Clearview Midlands January 2014 - Issue 146 | Page 12

INDUSTRYNEWS SCHOOL AND GLASS CONTRACTOR FINED FOR ASBESTOS FAILINGS A Birmingham academy and a glass company have been fined for failing to properly manage refurbishment works and exposing workers to asbestos. Equitas Academies Trust, the owner and operator of Aston Manor Academy, and Birmingham Glass Services Ltd (BGS) were jointly prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found they put employees at unnecessary risk in the incident on 6 June 2012. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court was told that four BGS workers attended the site, but did not receive an induction by any employee of Equitas Academies Trust. Nor was any information provided to the glass company’s employees on the location of any asbestos containing materials. The school’s site manager told the BGS employees that ‘to the best of his knowledge’ there was no asbestos containing materials in the window area. While removing the windows, two of the BGS employees encountered strips of asbestos insulating board (AIB) packers, which prevented them from installing the new windows. The packers were removed from the frame using a crowbar, then snapped and dumped next to an asbestos decontamination unit on the school site that was being used for unrelated work by licensed asbestos removal contractors. The incident cost the school £20,000 through decontamination and replacement of floor coverings. Soft furnishings and children’s work had to be disposed of and parts of the school could not be used for the second part of the summer term. Information and advice about working safely with asbestos can be found on the HSE website at www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos CELEBRATING 20 SUCCESSFUL YEARS Long-standing fabricator customer Pyramid Profiles has signed a new two-year supply contract, which will extend its highly successful and collaborative trading relationship with Synseal to an unprecedented 20 years. Based in Brownhills near Walsall, Pyramid Profiles is a family-run company that started business as a windows manufacturer some 18 years ago. Originally marketing Synseal’s Contour range of ‘Solid and stable service support is what really sets them apart as the best’ products, Pyramid Profiles were the first fabricator to adopt the new Shield chamfered suite of PVC-U profiles in 1999 and then added fabrication of the SynerJy sculptured range in 2005 to offer their customers a choice of aesthetic window designs. Paul Bailey and Danny Hague were pleased to celebrate the deal during a visit to Synseal’s offices. “We’re delighted to extend our close working association with Synseal beyond the 18 years we’ve chalked up to date” says Paul. “We thoroughly benchmarked all industry suppliers before signing up for another 2 years. Synseal’s proven range of product solutions is great, but the company’s solid and stable service support is what really sets them apart as the best. They are a safe pair of hands and reliable deliveries mean we can always maintain our 5-day fabrication turnaround pledge to our installer customers.” SINGING AUSTIN’S PRAISES His methods have been described as jargonfree and accessible, with a clear no-nonsense approach to guiding you through the changes in legislation when self certifying installations. As Technical and Compliance Manger for Network VEKA’s Competent Person Scheme, Assure, Austin Greene is responsible for ensuring that all Assure members are fully compliant with the Minimum Technical Competencies (MTC) that are required as part of their membership. To help guide members through the CE Marking and self-certification processes, Austin runs regular series’ of seminars and 12 JAN 2014 workshops, where he explains what the changes in legislation are for members of Competent Person Schemes, and how Network VEKA can assist them in implementing such changes. Other topics that Austin covers in these sessions include CE Marking, the Green Deal and Energy Ratings. Sash Windows’ Craig Bedford attended one of the seminars earlier this year and said: “Austin covered a lot of subjects in a short space of time, but we were informed of everything we needed to know in regards to the new regulations. He also reconfirmed other important regulations and Health and Safety matters, which gives us confidence that we know we are doing things correctly.” Network VEKA, 01282 473170, www.networkveka.co.uk To read more, visit www.clearview-uk.com