Newsletter April 2010

UK Launch of CDM Management Award Scheme

Our annual conference this year provides the platform for the UK launch of the Ai Solutions CDM Management Award Scheme. The award allows managers of large organisations to establish and monitor their management standards for the Construction Design and Management regulations across the board. For the CDM Coordinators, project managers, contractors and designers involved in the process, the award facilitates a useful enhancement to their CV's. The award process has been modelled on the Govenment's QCF standard, as introduced by Transport for London, a major customer of ours. The award is supported by Callsafe Services, our long term delivery partner for CDM consultancy and training and the Open University who provide the award auditing and certification.

Our conference on 20th May 2010 is being supported by presenters from the major bodies involved in the new award process including the Open University and Callsafe  Services, plus the HSE who have expressed their interest in the process, and CSkills. We are hoping for the support of Philip White in his new role as Chief Inspector of Construction Division Health and Safety Executive although this is yet to be confirmed.

The award process is designed for any large organisation with a multi-disciplined approach to CDM management and for users of any CDM management system including, but not restricted to ToolKit Compliance System users. If you are interested in the award process, then please contact us anyway. If you would like to come to our conference then please follow the links for on-line registration in the usual way (see below).

Annual Conference 20th May 2010

The Ai Solutions Annual Conference will be held at the Royal Air Force Club in Piccadilly London on Thursday 20th May. The conference will centre around the launch of our new CDM Management Award, mentioned elsewhere, and the support that we are giving our customers in the CDM and Asbestos Management process. Our programme includes presentations from the HSE's Philip White as mentioned above, Dave Carr from Callsafe Services, Gerard O'Brien and Steve Luck from Crossrail one of our major customers, Keith Stafford & Michael Coulston from the Open University Awarding Body & Kevin Fear from Cskills.

Throughout 2009 we have all been affected by the effects of the recession. So what has changed? As organisations we still have to comply with the Asbestos and CDM regulations, supporting the business goals along the way. But how can we do that effectively and save money in the long run? We believe there is a definite art to it. We have been working with some very well known organisations that do it very effectively indeed. So how do we do it? Well we would like to share our experiences with you.

In addition, by signing up to our awards scheme, we would like to discuss how clients can ensure their knowledge is up to date and relevant and that the people they employ to carry out work on their behalf are competent and have the skill sets to do the job within the boundaries of the regulations.

There is a £95 plus VAT charge for the conference which includes a buffet lunch. ToolKit users attend for a reduced fee.  The seminar fee includes refreshments and buffet lunch. CPD certificates will be issued after the event for those who request them. To book your place please register here.

Highways Accessibility Modelling

 The London Boroughs of Lambeth & Islington are working toward improved accessibility for their residents. We are grateful for this article contributed by them.

Accessibility comes in two main areas; these being the physical barriers and the invisible barriers such as transport links and access to amenities such as GP's surgery's and job centres. LB Lambeth and LB Islington have taken the 'bull by the horns' to try and tackle these issues with their 'Highways Accessibility Modelling' project. This work will allow the Highways Authority to understand where the physical barriers are which hinder the freedom and movement of disabled residents, which will allow the authority to undertake a proactive approach to minimising these barriers and truly allowing the public highway to be for all users.

Using the census data and being able to map the invisible data such as Worklessness will allow the highway authority to actively work with colleagues across various departments in identifying physical work to assist these groups and assist the authority in achieving national set targets to address these targets corporately which will provide a highway asset for all users.

This innovative project will allow initially Lambeth and Islington to understand how the network is and is not used by a specific group of users this in turn will allow Lambeth and Islington to produce a program of works which can address these physical barriers, again this process will be outlined and guidance produced. The project will also allow Lambeth and Islington to understand the areas and streets from greatest need to actively increase accessibility to services such as GP's surgeries and job centres to assist in tackling worklessness by targeting other services to these areas such as community transport. This will also benefit in the programming of works as locations can be identified in major works to assess the needs for dropped kerbs, disabled parking bays and other measures which can aid the mobility of the groups identified above.

The 'model', once implemented, can be used by other local authorities to provide better access to amenities for their disabled residents. If you would like to know more about this model please contact us and we will point you in the right direction.

Knotweed: Louse Let Loose

For those that did not see it, there is news that an Asian insect is to be let loose to see if can stop the spread of one of Britain's most invasive weeds, the Japanese Knotweed. First introduced by the Victorians Knotweed is a tenacious plant and can be found in many areas. Growing up to three feet a month with roots that go six feet deep it has proven difficult to control. Scientists are introducing a psyllid louse, a sap sucking predator in a 'controlled' way in the hope they can find a solution for the many local authorities and industry from the huge cost of treating and killing this plant.

However, there are concerns that the introduction of the predator may affect other wildlife and other shrubs. Scientists have tested the pest on over 90 types of British plant including crops and garden shrubs. They have stated that it will only eat its host plant and once the Knotweed has been destroyed it then dies out.

Regulation Updates

Update 1: From 6 April 2010, if you are responsible for ensuring that conventional tower cranes used on construction sites are thoroughly examined, you must give the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) certain information about these cranes. Businesses responsible for ensuring that conventional tower cranes used on construction sites are thoroughly examined by a competent person must give the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) information about such cranes. Click to read more about this Tower Crane regulation update.

Update 2: Building Regulations - Construction businesses will have to comply with changes to the Building Regulations 2000. These will introduce for new buildings:

• a minimum water efficiency requirement
• a maximum temperature requirement for bath water

The rules will also be strengthened and clarified on:

• the safety of hot water systems
• the supply of water of suitable quality for personal and food hygiene

Update 3: From 6 April 2010, Street works supervisors and operatives - Supervisors and trained operatives will have to be reassessed every five years before they can re-register on the Street Works Qualification Register and continue to carry out street works. Click to read more about this Street Works regulation update.

Paper - a Whymsical View

Watching the BBC News recently, I saw a family discussion about homework and how parents 'can no longer help their children' because they don't understand the teaching method now used for maths being taught to infants. A young girl, maybe a five year old, playing at a computer screen, stated whimsically that 'in the olden days, people used to work things out on paper'.

Well, I can resonate with a number of issues there! In the not-so-olden-days, only some 16 years ago, I well remember presenting the first version of ToolKit to the co-writer of the CDM regulations (known as the Condam Regs at that stage). The HSE policy maker was George Ventris; a bright chap. When he spotted my shiny and brand-new-for-the-occasion laptop, he said: 'I don't really understand the new technology. What you have to remember is to give the users a blank piece of paper and make them think.' Wise words indeed. The context was making risk assessments. George's point was that contractors in particular (in his experience) preferred marking check boxes on a list rather than having to think through from first principles the answer to each risk assessment. This way, they would save time and be able to get on with their other tasks in the shortest possible time.

I have said many times over the intervening years, that the current generation of senior managers are going to have a problem. When the college graduates reach their mid thirties and discover the power of IT and how that power can help them manage their working environment, there will be a real problem. They will have the potential to overtake the incumbent managers 'big time' and we are likely to lose a generation of managers because they will be seen to be unnecessary in the management chain.

Which is in fact what is going on. Umpteen layers of 'management' have been stripped from organisations large enough to sustain the shrinking. And construction related accidents are decreasing. Is that entirely because there is less construction in these recessionary times, or is it the younger managers with better IT skills pole vaulting over the 'old guard'? Are trees safer now than they were 15 years ago.

An Apology

Ai Solutions have announced their first QCF course in CDM Management, following the successful groundbreaking work done by one of their major users, Transport for London. This work took place in 2009 along with our trading partners Callsafe Services Ltd who are an intrinsic part of the new Assessment Centre delivery vehicle. TfL were able to use our product, the ToolKit™ Compliance System to enable their users to prove their CDM management competence in the assessments required for the award which they developed under the QCF framework.

TfL have specifically asked that we publish their involvement in this process and the contribution made by their staff alongside our partners Callsafe, and other providers including CASL and the OUAB. We are delighted to do this and we apologise for not so doing initially.

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.