A look ahead to 2022
Wednesday January 19th 2022
It’s a new year and, hopefully, one in which we’ll finally learn to master the pandemic. With the promise of things returning closer to normal, here’s what we’re looking forward to in 2022.
There’s more to DCU safety than gas and electrics
Wednesday January 19th 2022
The draft guidance on safety in the decontamination unit contains solid directions, but the Asbestos Network’s remit stops at gas and electrical safety. While we’ve got the opportunity, shouldn’t we be adding guidance relating to other issues such as personal safety?
Female analysts and four-stage clearance testing – the need for change
Thursday December 9th 2021
Does the asbestos industry have a problem with women? Colette Willoughby’s FAAM talk was a powerful and – frankly – shaming indictment of the everyday sexism and serious incidents that still happen today.
FAAM conference review – useful, compelling, and more thought-provoking than ever
Thursday December 9th 2021
Despite running virtually for the second year running, the FAAM asbestos conference managed to reach new highs – and uncover new lows. Immensely interesting, thought-provoking – and ultimately disturbing – we look at the highlights.
FAAM conference preview – don’t miss it!
Thursday November 11th 2021
This year’s FAAM Conference will – like last year – be fully virtual. But with a two-day programme bristling with quality speakers, it’s still unmissable. Here, Nick picks out his highlights.
Relicensing, and the importance of external audits
Thursday November 11th 2021
Any healthy auditing system should comprise a balance of internal and external audits, but with a limited budget, the HSE is increasingly reliant on audit evidence to back up its electronic licensing system. We look at the importance of audits, and the need for more quality independents to enter the fray.
Breyer Group
Thursday October 14th 2021
The Breyer Group needed a software platform to help manage the safety of more than 400 staff across multiple sites and clients. Discover how Assure360 provided Breyer with a single construction health and safety solution, covering audits, accidents, incidents and near-miss reporting.
The Contamination Expo, and the long road to events as normal
Thursday October 14th 2021
We were looking forward to the Contamination Expo, and Nick giving his talk on the four-hour time-weighted average, but Covid had other plans. Here’s our roundup, with another chance to see the virtual presentation.
Events – Update Autumn 2021
Wednesday September 15th 2021
Covid-19 is still with us, but with few restrictions in place, most in-person events are back.
“It’s only an asbestos enclosure” – why temporary works are a problem
Wednesday September 15th 2021
Everything a licensed asbestos contractor builds or installs comes under the temporary works guidance, but there’s little understanding of what this means in practice. Nick Garland explains how to keep within the rules.
Probing the subtleties of the new Analysts’ Guide
Thursday July 15th 2021
We’ve already covered many of the big changes in the HSE’s updated Analysts’ Guide, but look long enough and you’ll spot other, subtle changes with surprisingly big effects. Nick Garland continues his analysis.
Asbestos Essentials
Wednesday June 23rd 2021
In our highly regulated industry, growing companies face huge challenges staying on top of mandatory record keeping. Assure360 helps businesses streamline and simplify their asbestos paperwork, unlocking insight and improving outcomes. Read how we helped Asbestos Essentials.
The four-hour time-weighted average – a deeper dive
Tuesday June 15th 2021
Anyone who’s worked out a four-hour time-weighted average will know they can be confusing. Nick Garland has more help on calculating them, and explains why we’re making Assure360 do it all for you.
Stay safer with Assure Incident 2.0
Thursday May 20th 2021
Construction is a dangerous business, but accidents rarely come entirely without warning. The trick is to identify the trends and blind spots that precede them, and act before someone gets hurt. Here’s how Assure360 can help.
Moving on from Covid’s darkest days
Thursday May 20th 2021
It’s been a long and difficult 18 months since Covid first appeared. We’re not out of the woods yet, but in this post we look at some of the positives, and anticipate happier, more prosperous times.
BIACS Auditor
Friday April 23rd 2021
As the demand for audits increased, it became more obvious that much of the auditing process relied on set procedures and questions.
Personal monitoring and the four-hour TWA
Monday April 19th 2021
The Health and Safety Executive is again trying to improve the quality of personal monitoring, but one of its biggest challenges is that not everyone understands how to calculate the current tests. Nick Garland runs through calculating the dreaded four-hour time-weighted averages, then explains how Assure360 can do it all for you.
Defining the environmental clean
Wednesday March 10th 2021
The so-called ‘environmental clean’ has long been open to abuse: too often used as a way to cut corners. But now the HSE’s Asbestos Network Technical Working Group is moving to define the term. Nick Garland examines what’s changing.
The rise of the independent auditor
Monday March 8th 2021
Enforcing and evidencing the digital licensing regime demands boots on the ground, but Health and Safety Executive is hamstrung by its budget. The conditions are likely to create a new generation of independent auditors – Nick Garland explains how Assure360 can support them.
DMD Environmental
Tuesday February 23rd 2021
“Being able to have instant, live connectivity is a game-changer for this industry. And anyone… that doesn’t realise that will fast become outdated.”
Discover how we helped DMD Environmental streamline and modernise its procedures, and unlock greater insight from its data.
Enforcement visits – without teeth, can the HSE clamp down on Covid infringements?
Wednesday February 10th 2021
Employers need to provide a safe workplace, even during Covid-19. But with the HSE struggling with budgetary constraints, and seemingly reluctant to take strong enforcement action, are employers getting away with risking their workers’ lives?
Assure360 Audit 3.0 – announcing the latest update to the Assure360 system
Wednesday January 13th 2021
Assure360 Audit was the beginning of the Assure360 system, and embodies all the experience of our team and our wider health and safety user base. After updates to Incident and Paperless, we’re excited to announce the imminent release of Audit 3.0 – read on for more details.
FAAM conference report – more than a virtual success
Thursday December 10th 2020
Who would have thought that a virtual conference could keep you glued to your seat? If I’m honest, not me. Times are busy for us at Assure360, and so when I looked at the programme for the BOHS/FAAM conference there were a few slots where I thought “I might be able to miss that.” More […]
2020: Covid, change, and cause for optimism
Thursday December 10th 2020
Few will mourn 2020, but as 2021 beckons, the changes brought about by Covid will help to drive newer, better ways of working for everyone. Nick Garland looks back on a challenging year, and discovers how a very old-fashioned industry has been propelled into a paperless future
Living and working in Covid times
Wednesday November 11th 2020
The pandemic will be with us for a while yet. But amid the misery of second-wave lockdowns, some of the changes forced on businesses will pay off in the long term. Nick Garland reviews the latest advice on safe working, and explains why some short-term fixes will give way to lasting change.
Virtually there – the BOHS and FAAM conference
Wednesday November 11th 2020
With the postponement of the Hazardous Materials Expo, it’s good that some other events are going online. Here we look forward to the BOHS and FAAM conference, happening virtually on 18-19 November.
Construction industry accidents – no room for complacency
Thursday October 15th 2020
This summer’s figures on workplace fatalities offer encouraging reading – for everyone except the construction industry. Against a lockdown backdrop of less activity, construction deaths rose by a third. So what can the data tell us about the reasons, and how can we apply it to keeping more people safe? Nick Garland looks behind the figures.
Coping with Covid – how we can help
Thursday October 15th 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic is likely to remain with us for some time yet. In this post, Nick Garland explains how we can help support your business through tough times ahead.
Personal monitoring – tackling the elephant in the room
Thursday September 10th 2020
If the Health and Safety Executive’s study of asbestos analysts revealed anything, it was that not everyone understood the purpose of personal monitoring. Now the HSE is trying to improve its understanding of how effective current guidelines and equipment are. Nick Garland explains how Assure360’s customers have been able to help.
The story of Assure360
Thursday September 10th 2020
Twenty-five-year industry veteran Nick Garland made the vision of Assure360 a reality. Here he discusses where we started, how we’ve evolved, and how we continue to help customers deliver exceptional services in difficult times.
Asbestos blasting gets a lifeline, but is there a better technique?
Thursday September 10th 2020
Despite tightening guidance, improving equipment has helped keep blasting in the LARC toolkit. However, as Nick Garland explains, the alternatives are improving too, and needle guns in particular are making blasting harder than ever to justify.
Confined spaces – the lack of understanding that could cost lives
Tuesday August 11th 2020
Confined spaces and asbestos removal often go hand in hand, yet the lack of understanding about risks and controls could be putting people in danger. Nick Garland highlights why it’s essential to address the specific hazards in a confined workplace.
Asbestech goes Paperless
Tuesday August 11th 2020
The first Covid lockdown posed challenges, but it also provided the opportunity to make lasting improvements. Discover how Asbestech seized the moment to introduce Assure360 Paperless, and dramatically improve its off-site analysis and management.
Greenair
Thursday July 23rd 2020
Greenair’s mission is to offer exemplary standards and competitive pricing, delivered through a partnership between experienced staff and cutting-edge technology. In this case study, discover how GreenAir chose Assure360 as a central component in its technology-led approach.
Webinar: Social distancing tools and tips for companies returning to work
Thursday July 23rd 2020
With the UK’s focus shifting toward restarting the economy, asbestos contractors face new challenges as they work on busier sites. In our free webinar, we’ll look at how you can continue to work safely and efficiently.
The new normal: how we work safely in the days of Covid-19
Thursday July 9th 2020
Work is resuming on construction and demolition sites across the country – and more trades are coming onto those where it never had to stop. But with the threat of the coronavirus very much remaining, it’s more important than ever to implement and enforce safe working practices.
Assure360 Paperless – improved, easier, and now on Android
Wednesday July 8th 2020
We’ve brought out a major update to Paperless, our digital support tool for site supervisors. Now even quicker and easier to use, the new version is also available on Android for the first time. Nick Garland has the details.
Hot under the collar – how hot environments are the confined space we should worry about
Wednesday June 10th 2020
When it comes to working in confined spaces, hot environments are the new challenge that the asbestos-removal industry needs to get its head around.
Asbestos licence renewal – the new regime turns one
Friday April 3rd 2020
The HSE’s new asbestos licensing system is a year old, but the first LARCs to experience it still bear the scars. Assure360 founder Nick Garland traces what changed, what went wrong, and where we are now.
COVID-19 and asbestos removal: can we carry on?
Wednesday March 25th 2020
We’re all trying to get our heads around the crazy new world that we are living in with COVID-19. Here are Nick Garland’s thoughts on whether we can keep working – and whether we should
Talking Asbestos – Nick appears on the Asbestos Knowledge Empire podcast
Tuesday March 10th 2020
What’s been lost in the move to the new evidence-based licensing regime? How deep should health and safety culture go? What are the particular problems posed by asbestos in schools, and what’s the story of Assure360? Nick’s covered all these topics and more in his appearance on the Asbestos Knowledge Empire podcast. Discover more.
Emchia
Sunday February 23rd 2020
A bold new business, with a strategy for growth based on increased efficiency and low administrative overheads. Discover how Assure360 helped Luke Gumbley make Emchia’s vision a reality – read the case study.
Asbestech
Sunday February 23rd 2020
Asbestech was looking to do more with its auditing data, improving its analysis to provide fresher and more powerful insights. Discover what happened when it became an early customer for the Assure360 system, and how we’ve helped it demonstrate exemplary practice since.
Better Asbestos Removal – what to do when perfect isn’t possible
Wednesday February 12th 2020
When the asbestos industry deals with significant risks, why do we have ‘guidance’, and why does the UK’s key health and safety legislation leave room for interpretation?
Assure360 at the ACAD regionals
Monday February 10th 2020
Assure360 will be at three of the upcoming ACAD regional meetings in the first week of March. Why not come and join us!
DCU safety – reviewing the guidance for safe decontamination
Thursday January 16th 2020
The risks to asbestos-removal workers continue until everyone’s safely decontaminated and off-site. But how do you ensure safety in the DCU? Here’s Nick Garland’s review of the latest guidance.
Wrapping up the European Asbestos Forum (EAF) conference
Tuesday January 7th 2020
For too long, tech seemed like something happening to other industries. The European Asbestos Forum conference showed how innovation will transform ours.
Reviewing 2019 – a year of change in asbestos management
Tuesday December 10th 2019
2019 marked the 20th anniversary of the UK’s total ban on asbestos. A day to celebrate, but the year also saw upheaval in asbestos management, with the HSE’s long-overdue overhaul of the licensing regime becoming a talking point for the wrong reasons. Here’s our review of the year.
The FAAM conference and EAF
Wednesday November 6th 2019
Two major asbestos events for November with the European Asbestos Forum conference in Amsterdam and the second annual conference of the Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM).
The European Asbestos Forum (EAF) – more than just another asbestos conference
Thursday October 3rd 2019
The conference season got off to a cracking start last month with the Contamination Expo at Birmingham’s NEC. The next stop will be the European Asbestos Forum conference, which this year returns to its roots in Amsterdam.