Asbestos in buildings - A brief for senior premises portfolio managers

Asbestos kills at least 3,000 people every year in the UK, and the numbers are rising. But there is a real change in the picture that this paints - because what was once a threat to workers in manufacturing (and overseas in mining as well), has become a real risk to health for people engaged in building maintenance. Already a quarter of those dying worked in the building trades - as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, joiners, shop fitters. Blue and brown asbestos are now banned substances, they cannot be imported or used, but along with white asbestos there still remains tonnes of this killer in buildings erected before 1980.

Unless in the future we adopt working practices which assume that exposure to asbestos in these buildings is likely, we shall all be at risk of inhaling fibres that can cause mesothelioma. It is this danger of cancer, and an inoperable and invariably fatal cancer at that, which demands the attention of every professional premises manager.

Read more..... as Steve McCrorie, Head of Occupational Health & Hygiene at Sypol, part of the Alcumus Group discusses the right way to deal with asbestos in premises

Sypol's stress management programme helps Forth Road Bridge

FETA, which already uses Sypol’s CMS COSHH Management System for hazardous substances management, has worked with Sypol again by choosing SMS, its work-related stress management system that sets out “six steps to success” to achieve compliance and best practice.
The programme led the organisation through a simple process of identifying the areas that would gain the most benefit from reduced pressure on the workforce. Involving employees to reinforce the message that their opinions are valued was a key part of the approach.

Completion of the “six steps” has enabled FETA to put in place an effective action plan to manage the causes of stress along with an organisational stress risk assessment, which is a legal requirement.

And the programme has had the added benefit of assisting FETA to prioritise business improvements, taking into account the views of employees on what would benefit the organisation as a whole, so that they feel they are partners in the process and that their opinions are valued.

Barry Colford, Chief Engineer and Bridge Master of the Forth Road Bridge, said: ” When we began to look at stress management as an organisation, I was unsure of the benefit this would bring.

“However, after completing the SMS stress management programme ‘steps to success’, the business and organisational benefits have been apparent and the programme has aided us in prioritising our own business improvement plan.”

Noisy work

Exposure monitoring for noise identifies a number of activities which produce high noise levels, but also shows that operatives undertaking what would be deemed 'low risk' work also receive significant noise exposure when working on projects where the superstructure is complete or the work is performed on multiple faces of the structure.

This knowledge has allowed contractors to appreciate the severity of the risk from noise exposure and put suitable control/reduction measures in place. One of our Principal Contractors has even purchased their own noise monitoring kit to allow them to take regular measurements - training was provided by Sypol to ensure the correct use of equipment.

Good practice in controlling noise has been identified regularly and that knowledge passed on to other contractors. For example, the use of baffle boxes for cold cut saws was seen on site - a guidance document has since been created by Sypol to allow other contractors to build their own box.

Many contractors have undertaken audiometry for their employees and also provided suitable hearing protection based on the octave band analysis performed during the noise survey.

Congratulations Steve

We are pleased to announce that last week Steve McCrorie, our Head of Occupational Health & Hygiene became the proud father of a bouncing baby boy called Callum.

Lead based paint avoidance

Whilst we've been working with a Principal Contractor, we identified the painting of roof steels on a construction site as a potential occupational health risk. Investigation into the materials being used showed that a lead based primer had been stipulated by the designers to be used for this task.

Having spoken to the designers to identify the specification requirements for this primer, we then consulted with the suppliers of the paint to find any healthier alternative which will have the same specifications. The outcome ultimately was that three alternative non-lead based primers were sourced, resulting in no exposure to lead and lower exposure to hazardous substances.

A good example of how to eliminate exposure at the front end, rather than using PPE to protect the workers.

How training works in practice

The Sypol OH Team have supplied more than 500 personnel on major construction projects with asbestos awareness training in line with HSE recommendations and campaigns on asbestos awareness in construction trades over the past 18 months.

On one occasion contractors on site uncovered a redundant water pipe and were about to cut through it when the supervisor (having recently sat the Sypol asbestos awareness training) identified that the material was likely to contain asbestos. Work was halted and samples were taken. The pipe was confirmed as asbestos cement and was subsequently removed and disposed of safely.

Partnership with Crossrail raises health profile in construction

Health and safety management and commercial productivity in construction are not always considered to be a marriage made in heaven, yet the benefits of robust HS&E management are undisputed and achievable. Together Crossrail and Sypol have shown that with the will to achieve world class standards and the support of specialist expertise, a major construction project can operate with a fully integrated approach to a health, safety and efficiency.

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