Proactive Asbestos Management: controlling 'Life-Time' costs
Asbestos is dangerous and, every week, 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related disease. The HSE's Hidden Killer campaign is directed towards reducing that toll and, as part of the campaign, they are actively targeting all aspects of asbestos management, including property management, refurbishment and work by Asbestos License holders. IOM helps many clients across the UK manage their asbestos safely and meet their legal obligations efficiently and cost effectively.
For example, IOM has a long working relationship with Scottish Power which is one of the largest energy providers in the UK, boasting over 5.2 million customers. They are the UK's leading supplier of wind generated energy and have very substantial coal fired and hydro-electric electricity generating capacity.
Our Asbestos Team provides a full time service for most of Scottish Power's coal and hydro-electric generation sites in Scotland. For the last three years IOM has been an integral member of the team of contractors and Scottish Power management tasked with managing asbestos within the company's various sites. Our site-based staff operate from within the Scottish Power laboratory based at Longannet Power Station, near Kincardine. Longannet Power Station is the second largest coal fired power station in the UK and Scottish Power's largest station in terms of electricity generation. The station was built during the sixties and asbestos was used extensively throughout the plant as insulation and fire protection and this is where IOM's contribution has been greatest.
"IOM's proactive and thoroughly professional team has been, and will continue to be, an important piece of our approach to asbestos management at our Longannet site. IOM have proposed innovative and effective ways to support us and helped us make substantial 'life-time' savings on the programme.- Stuart Gray, Scottish Power's Health, Safety & Asbestos Advisor.
We provide advice on asbestos management and on methods of removal. We have helped Scottish Power reduce costs by suggesting safe, practical and simple methods and procedures, which comply with their own strict guidelines and the relevant health, safety and environment regulations. During the planned outages - where one of the four generating units is periodically taken offline for a number of weeks or months to carry out essential maintenance - we work closely with the outage management team, including the asbestos removal contractor, to plan and manage the removal of asbestos insulation on time and within budget. This is a vital part of the outage, as any delay in the re-commission of a unit could cost millions of pounds. These outages have meant that IOM have had to react to large workloads in a busy and challenging environment including providing clearance surveys and air monitoring over 24hr shifts, helping ensuring that work is completed well, safely and on time.
Over the last few years, we have also surveyed, collected and analysed material samples over many kilometres of steam pipes and other plant held within the massive boiler house, turbine hall and associated site buildings. We have provided bespoke asbestos awareness seminars and BOHS modules for Scottish Power staff, increasing the awareness of the asbestos health issues and increasing the technical capabilities and understanding of staff within Scottish Power
Our site team is backed up by a dedicated laboratory at IOM headquarters and, when necessary, we can utilise the flexibility in resource offered by our asbestos managers based in our regional offices. The team draws on the multidisciplinary knowledge and expertise accrued by our occupational physicians and other IOM staff who are well known nationally and internationally in the field of asbestos.
"Managing asbestos is not just about doing enough to comply with regulations. With the right approach, sensible solutions can be found that suit the situation and deal with asbestos effectively and practically. We believe we can help anybody achieve this, whether they manage numerous and large sites or just one building." - Ross Clark, IOM Asbestos Manager
We recognise that anyone who employs our asbestos services, for any job large or small, want flexibility and diversity as well as value and reliable results. At IOM we can offer a wide range of asbestos services from sampling, surveying and air monitoring to management advice, consultation, auditing and training.