3 ways to automate a dermatitis risk assessment

#1 - Simple assessment

Who it's for: Single-site businesses recording the dermatitis risk assessment themselves, where you know the roles and just need a clear, structured record.

What it is: An occupational dermatitis risk assessment records each source of skin contact, the people it could harm, the controls in place, and any further action. This version is structured around the 5 areas a thorough assessment should cover: the causes of skin contact and wet work, the measures to reduce that contact, the protection provided once contact cannot be avoided, the checks for early signs of skin damage, and any further control measures. Each area is a small group of three prompts written for that area. Skin contact and wet work asks you to identify the causes, decide who might be harmed and how, and evaluate the skin contact risks and decide on precautions; Monitoring for early signs asks about the checks in place and who could be missed by them; and so on through all 5, so every question tells you exactly what it's about. In the UK, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require employers to assess and control risks from substances that damage skin.

In practice: A commercial kitchen works down the 5 areas. Under Skin contact and wet work: the causes (pot wash, prolonged contact with detergents), who's at risk (kitchen porters), and the precautions (waterproof gloves with cotton liners, rotating the role, moisturiser available at the sink). Under Monitoring for early signs: managers ask about skin health at return-to-work meetings, and a visual guide goes up by the hand-washing station. Three short answers per area, and the whole team's exposure gets covered.

Why it works: The 5 areas follow the same logic occupational health guidance recommends: identify the exposure, reduce it, protect against what's left, and check for early signs, so nothing gets missed. And splitting each area into three prompts means nobody has to remember what a good answer contains; the structure asks for causes, people, and precautions separately, which is what makes the record defensible.

Steps included:

• 5 assessment areas: from the causes of skin contact through to further control measures
• Each area is a group of 3 prompts written for it: identify the causes or controls, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Businesses where a manager, not a safety specialist, completes the assessment and needs the method in front of them.

What it is: The same 5 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries its own written guidance: why that area matters and what to check before you answer. The Skin contact and wet work group carries the guidance on which roles typically face which causes; the Skin protection group carries what "accessible" actually means for moisturiser and gloves; the Monitoring for early signs group carries why checks need to happen monthly, not just once a year.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. Guidance for every area, on screen exactly where you answer it
2. What to check before answering, not just a blank box
3. An assessment that's consistent whoever completes it

Why it works: Generic guidance at the top of a form gets skimmed once and forgotten by area 3. Guidance attached to each area gets read at the moment it's needed, so a manager who isn't a safety specialist still asks the right questions about glove suitability, moisturiser accessibility, and how often to check in with staff.

Steps included:

• The 5 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 5 guidance notes, one per area: why it matters and what to check

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses that want visual proof of each area's condition alongside the written record.

What it is: The same 5 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries a photo step. As you assess each area you photograph it: the pot wash station, the glove and cream point, the training log, the hand-washing station. The record shows the condition of each area at the time, not just a description of it.

In practice: A kitchen manager works through the assessment with their phone. At Reducing skin contact they photograph the automatic soap dispenser and the gloves on the shelf; at Skin protection, the moisturiser station by the sink; at Monitoring for early signs, the visual guide on the wall. Every answer now has a picture next to it.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. A photo per area, captured as you assess it
2. Proof of conditions that holds up to an inspector, not just a written claim
3. A visual baseline to compare against at the next review

Why it works: A written assessment says the moisturiser station is stocked; a photo shows it. When the assessment is reviewed next year, the photos also show what changed. And because the photo step sits with its area, the evidence files itself against the right risk instead of landing in a camera roll.

Steps included:

• The 5 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 5 photo steps, one per area: the hazard or the control in place, captured at the time

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the same 5-area assessment; the additions change who can run it and what the record proves.

Do other people run the assessment?

If you run it yourself and know the method, the plain steps are enough: #1. The moment a manager who isn't a safety specialist does it, the guidance needs to be on screen next to each area: #2.

Do you need photo proof?

A written assessment meets the duty; photos show the actual condition of each area. If a written record is enough, #1 or #2. If you want the glove station, the moisturiser point, and the training log on camera next to their answers, #3.

Need both? Open the version that matters most in the playground and add the other's steps. That is how the product works anyway: every option here is the same assessment with steps added.

Related workflows

• COSHH risk assessment - detergents and sanitisers in COSHH terms
• Kitchen risk assessment - the wider kitchen assessment
• Personal hygiene - hand-washing and skin care for food safety

Conclusion

Occupational dermatitis is common, painful, and preventable, and it builds up slowly on the people doing the most wet work. Every version above is the same 5 areas a thorough assessment should cover, each a group of three prompts; the additions put guidance or a photo inside every area's group. Pick the one your business needs and build on it in the playground.

→ Build your own dermatitis assessment on Pilla.