Newsletter November 2006

CDM 2007 On Track

The new CDM regulations are on track for next April. The new Regulations are to be signed off in November and the ACoP issued in January next year. So it's full steam ahead then!

One late change to the Version 3 October 2006 drafts is the inclusion of the now re-named CDM Co-ordinator. So if you are carefully crafting your new door plate, that's one change you need to be aware of. For those who would like some assistance in getting to know the new rules for CDM, we are running a series of low cost half-day courses and you will find details of them below.

In the meantime, you need to be organising your CDM ToolKit™ upgrade now if you are on anything other than our flagship product ToolKit CS™; from the end of the year, discounts for upgrades will disappear.

Environment & Quality

Our plans for 2007 include the release of new product for CDM 2007 which will include options for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality.

This is a major announcement for Ai Solutions and comes at the end of a highly successful year, where, thanks to our key customers, we are able to regroup our resources and provide management systems for, Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14000), Health & Safety Audits and Occupational Safety Management Audits.

The additional modules will include other improvements to our management solutions as we move our technologically advanced systems forward with the latest offerings from Microsoft, our long term software partner. We will of course be providing more information on these developments in due course. If you need more information now, then please contact us.

Bronze memorial for dead workers

About 200 people gathered in Tower Hill in the City of London as the £100,000 "Building Worker" was uncovered.

The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (Ucatt) had the sculpture made as part of a campaign for a new corporate killing charge.

Sculptor Alan Wilson created the figure which sports a hard hat, weighs 300kg and holds a spirit level.

Ucatt general secretary Alan Ritchie unveiled the sculpture, which is close to the Tower of London, during a ceremony on Wednesday.

A total of 351 construction workers have died on sites since 2001 and a two-minute silence was observed in their memory.

Watching the unveiling was Mary O'Sullivan. Her 54-year-old husband Patrick O'Sullivan was working on the new Wembley Stadium in 2004 when he was killed. The cause is still not known and a criminal prosecution has not been ruled out.

"He was crushed to death that morning," she said. "And they crushed us to death as well."

Mr Ritchie said: "Our union will continue campaigning for a new law so that individual directors and senior managers are held accountable for accidents at work," he said.

It is hoped wreaths will be placed by the statue each year on 28 April which is Workers' Memorial Day.

For more pictures and streaming video of the news report, see BBC News

Concerns over possible changes to the ACoP

We all know that CDM²⁰⁰⁷ is on the horizon nevertheless some of us have a few concerns over possible changes in the ACoP. A lot of people are beginning to put together training courses, power point presentations etc. on the basis that the material that was presented to the HSC and approved and accepted by the HSC is now written in stone. We need to know that what we are preparing and delivering is consistent and true to the guidelines.

However, we now have reassurances from Andrew East at the HSE:-

So it's up to all of us to report any inconsistencies we notice to ensure that the final draft is as accurate as possible.

Are You Ready For CDM 2007?

We are trying to ensure that our clients are well prepared for the new CDM regulations in April 2007 by holding regular seminars at our offices going through the changes that will be taking place.

The November seminar is fully booked but we have places at our December one where as well as receiving a full update on the changes to the regulations by our partner Dave Carr from Callsafe Services we will look at the changes that will be included in the free update to ToolKit CS™.

Please note that clients who are on CDM ToolKit™ 2000 and have not upgraded will not be eligible for this free update.

IOSH Conference 27th & 28th March 2007

We are exhibiting at the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health conference in Birmingham next year and hope to see as many of our clients as possible as well as meeting some potential ones. If you would like more details please go to the IOSH website: www.iosh.co.uk

New Team Member

Our team continues to grow! Simon Hanks has joined us in October and is busy helping us with our product development.

Simon brings valuable expertise and is already proving to be a key component in our future development plans.

Ever Heard of the Blogoshere?

An emerging technology called 'blogs' is now all around us.

At Ai Solutions, we will adding it to our armoury of tools to keep customers informed about what is happening in 'our world' and the world of CDM and Asbestos.

A blog or weblog, is a web application containing periodic messages, or 'posts', on a 'common' webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Such a website is typically accessible to any Internet user. If you visit our web site today, you will see the RSS Feed which is your key to getting our latest messages.

We will be updating our web site with blog entries on a regular basis with useful information, tips, articles and links to pertinent web sites.

If you have any information or any articles you feel may be of interest to any of our customers please let us know and we will post them onto our website.

If you would like to get more information about blogs hit www.technorati.com.

Update to Asbestos Regulations

We are grateful to John Richards, Managing Director of Thames Laboratories for the following account:

"Wednesday the 11 October marked a busy day in terms of announcements within the asbestos abatement industry. After much debate the revised Control of Asbestos Regulations were finally signed with an implementation date of 3rd November 2006. Between now and then we will publish a detailed report on the changes contained in the Regulations and an analysis of the impact of these changes.

"Wednesday was also the official launch day of the NIACS scheme (National Individual Asbestos Certification Scheme). The scheme, a joint venture between RICS and ARCA, has been almost 6 years in the making and is currently the only means of assessing competency of individuals working outside of UKAS accredited laboratories. Thames Laboratories are pleased to have been associated with the development of the scheme and will be offering NIACS training courses in the early part of 2007.

"At the NIACS launch Steve Coldrick, Director of the Health and Safety Executive Disease Reduction Programme spoke about the latest HSE campaign to improve awareness amongst construction works. He also announced that, following on from the 'duty to manage' regulations, HSE and local environmental health officials will be making 30,000 targeted asbestos visits in 2007."

Schedule of Events

Ai Solutions has a lot planned to keep our users well informed about what is happening in CDM and Asbestos Management and some dates for your diary to note are as follows;

CDM ToolKit™ 2007 Workshops

As you all know we will be deploying a new release of our software to come into place as the new regulations come into force in April next year. To support our end users in this release we will be holding a number of workshops prior to the release (February 27th, March 6th, 13th and 20th) at our office in Leighton Buzzard.

We will have an overview of the changes to the ToolKit CS™ system and how to manage your projects under the new regulations. We will also be providing PCs for end users to try out and get familiar with the new software. There will be excellent technical support for all attendees and users can query any issues with a member of the Ai Solutions Team. This is a golden opportunity to obtain prior knowledge of the system before its release in April next year.

The workshops will run from 9.30am through until 1.00pm are free to attend for 1 person per customer licence. An 'extra' attendee per client licence can also attend (if slots allow) for an additional cost of £10 per person.

We can also offer a workshop at a customer's site for up to five people for £399 plus travelling expenses.

Book now to avoid disappointment as there are limited spaces available.

Ai Solutions Annual Conference

Our 2007 annual conference will be held in London on Wednesday 18th April 2007 at the Royal Air Force Club Piccadilly. The keynote speaker will be Richard Boland of the HSE in his new role as Head of Construction Operations, London and the South East. He is in the process of handing over his former role as Principal Inspector H&S Construction Policy where he and his colleagues have completed the mammoth task of revising the CDM Regulations which are now expected to progress to the Statute Books this year.

The seminar will centre on the CDM2 regulations and how our ToolKit™ Compliance Software can help manage compliance not only in internal departments but also across organisations using the technology of your choice. Dave Carr Managing Director of Callsafe Services and Tim Britton of AA Projects will also be joining us as guest speakers.

The morning seminar will include a buffet lunch and will cost £95 plus VAT with a discount for ToolKit™ software users. Watch future newsletters for more details.

More Information

We regularly receive updates from our customers and contacts about changes to legislation, the latest rumours and so on. We try to be selective with what we pass on and acknowledge our sources as appropriate. If you have information of general interest in the Health & Safety, and particularly, CDM and Asbestos Management arena, then please let us know by e-mail if possible.