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

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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

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