Archive February 2012

Asbestos Event: HSE/Bradford

For those involved with the management of Asbestos there is an event happening on March 20th. Go to Asbestos Where is it? for more information.
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Housebuilding Getting a 'Push' From Govenment

We understand that the government is going to help new home buyers get on that first rung of the ladder in the housing market. This is an interesting objective. House building has slowed considerably over the last two years as can be demonstarted from the lack of activity around building sites all over the conuntry. This new objective will hopefully start the wheels turning and pump some much needed funding into housing development. For those of you interested in more informtion on this go to Affordable...
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Construction Company Fined: Roof Fall

A construction company has been fined £30,000 this week for breaking work at height regulations after a man was injured in a seven metre fall from a roof. The incident happened to Romanian worker Vasile Ionel Vatca whilst he was employed on the refurbishment of a property in Belgravia, London. The work being carried out on the site included a roof replacement. Read more London construction company fined after worker badly injured.
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HSE Clampdown: Month Long Campaign

Be aware that construction sites are being targeted between 20th February and 16th March 2012 as part of an intensive inspection initiative. They will be targetting high-riskactivity and working from height to mention a few. The aim is to reiterate the need for better awareness for all parties, clean and tidy sites, clear access routes, as well as evidence of site waste management. For more on this go to HSE campaign targets refurb sites.
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Underground: Deadly Asbestos 'all over the place'

The IBTimes reports that a Tube worker stated 'asbestos is all over the place on London Underground'. I am sure that many of us travel via the tube on a regular basis and this news may well not be a surprise for a few of us. The age of the underground is such that it would have been common place to use asbestos during the building of services. For their part TfL has said that there are strict controls in place, in line with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and that are strict training requirements...
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Annual Conference 2012 Speaker Synopses

Professor Ragnar Löfstedt Director for Kings Centre for Risk ManagementKings College London Ragnar is well known in the industry, in particular for risk management. His pedigree is substantial, having studied round the world he had added to his knowledge and experience regarding risk management within several arenas including renewable energy policy, trans-boundary environmental issues (acid rain and nuclear power), telecommunications, biosafety, and the siting of building of incinerators,...
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Newsletter - February 2012

The February 2012 edition of the Ai Solutions Newsletter is now available: February Newsletter.
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UK Construction Workers To Strike?

Press TV state in a recent article that UK Construction workers at Balfour Beatty have voted 'overwhelmingly' to strike over the termination of long-held agreements and de-skilling. This action, organised by Unite, could have a serious impact on larger construction projects. Unite says that the termination of long-held agreements will lead to de-skilling of workers and pay cuts of up to 30 percent, along with poorer terms and conditions for key construction staff. For more on this article...
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Asbestos Inspections Planned: Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire District Council's Environmental and Community Health team will be targeting businesses across Huntingdonshire; their planned Asbestos Inspections are being done to ensure that businesses are not exposing employees to potentially harmful asbestos fibres, and are complying with their duty to manage any asbestos present in their premises. Will this mean other Local Authorities will soon be doing the same? For more on this story see Asbestos Inspections for Businesses in Huntingdonshire.
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Expectations Soar in UK Construction Industry

According to a recent survey within the construction sector, Britain's construction companies are more optimistic about their prospects than they have been for eight months. At Ai Solutions we believe there are a lot of 'mixed messages' going around at the moment. Some areas, like the larger scale projects, seem to be commercially active; the large number of cranes on the skyline is proof of this. However could this be due to the fact they take so long to procure and implement? On the other hand...
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School Asbestos 'National Scandal'

Some of you may have read in the Telegraph and other news sources, that a report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, looked into official figures showing more than 75% of state schools are exposing children, teachers and other staff to the carcinogenic material. It comes after more than 140 teachers died from the rare asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in the past 10 years, with research in the US suggesting over 100 people will die every year in the...
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