As a contractor your people are likely to be visiting large numbers of sites where they are unfamiliar with all details of the property. It’s important they are aware that a large number of properties built prior to 2000 will still contain asbestos even if they have been subsequently refurbished.
It’s your legal duty as the employer to protect your people by making sure they have received asbestos awareness training and are adequately informed before visiting site.
The law also requires that they are given access to a copy of the asbestos register at the site they are attending so they are aware of the presence of any asbestos and its location prior to commencing any work that may put themselves or others at risk.
“One in three construction workers have never seen an asbestos register”
IOSH
Unfortunately, in many instances this doesn’t always happen. Each year there are thousands of often unreported accidental disturbances of asbestos containing materials by contractors carrying out minor works. Unfortunately, the site contractor does not know that asbestos is present and has never seen the asbestos register. These contractors are the most likely people to be putting themselves and others at risk.
“There are no safe levels of exposure to any type of asbestos fibre” OSHA
By encouraging your clients to enrol their properties into UKNAR using Asbestos SMART technology you can help change this, safeguarding your people and helping protect your business from costly claims. This video link show how easy it is for them to use. You can also make a difference by copying and distributing the link to others.