IOSH partnership for telecoms training

Global Environmental teamed-up with the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) to deliver a webinar on managing asbestos risks in telecoms and broadcasting environments.

The Institution’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Group approached Global Environmental to prepare a presentation that would address the specific asbestos risks that are encountered by those working in these sectors.

The 45-minute webinar which was streamed to over 100 visitors covered a number of topics including:

  • The dangers
  • Latest statistics
  • Asbestos applications
  • Legal context
  • What to do
  • Enforcement – case studies from telecoms/broadcasting sectors

“Feedback from our members suggests that this webinar was very well received,” says Adam Elsworth of IOSH’s Broadcasting and Telecommunications Group committee, “Global Environmental’s in-depth knowledge and experience of the subject enabled them to tailor the presentation to our sector and provide a toolkit of practical solutions to manage asbestos risks and maintain operative health and safety and discharge their duty of care obligations.”

Delivered by Paul Scholes the seminar focused on the dangers to engineers and site operatives of encountering asbestos containing materials (ACMs) and how to prevent, mitigate or manage those specific risks, especially in residential premises.

“There is an established procedure for identifying and mitigating ACM risk in planned works in non-residential premises which involves assessing the property’s asbestos register or conducting a survey during the planning stage,” says Global Environmental’s Managing Director, Fergus McCloskey, “However there is no duty to maintain asbestos information in domestic premises and unscheduled repairs often need to be carried out swiftly, on-the-spot with no time available to commission a survey.”

In these circumstances Global Environmental recommends that telecoms and broadcasting operators implement a series of other safety measures to manage the risk including:

  • Asbestos awareness training for telecoms operatives
  • Integrate asbestos into H&S risk assessment
  • Emergency plan
  • PPE
  • Monitoring procedures

Global Environmental provides a comprehensive range of asbestos management services to support the telecoms and broadcasting sectors including: asbestos surveying  including emergency and out-of-hours response, arranging and managing for remediation or removal, specialist advice to evaluate the adequacy of existing asbestos information, interpret any data contained within it, and guidance on the correct response to emergency situations and  asbestos awareness training.

The IOSH Broadcasting and Telecommunications Group provides a forum for health, safety and environment professionals working in the telecommunications sector.  This includes broadcast content production, transmission and provision of services to end users where through the IOSH profession we share views, ask questions and seek guidance to achieve a safe and healthier world of work.

With over 600 members we bring members together to network and exchange information related to our sector and help IOSH meet its strategic objectives to enhance, collaborate and influence the safety profession.

You can still view the webinar or to order a copy of the handout material please email [email protected] or telephone 020 7300 7288.