Once dermal exposure risk assessment has been completed, then the process of managing any risks that have been identified must commence. The aim must be to reduce any risks of damage to health due to dermal exposure to a level that is considered acceptable. In doing so there are several important considerations:

- We should concentrate upon controlling the process rather than the person,
- The controls introduced should be simple and, ideally, have only a beneficial effect upon productivity,
- The cost of introducing the control techniques should be kept as low as possible,
- The techniques should be acceptable to the worker and be ones that he or she cannot easily circumvent.

There are several valid reasons why we should concentrate upon controlling the process rather than relying upon controlling the person, the latter also including the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves. In essence, what we must seek to achieve is to structure the workplace, the equipment used and the way in which the process is conducted so that the workplace is intrinsically safe and does not rely upon the actions of the worker to ensure his or her safety. In achieving this, however, we must take account of cost of control measures and the need not to introduce measures that have an adverse effect upon productivity or operating costs.

In practice, there are many simple methods that can be used to achieve our aims. What is required is firstly an understanding of the actual process and then a knowledge of what equipment or techniques are available to us. Lateral thinking can often suggest original methods for controlling exposure independent of the worker.

Several case studies from different industries will demonstrate how simple changes to the process or the equipment can have significant benefits in eliminating or reducing exposure to an acceptable level. In many cases the cost of introducing such controls had no adverse effect on either productivity nor operating costs. Indeed, the result of introducing these changes can be shown to have the opposite effect, that of increasing productivity and/or reducing operating costs.

Guidelines will be proposed to assist in developing a pragmatic and effective approach to dermal exposure risk management.