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#1 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:21:00(UTC)
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Posted By JWG Is there a requirement, for due diligence reasons, to insist that sub-contractors have received sufficient asbestos training. Is it covered in the CSCS training? Many thanks...
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#2 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis It is a legal requirement of regulation 10 of CAR 2006. The syllabus is set out and the persons requiring the training are clearly defined. Bob
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#3 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Chris L Regulation 10 of the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR2006) sets out requirements for suitable awareness training of any personnel who may encounter asbestos during their work. From what I have heard, the CSCS element would not generally be sufficient. The easiest way to find a suitable trainer would be to find an organisation registered by UKATA, but training can be given by anyone competent to do so.
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#4 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis Sorry It is not part of CSCS syllabus. Bob
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#5 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:28:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis The general awareness training does not necessarillty require a UKATA member - you do need to monitor who is training though and the general standard of the tuition. Bob
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#6 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Raymond Rapp Playing Devil's advocate - training could be quite basic, such as a TBT, could it not?
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#7 Posted : 16 January 2009 16:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By Chris L A TBT may indeed be adequate - The requirement we have in place for our contractors is that it is suitable & sufficient. Someone who comes in to cut the grass doesn't need the same level of awareness as a general building contractor. Unfortunately more than one building contractor has told me that they don't need any asbestos awareness training, as they never encounter it due to it all being removed before they begin works. Hmmmm.......
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#8 Posted : 17 January 2009 09:16:00(UTC)
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Posted By JWG Many thanks for your comments. Sorry I don't think I made the question very clear. Scenario: A building contractor send their employees has received asbestos awareness training - which is fine. On some occasions they use sub-contractors to carryout work on their behalf. As well as making sure they are competent to carryout the work, does the main contractor have to insist that the sub-contractors have received asbestos awareness training? If the subcontractors haven't and they do not want too, where does that main contractor stand?
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#9 Posted : 17 January 2009 13:17:00(UTC)
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Posted By Raymond Rapp JWG, another very good thread. It appears from the CAR 2006 (4)(a) that the employer (and main contractors) have an explicit duty to ensure that others such as subbies are suitably trained in asbestos awareness when working for them as they would if they were employees. Unless I have misread the regulation below - I thought the authorities were supposed to write in plain English! (4) Where a duty is placed by these Regulations on an employer in respect of his employees, he shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, be under a like duty in respect of any other person, whether at work or not, who may be affected by the work activity carried out by the employer except that the duties of the employer— (a)under regulation 10 (information, instruction and training) shall not extend to persons who are not his employees unless those persons are on the premises where the work is being carried out; and...
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#10 Posted : 19 January 2009 11:44:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson Basically person who 'manages' the building has a statutory duty to inform anyone who may be likely to come into contact with his asbestos and ensure they are suitably trained. Anybody whose job is likely to involve disturbing the fabric of a building must be awareness trained. A TBT is in the initial stages totally inadequate!! it may be used as a refresher. Gardner cutting the grass does not need asbestos training You should be using a UKATA member organisation to do this for you - although not a legal requirement but like IPAF / PASMA etc very good practice.
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#11 Posted : 19 January 2009 12:48:00(UTC)
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Posted By graeme12345 JWG, how did you ensure that your contractor was competent to carry out the work in the first place? you should insist if your contractor employs others to carry out work for them they should apply the same to any others they employ. Put that in writing and file. If you employ others to work for you, you are liable if something goes wrong, how would you prove everything is in order on your site when an accident / incident has occurred?
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#12 Posted : 19 January 2009 13:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Malcolm Greenhouse Copied below (I wish we could add attachments) is the section of the site log book I use to control asbestos training of contractors. Site log book asbestos section. WARNING If a contractor appears disinterested in reading this section and taking notice of the possible locations of asbestos containing materials then you should stop them from working and report the incident to the safety advisor. Asbestos Section This section contains the asbestos survey results for the site. All persons intending to carry out work to the fabric or services of the site must ensure that they are familiar with the locations were asbestos is deemed to be present and take appropriate action. To help and assist with this a list of identified asbestos containing material locations is listed on the next page. However all contractors / tradesman are expected to have undertaken an asbestos awareness course within the last twelve months and they should use that knowledge to assess their work location and not rely on our visual survey results as having identified all possible asbestos containing locations. If asbestos is suspected in any other location then work must stop and appropriate action taken. All contractors must read this section and sign to say that they have read and understood it and that they have been trained in the last twelve months in asbestos awareness. Name of person (Please print) Persons Signature Name of Firm Date Identified Potential Asbestos Containing Materials Locations. This list is based on a type one survey of the premises, some locations may have had a type two survey to confirm the presence of asbestos, and if that is the case it will be indicated. A copy of any survey or analysis results should be kept in this section of the site log book with the masters held by technical services. Name of Site ………………………… Location of material and brief description Type 1 survey Type 2 survey If it is claimed that there are no Asbestos Containing Materials on site then a statement to that effect needs to be made below. Has not copied with page formatting but hopefully you will get the drift of what I am trying to do.
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#13 Posted : 19 January 2009 13:36:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis Malcolm I think your site team need a little more than this. One should actively request sight of the training certificate or presume that persons are not trained. I would be a little uneasy about the statement concernimng visual survey. You are effectively admitting to an inadequate assessment re asbestos in the structure. I applaud the underlying idea to emphasise to contractors/operatives just where things are known to exist. Remember if there is no analysis then crocidolite has to be assumed for any suspect material. Bob
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#14 Posted : 20 January 2009 08:43:00(UTC)
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Posted By Raymond Rapp Partly in response to this thread I have been updating our site induction via a PP presentation. On this particular project we use many contractors and contract staff, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to assess the level of asbestos awareness training they may have had. In order to avoid death by PowerPoint, I have kept the update on asbestos to 4 slides. All work on site is properly managed and approved, with a an asbestos register and type 3 surveys where necessary and a TBTs. I think my response to asbestos awareness is proportionate, given the low risk of accidental contact with the substance. Interested in your views. Ray
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#15 Posted : 20 January 2009 13:09:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ron Hunter Malcolm, some good words in your text ( I particularly like the "appearing disnterested" bit!) however there is no real point (and an attendant risk) in having a contractor turn up to work on areas where only a Type 1 Survey has been conducted. Time is money, and this could invite the contractor to take an incorrect approach. If your Type 1 'presumed' the materials were ACM, then this should be confirmed (or refuted) by sample and analysis before the contractor turns up so that the correct approach to the work can be taken. The limitations of any Asbestos Register should always be highlighted on the front page, particularly where hitherto unexplored areas (ducts,cavities,voids etc.) not covered by a Type 2 Survey could be disturbed.
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#16 Posted : 20 January 2009 13:27:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson YES YES YES & YES AGAIN. A company who delivers a UKATA Asbestos Awareness course if done in accordance with Reg 10 is a full 1/2 a day and should be a good mix of theory , practical and team work (Course material and presenter are audited). This can then be done and refreshed the following year by a TBT. With all due respect 1/2 hour and four slides you must be having a laugh. Would you let that bloke use a boom lift, some gadgy in the office showed me how to use it! without the relevant ticket from IPAF? - NO! I do sympathise that this is a new legal requirement and is a massive project for all employers, but not a lot of H&S people have the domain knowledge in asbestos - this is a very specialised subject and requires very specialised people - USE a UKATA Company and if you think they are crap then let UKATA know and they will deal with it. This UKATA is just not some badging exercise the courses are audited by experiences people to a SET STANDARD "BEFORE" BEING ALLOWED TO BECOME A MEMBER. people are still using slides with CAWR 02 and Licensing Regs etc on them and expect them to get past the standards committe. You can die from that asbestos sink pad is another one - MY ADVICE IS USE A PROFESSIONAL!!!
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#17 Posted : 20 January 2009 13:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson PS look on the HSE notices data base to see the number of IN flying around for insufficient training, this is part of the HSE FIT 3 campaign
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#18 Posted : 20 January 2009 17:34:00(UTC)
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Posted By water67. Hi, the HSE have produced a good basic training package on asbestos awareness which, can be completed as an extended tool box talk to staff who may come into contact with asbestos..but remember the primary protection is the absolute requirement to have asbestos surveys completed to the relevant level (type 2 or 3), for properties. thus preventing accidental exposure Cheers
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#19 Posted : 21 January 2009 08:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson Monday 19 January 2009 14:32 Health and Safety Executive (West Midlands) HSE warns: exposing untrained workers to asbestos will be penalised (following prosecution of West Midlands company) The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning that firms exposing workers to asbestos would be penalised. It added that electrical contracting companies and other building and refurbishment trades must provide suitable asbestos awareness training to employees or face prosecution. This move follows the HSE prosecution of Scriven Electrical Contractors Ltd of Cornwallis Road, West Bromwich for failing to ensure that adequate information, instruction and training was given to its employees. The court heard that an electrician employed by Scriven installed three heat detectors and associated cabling in a commercial sized kitchen and boiler room of premises in Barclay Road, Smethwick. Although the ceiling tiles contained 5-50% brown asbestos no asbestos awareness training was given by his employer prior to commencement of the work, despite a legal requirement. Scriven Electrical Contractors Ltd was, on 19 January, 2009, under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,757 in costs, by West Bromwich Magistrates for breaching Regulation 10(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. Speaking after the case, HSE inspector John Healy said: "Scrivens should have known of the dangers and the legal requirement to give sufficient training to protect employees from exposure to asbestos because 98% of their work involves the risk of encountering asbestos. "Those responsible for employees ordinarily have a legal duty to protect their health and safety but, in the case of asbestos those involved in building or refurbishment must know that any disturbance of such a dangerous material should only be completed by trained workers." Electricians, plasterers, plumbers and carpenters are all at risk of exposure to asbestos in buildings erected or refurbished before the year 2000 and across the whole of the West Midlands Region one person dies a painful death every three days from mesothelioma and these deaths are almost exclusively people who have previously been exposed to asbestos. The number of asbestos-related workplace deaths exceeds the figure of deaths in road accidents but many workers, particularly tradesmen, think that they are not personally at risk of exposure to asbestos or the diseases it can cause. They think that since asbestos was banned many years ago, the problem has been dealt with and therefore it is not relevant to them. The reality is very different. Exposure to asbestos is the biggest single cause of work-related deaths, with around 4,000 people a year dying from asbestos-related disease. The overall number of deaths is rising because a large number of workers who have already been exposed to asbestos dust around 40 years ago will go on to develop mesothelioma, a terminal cancer or other asbestos related diseases. Today asbestos still presents a real and relevant risk to plumbers, joiners, electricians and many other maintenance workers as it may be present in any building constructed or refurbished before the year 2000. It is estimated that around 500,000 non-domestic buildings could contain asbestos and these buildings all need repair and maintenance work from time to time but when the asbestos fibres are disturbed, for example by drilling or cutting, they are likely to be inhaled as a deadly dust. Notes to Editors The prosecution was brought under: Regulation 10(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 which states that: "Every employer shall ensure that adequate information, instruction and training is given to those of his employees- (a) who are or who are liable to be exposed to asbestos, or who supervise such employees, so that they are aware of- (i) the properties of asbestos and its effects on health, including its interaction with smoking, (ii) the types of products or materials likely to contain asbestos, (iii) the operations which could result in asbestos exposure and the importance of preventive controls to minimise exposure, (iv) safe work practices, control measures, and protective equipment, (v) the purpose, choice, limitations, proper use and maintenance of respiratory protective equipment, (vi) emergency procedures, (vii) hygiene requirements, (viii) decontamination procedures, (ix) waste handling procedures, (x) medical examination requirements, and (xi) the control limit and the need for air monitoring, in order to safeguard themselves and other employees." Can all of this LEGAL REQUIREMENT be done as a TBT - IMHO NO!
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#20 Posted : 21 January 2009 08:39:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis DW Fully agree with you. Those who regard a short 15min session as sufficient initial training are opening themselves to potential posecution. Given that there are 10 persons to a course the per capita cost is not great, usually less than £30-40 per head. CITB scope companies will get grant support as well that will defray costs. Bob
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