Newsletter December 2010
Christmas Message
As we approach the Christmas period, the year end, and the inevitable reflection on the current year, we are struck by some obvious observations on 2010. There will be many of us who think the year has been truly terrible, with the loss of many jobs and expectations; an 'annus horriblus'.
The most important message for us here at Ai Solutions is to continue to understand how to provide the best possible service to our customers. We need to keep them involved in our products and services whilst delivering our product's benefits throughout this period of recession to which there seems no obvious end; yet.
As far as 2011 is concerned, we need to assure our customers that we are well placed to weather the storms ahead. In the meantime, we would like to thank all readers and our loyal customers for their support and wish them a 'Happy Christmas' and wish them good fortune for the New Year.
PFI: National Audit
There has been a very damning National Audit Report on the M25 widening scheme. It's not the first PFI project that has come under fire, the Royal Liverpool University hospital PFI is currently being delayed.
What's this all about? It seems that the argument over value for money has gone awry. PFI schemes were the preferred method as they were more likely to come in on time and within budget. They also allowed government to spread the up-front cost over a much bigger timeframe.
Why the change of perspective? The review states that the M25 scheme showed 7.5% of the capital cost was spent on consultants. In addition, many deals were done during the "credit-crunch" and this has caused the skewed view of the finances.
What's the good news? Well they are currently reviewing how these PFI schemes are packaged. The funding will be more complex with many sources used on any one scheme, making the PFI part public-sector and part variety of other sources.
-- Click to read the full article from Issue 47 of Building Magazine
Asbestos Victims Finally Get Compensation
97 Indian citizens poisoned by asbestos have finally secured compensation for injuries sustained at the hands of a British company - Turner & Newall Ltd (T&N). For more than 60 years T&N operated asbestos factories in India. The company processed asbestos and sold a range of asbestos products. According to campaigners, conditions were appalling and employees were routinely exposed to massive levels of cancer-causing asbestos fibre. When workers got sick or died, they were quickly replaced by others; no fuss, no mess and what's more, no compensation.
However, the tide has turned and finally agreement has been made regarding compensation.
This just goes to show that there is justice out there for sufferers and their families!
-- Click to read more on the TUC website
Ear Protectors Insufficiant - Does the Client care?
A company was fined £16,000 when it did not take proper measures to reduce noise exposure at its factory. Equestrian Surfaces Ltd was put on trial by the HSE, when it risked the hearing of its employees but not taking action to the improvement notice in spite of two extensions given to it.
We hope this isn't the tip of the ice-berg; the more cutting back there is, the more we believe accidents will happen. Mind you there are those that are saying we are now employing people with appropriate skills and getting rid of those less qualified which should mean fewer accidents.
As Clients, and with a continuance of hard times to come, we need to ensure that those we employ are competent for the roles within construction and asbestos management. In addition to this we need to ensure we do all we can to protect those working on our behalf, it's not the time to go cutting back. In fact its a good time to review our processes to see where we can make improvements, saving lives as well as saving money.
-- Click to read more on the Health & Safety News website
The Elusive Sustained Recovery
Although 2010 has been a hard and difficult year for many there have been some glimmers of hope, some organisations have fared very well indeed. We are all going through cost cutting exercises in order to weather the storm, however, for some the sustained recovery is not yet tangible.
Because they fall under the Health & Safety banner CDM and Asbestos are always the areas in businesses that are culled first. Nevertheless we believe this is an opportunity to get our houses in order, a time to review, remove and improve so that we get the best out of our organisation in regard to CDM or Asbestos management. Ai Solutions ToolKit Compliance System can be instrumental in doing this, supporting you, enabling you, streamlining your processes and allowing you to do more with less resource.
Give a member of the team a call on 01525 850080 if you need guidance on this; after all - we are here to help!
Charity Christmas Puzzle - Winnie-the-Pooh
We are delighted to continue our support of an outstanding Christmas Puzzle organised locally to raise money for charities around the country.
This year's puzzle (the twentieth) will be available to download from the Christmas Puzzle website on 8th December.
So far, the puzzle has raised over £36,000 for various good causes, including £4,700 last year. The puzzle should appeal to people who enjoy solving (former) broadsheet crossword puzzles. You have plenty of time to work on it so don't expect every answer to be obvious; however, unlike many puzzles that come out around this time of year, this one is designed to help you finish!
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.