

8. Click View Code/Site Name to
switch between the Work Area
Name and Work Area Code.

Creating a Sub-Work Area

On Sypol CMS it is possible to organise your assessments further by adding Sub-Work
Areas to your main Work Areas, follow the below steps to add some Sub Areas to the Work
Areas we just created.

2. Click on Area Actions.

1. Click on the Work
Area you just created.

pg. 13

3. Click + Create Sub Work Area.
4. Enter a Sub Work Area
code and Sub Work Area
Name. Again, ensure these
are easily identifiable.

5. Click Save.

6. Click OK in the
pop-up to confirm.
Repeat the above steps two more times to create 3 Sub Work Areas in total.

pg. 14

Your Work Area and Sub Work Area setup should now look similar to this:

Archiving and Unarchiving Areas

On Sypol CMS there is no level of access that can permanently delete a Work/Sub Work
Area or an Assessment. This is to ensure compliance with the Regulations by retaining
records for an appropriate amount of time. You can, however, archive your areas to remove
them from active view. This may be due to an area no longer being used, to do this follow the
below steps.

Note: If you make a mistake in naming your Work/Sub Work Area, rather than archiving it, you can edit it. Do
this by clicking Area Actions followed by Edit Work/Sub Work Area and change the appropriate details before
saving.

1. Click on SUB AREA 2. Click Area
2 under your Work Area. Actions.

3. Click Archive 4. Click OK to
Work Area. confirm.

pg. 15

5. Click on the expand +
symbol next to your
main Work Area and

you will see SUB AREA
2 has now disappeared.

6. To unarchive the
Sub Work Area, click

on the to open
the search.

7. Change the view from Current to
All. Click your main expand your
main Work Area again and you
should not see your archived Sub

Work Area greyed-out indicating it is
currently in archive, as seen below.

pg. 16

8. Click on the greyed
-out SUB AREA 2

under your work area.

9. Click Area
Actions.

10. Click Unarchive 11. Click OK
Work Area. to confirm.

pg. 17

Task 1 Summary
1. Which login details are case sensitive on Sypol CMS?

Username Password Company ID All of them
2. When creating a work area or sub-work area, which two fields are considered mandatory?

Work Area Name Manager Work Area ID Work Area Code Fax
3. Can you sub-divide a sub-work area?

Yes No

4. What does the following represent?
Reverse Action View Code/Site Name View Archived Areas Print Work Area

5. Which level of access can permanently delete a work area or sub work area?
Editor Viewer No User Coordinator Supervisor

Check the table below to ensure you are fully comfortable with each of the functions
discussed.

FUNCTION UNDERSTOOD?
Logging in to Alcumus Sypol CMS

Creating Work Areas/Sub Work Areas

Archiving Work Areas/Sub Work Areas

Unarchiving Work Areas/Sub Work Areas

pg. 18

5. Task 2 – Creating Assessments

For this task you will be using the system you have designed in task one.
Task Goals:
• To understand the requirements of an exposure scenario and how to gather this
information to make a COSHH assessment request.
• To understand how to request a multi-task assessment and the purpose of doing so.
• To understand how to edit details on a pending request.

Creating an Assessment for an Existing Material
Alcumus Sypol CMS gives you access to over 185,000 materials for which you can request
an assessment for. These previously written assessments are available for you to use as a
subscriber which may mean that you may be able to access an assessment for your task or
exposure immediately.
When using your live system, you will be searching the database for the
materials/processes you need assessing. For today however, we will be using examples,
follow the below steps to add an assessment for an existing material to your Work Areas.

1. Click on Create
Assessment in
the slide menu.

pg. 19

2. If you need more
information about the

steps, click on the
NEED HELP? Button.

3. Begin typing ‘WD-40 multi’ into the text box
below Tradename and click WD-40 MULTI-

USE PRODUCT [AEROSOL] when it appears
in the Search Suggestions drop-down list.

4. Click on material code
2396 as shown below.

5. Click Next.

Note: The colour on the material code column represents a hazard level. This is how hazardous the material
is classified before any exposure occurs. Red: High; Yellow: Medium; Green: Low.

6. This material is on the shared database,
therefore a safety data sheet (SDS) is already
present. On the live system, at this point, you would
check If you have a more recent version available.

8. Click
Next.

7. If you have a more recent version of the SDS – Select YES
If you do not have a more recent version of the SDS – Select NO
If you are requesting an assessment for a material/process that doesn’t

have an SDS i.e. Bird Droppings – Select NOT APPLICABLE.

pg. 20

10. Click
Next.

9. As this material is on the shared database, you may be able
to select from the pre-existing activities. Changed the selection

from NO to YES. Then select activity number 20.

Note: On your live system, you will select the activities from this list that are applicable to your work practice.
It is important to remember that you should not select duplicate activity numbers (ActNo) as this will
unnecessarily use more of your allocation.

11. Having pre-selected the activity, 13. Click
it has automatically been assigned Next.

to your exposure scenario.

12. You must always provide an approximate
quantity. State 50ml in this box and ensure that
Quantity Level matches your selected activity on the
previous page. In this case we will leave it as Normal.

Note: You can MUST if possible, add more information to your exposure scenario during this part of your
request using the detailed fields below that are present at the bottom of your exposure scenario.

• Description of Exposure – A description of what is happening in the task or exposure to provide
more thorough understanding of what the assessment is for;

• Additional Work Practice Information – An opportunity to specify administrative controls (e.g.
Intermittent use) or any other relevant information that may be of use to the user of the assessment;

• Existing Control Measures – An opportunity to include any site specific control measures that are
standard requirements (e.g. Safety Footwear and Hi Vis) on site.

pg. 21

13. You will now see both an acute and chronic
risk rating for your material/exposure method.

14. Click
Next.

15. Now you must assign your request to the

relevant Work Areas. Click each of your Sub Work

Areas, you should then see them on the right side of
your screen under ‘Selected Work Areas’.

16. Click
Next.

Note: When selecting multiple Work/Sub Work Areas, it will duplicate the request which may save on using up
allocation. Duplicate activities will be counted the same in regard to your allocation and may save repeating
the above steps in each different area. However, the work practice must be the same for each Work/Sub
Work Area this assessment is being added to, if it is not then a new request must be written.

17. Click

pg. 22

Creating an Assessment for a New Material
In the previous example, we found the material we wanted (WD-40 Multi-Use Product
[Aerosol]), and an activity that matched our exposure already available on the Alcumus
shared database. In some cases, however, you may not be able to locate a material that
you need assessing on this database. In these instances, you must make a request for a
new assessment, though the process is different, it follows the same steps with some
additional requirements.

1. Click on Create
Assessment in
the slide menu.

2. Type Product X into your search bar.
When you now search, you will find there
are no records found. This signifies we need

to put it through as a new assessment.

3. Click
Next.

pg. 23

4. Being a new material, we need to add some
information about it first, enter the below
details.
Tradename: Product X
Supplier name: 3M
Supplier tele no: 01296 678464
Keyword: Cleaner
Physical State: Liquid

5. Click
Next.

Note: When on your live system, you will find this information on the product packaging itself, or the Safety
Data Sheet (SDS) provided by your supplier.

6. As this is the first request for this material, we
do not currently have an SDS for it. On your live

system, you must select Yes and provide an
SDS in order for us to write the assessment.

8. Here you would browse your files
to select an appropriate upload.

7. Click Upload Files to attach an SDS.

9. For this training, we do 10. Click
not have an SDS, so Next.

changed your answer to No.

pg. 24

11. As this is a new assessment request, no existing
activities are available. Therefore, we must add our exposure
method, enter the below details using the drop down menus.

Method: Diluting
Area: Inside Well Ventilated
Exposure: Up to ½ hour per shift

12. Click Add
Selected
Activity.

13. Enter a quantity of 50ml, also
change the quantity level to Small

using the drop down menu.

14. We also need an application method for our
diluted cleaner. Change the method to Mopping,

then click Add Selected Activity again.

Note: To provide more details 15. Click here to
about the exposure on the live return to the top,
then click Next.
system, you can add a
description of exposure,
additional work practice
information and existing control

measures here.

pg. 25

16. Now you must assign your request to the
relevant Work Areas. Click each of your Sub Work
Areas, you should then see them on the right side of
your screen under ‘Selected Work Areas’.

17. Click
Next.

Note: When selecting multiple Work/Sub Work Areas, it will duplicate the request which may save on using up
allocation. Duplicate activities will be counted the same in regard to your allocation and may save repeating
the above steps in each different area. However, the work practice must be the same for each Work/Sub
Work Area this assessment is being added to, if it is not then a new request must be written.

18. When making a 19. Click
request for a new Next.
material, you must
confirm your contact
details in case we need
to discuss something
about your request.

Note: The regular turnaround is 5 working days for a new assessment. If
you require it back sooner, you may be able to request the assessment

as an emergency here. These are limited to 2 per company ID per
week and must have a justification added before submitting.

pg. 26

20. Click

Managing Assessment Requests in Work/Sub Work Areas
Once you have made a request, you can make changes to it before it has been compiled by Alcumus.
Follow the below steps to change information on your exposure scenario making it more applicable
to your work practice.

1. Click on Work Areas in the menu.

2. Expand your Work
Area, now click into

Sub Area 1.

pg. 27

Note: See the difference between your
requests. Product X is still with Alcumus,
shown by . This means that we can edit this
assessment as it has not yet been compiled.

3. Click to edit
the request details.

4. Click
Next.

pg. 28

6. Click
Next.

5. Change Frequency
of Use to Weekly using

the drop down menu.

6. Click

Creating Assessments for a Multi-Task Request
Now we have seen how to add assessments to Sypol CMS. Next, we are going to add
some more assessments to the training system to build towards a Multi-Task assessment.
Below are the typical details you may be provided with in order to complete an exposure
scenario and put through a request. Using what you have learned in earlier steps of this
task, add an assessment for each of the below materials to your Sub Work Areas.

Note: If you have a material code as well as the tradename, it can help you more easily identify the correct
record to use. In this part of the task, when searching for the tradename, be sure to proceed with the correct
material code.
pg. 29

1)

Tradename: GENERIC - SOFTWOOD (DUST EXPOSURE)

Material code: 265849

Supplier: NOT APPLICABLE

Safety data sheet: No

Exposure scenario:

How are you using it? Sanding, Inside Well Ventilated, ½ to 2 hours per shift

How much of material is used? 4 boards (19x167x2400mm)

Quantity Level: Normal

Frequency of use? Daily

How many people are exposed? 1

Description of Exposure: Area Barriered off during works.

Additional Work Practice Information: Sanding to desired texture before coating.

Existing Control Measures: Gloves, integral extraction, safety footwear.

2)

Tradename: UNDERCOAT

Material code: 265848

Supplier: ICI PAINTS AKZONOBEL

Safety data sheet: No

Exposure scenario:

How are you using it? Hand Applying, Inside Well Ventilated, ½ to 2 hours per shift

How much of material is used? 1L

Quantity Level: Normal

Frequency of use? Daily

How many people are exposed? 1

Additional Work Practice Information: Applying before High Gloss to sanded board.

Existing Control Measures: Gloves, safety footwear.

3)

Tradename: HIGH GLOSS

Material code: 265847

Supplier: ICI PAINTS AKZONOBEL

Safety data sheet: No

Exposure scenario:

How are you using it? Hand Applying, Inside Well Ventilated, 2-4 hours

How much of material is used? Approximately 2L

Quantity Level: Normal

Frequency of use? Daily

How many people are exposed? 1

Additional Work Practice Information: Applying after Undercoat is dry.

Existing Control Measures: Gloves, safety footwear.

Note: In these assessments we have demonstrated the benefit of adding Additional Work Practice
Information as it indicates to the user of the assessment the appropriate order in which to apply the coatings
to the sanded boards as well as reminding them to ensure barriers are present in any case during sanding of
the boards to present others from being indirectly exposed to airborne dust particles.

pg. 30

Your Sub Work Areas should now look similar to the image below:

Creating a Multi-Task Assessment Request
In order to utilise this functionality, you first must make sure you have assessments on your
Sypol CMS for all stages you wish to include in the multi-task.

Note: The different stages may have differences in their exposure scenarios. However, the frequency of use
must be the same for all stages i.e. if there are three stages, each original assessment must have a frequency
of Daily.

You should now have the required assessments in your Sub Work Areas to create a multi-
task assessment request for decorating office skirting boards, follow the below steps to
complete a multi-task assessment request.

1. Enter your Sub Work Areas.

pg. 31

2. Click on
Action.

3. Click on Create Multi-
Task Assessment.

4. Name your multi-task assessment
Decorating Office Skirting Boards.

5. Click
Next.

pg. 32

7. Click Add
assessment.

6. Select the assessments you created earlier,
High Gloss, Undercoat and Generic –

Softwood (Dust Exposure) as shown here.

8. Now adjust the order of your selected 9. Click
Next.
assessments into the anticipated stages using the

arrows. In this task, we will first sand the skirting
boards, therefore, place Generic – Softwood (Dust

Exposure) first. Then ensure Undercoat is second.

pg. 33

10. You already have assessments
for the individual stages on the
system, therefore, a new SDS is
not required. Select No.

11. Click
Next.

When requesting a multi-task assessment, you must include more information to ensure that
the assessment of risk is fully accurate. For this stage add the below statements to your
request:

• Description of multi-task assessment: Decorating softwood skirting boards within
the main office.

• Additional Work Practice Information: Task to include preparation of softwood
skirting boards by sanding, before applying surface coatings in the following order:
Undercoat – High Gloss

• Existing Control Measures: Work wear, gloves, goggles, good general ventilation,
integral extraction, RPE.

12. Click
Next.

pg. 34

13. Confirm your
contact details.

14. Click
Next.

15. Click

16. Click Work Areas and
return to Sub Area 1.

pg. 35

Your Sub Work Area should now look similar to below:

Task 2 Summary
1. Which of the following is a mandatory field on the exposure scenario?

Method Exposure Approximate Quantity Area All of Them
2. If you have a dilution ratio for your assessment which section would you include it in?

Description of Exposure Additional Work Practice Existing Control Measures
Information

3. How many emergency requests can be requested from a company ID per week?
35142

Continue overleaf.

pg. 36

Note: It is important to remember that an exposure scenario should represent distinct work
methods or practices to be carried out during one working shift (Example A). Rather than
having tasks that may be done in different shifts all on one single exposure scenario (Example
B). The purpose of this is to ensure the risk ratings best reflect your exposure, as in example
B the ratings are likely to be higher due to the assumption that within one working shift there
are many more exposures to consider.

Example A

Example B

Check the table below to ensure you are fully comfortable with each of the functions
discussed:

FUNCTION UNDERSTOOD?
Creating a new COSHH assessment

Creating a multi-task assessment

Editing the details on a pending request

pg. 37

Material/Proces Hazard Pictograms Exposure limits: Shows the Facility ID Ill health Additional
s name, and and Rating using our shows you the and Work Area(s) in effects which actions to
supplier – traffic light system: could occur if consider
make sure the maximum which the exposure is under this
assessment Red/Amber/ Green concentration of a assessment is found, exposure
reflects substance in air that will also include the not scenario –
matches those adequately please refer
being used. High/Medium/Low should not be material code (as controlled.
hazard. exceeded. shown on the far to the
COSHH
right). Control
6. COSHH Summary Sheet Explained Sheet.
Physical
State: Solid,pg. 38 A step by
liquid, gas, step
semi-solid,
aerosol fume, procedure
multipack. to follow
should an
Signal word: uncontrolle
Warning, d release
Danger or
None. occur.

Risk Rating Initial first
for the aid

individual treatment
activity or full before
expert
(acute and medical
chronic)
exposure advice or
using our specific
precautions
traffic light are given.
system:

Red/Amber/
Green reflects
High/Medium/

Low risk.

How and Internationally Additional The reference (usually Customisable logo – Immediate
where the recognisable comments to the date) of the Safety upload you company precautions
product is control measure clarify the exact
used and the pictograms nature of the Data Sheet or logo to the to take in
anticipated required to information source assessment. Contact the event of
exposure prevent ill health. exposure used to compile the
scenario. the helpdesk on a small
time. assessment. +44(0)1296 678464 for scale fire

details. before
trained fire

fighters
arrive.

7. Task 3 – Completing and Printing Assessments

For this task you will be using the Work/Sub Work Areas and assessments you created in
tasks one and two.

Task Goals:

• To understand how to complete the final steps of a COSHH assessment by
answering COSHH Control Sheet (CCS) questions.

• To understand how to tailor a COSHH assessment.
• To understand how to print a COSHH assessment.

Viewing Assessment Details in Your Work/Sub Work Areas

In the previous task we created COSHH assessments for a number of different scenarios
on different materials. You will usually wait 5 working days for an assessment to be
returned to you, returned assessments can be identified by a green tick located under the
Exposure Scenario (EXP) column.

Now that the assessment is in your Work/Sub Work Area, we can view the control
information for that assessment on screen, do this following the steps below.

1. Return to your Sub
Work Area and click
on your High Gloss

assessment.

pg. 39

2. Click the tab
marked Activities.

3. Click on the activity for Hand Applying, Inside Well Ventilated, 2-4
hours per shift to view the control measures for this assessment.

4. Clicking the ‘i’ symbol will provide a
detailed description of the control measure.

5. Notice that you have several other
tabs that you can click to view more
information about your assessment.

pg. 40

Searching for Your Assessments
Searching for assessments in your Work/Sub Work Areas can be done a variety of ways
with varying levels of detail. To quickly access specific assessments, you can search from
the home screen, follow the below steps to search for your WD-40 assessment from your
home screen.

1. Click Home on the slide out menu.

2. The main search bar will contain the phrase, What are you looking
for? From here you can search for any assessment on your Sypol CMS

system. Using tradename, material code or assessment ID plus other
options. Type WD-40 to locate your assessment created in task two.

3. Click on the assessment for WD-40 MULTI-USE PRODUCT [AEROSOL].
Next, we will see how to use the advanced search function. Using this function, you can
search for your assessments using specific H-phrases, CAS numbers, activity methods and
much more. Follow the below steps to learn how to best utilise this functionality.

pg. 41

4. Click Work Areas on the slide out menu.
5. Select your
Sub Area 1.

6. Click to Hide
Work Areas.

7. Scroll up and click

on to access the
advanced search.

pg. 42

8. You will now see the
advanced search options.

9. Click on the search box next to CAS
number and enter 124-38-9. This is
the CAS number for Carbon dioxide.

10. Click on the
search button .

11. This presents you with a list of all
assessments containing Carbon dioxide
as a constituent. This is a quick way of
identifying undesirable chemicals on site.

pg. 43

12. Delete the CAS number for the 13. Click on the
search field and then click on the All H search button .
Phrases field. This will bring up a list of
all possible Hazard statements, select
H226 Flammable liquid and vapour.

14. This will present you with a list of all the
substances that have the classification H226.
This can identify chemicals with specific hazards,
such as flammables, oxidisers and carcinogens.

Completing a COSHH Control Sheet

Once an assessment has been returned from Alcumus and the EXP column has a green
tick, you must then complete the COSHH Control Sheet (CCS) as the final stage of
creating an assessment on your Sypol CMS. An assessment that has not had a CCS
completed can be identified by the symbol. Complete a CCS following the below steps.

1. Click View
Work Areas.

2. Click into your
Sub Area 1.

3. Alongside WD-40 MULTI-USE PRODUCT
[AEROSOL], click to open the CCS.

Note: The questions found on your CCS are not legal obligations, however, you are legally required to
consider whether they are necessary actions.

pg. 44

4. Review the questions 5. Click Save once
and answer appropriately. all questions have
been answered.

Note: Use the below descriptions to assist to you with deciding which answer best fits.

• Yes – You can definitively confirm an action has been taken or considered.
• No – You can definitively confirm an action has been considered but deemed unnecessary, this must

be justified by adding a justification to Further Information.
• Not Yet Determined – You are unable to definitively answer, therefore, will check and confirm at

another time.

6. Your assessment should now have a green
tick under the CCS column which shows the

CCS has been completed for this record.

Note: You may notice if you have selected a Not Yet Determined answer in your CCS the symbol is not a
green tick but rather orange circle with a ‘?’. The reason for this is to ensure that the assessment is flagged for
additional action and is easily identifiable when you review the actions of the CCS. When you have been able
to determine a definitive answer, click on the symbol and changed to applicable answer to Yes or No.

Tailoring Assessments Using the PPE Database

While the assessments provided by Alcumus state the specific type of PPE to be used, it will
be a grade, material or filter type rather than a brand or model. In some cases, it may be
easier for operatives to understand and accept ownership of the COSHH assessments if their
own brand or model of PPE is represented on the assessment, this can be done using the
PPE database, allowing you to tailor the gloves, eyewear, skin protection and Respiratory
Protective Equipment (RPE), follow steps below to learn how to tailor these control measures.

pg. 45

1. Navigate to your Sub
Area 1 and click your

assessment for High Gloss.

2. Click
Activities.
3. Click View Controls
to see the controls for
this specific activity.

pg. 46

4. Click the Polythene or
Nitrile glove pictogram.

5. Change the view
from Favourites to All.

6. The resulting list offers nitrile glove
types/models from various manufacturers

available on our PPE database. Select
14A06 Chemical Green Nitrile from the list.

7. Click
Action.

pg. 47

8. Click
Select PPE.

9. Click OK in the pop-up box
to assign the selected PPE.

Note: If your company uses the same brands of PPE and RPE cross the whole system, you can add the different
types of PPE into a favourites list. This can be done through the action button while in the PPE database.

10. The specific type/model of glove
has now been assigned and will
show on the COSHH Summary

Sheet and Worker Reference Sheet.

Note: If you cannot find the PPE/RPE you are looking for on the database then please contact the Helpdesk on
+44 (0)1296 678464 or by e-mail on [email protected]. All items of PPE/RPE assigned
using the PPE database are the responsibility of the subscriber.

Printing an Assessment
Although we can view the full details of our assessment on screen, we will not always have
access to a computer or mobile device on site to access the online platform. Follow the below
steps to print off a PDF version of your assessment which can be printed as a hard copy too.

pg. 48

1. Within your work area, click your
GENERIC – SOFTWOOD (DUST

EXPOSURE) assessment.

2. Click Action.
3. Click Print Assessment.

4. Click Print.

pg. 49