The consequences of asbestos failings

Asbestos was commonly used within machinery, homes and commercial buildings up until 1999 when it was banned. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that asbestos kills approximately 5000 workers every year, more than the number of people killed on the road. It can take 15 to 60 years for any symptoms to develop after… Read More

New Initiative from the HSE regarding Asbestos Awareness

The HSE are launching a new initiative to raise the awareness of construction works to the risks arising from exposure to asbestos. While this is not new, what is of interest is the statistics attached to the campaign and a rising number of companies being prosecuted for material breaches of safety around asbestos, this is… Read More

What Due Diligence do you do when employing a Contractor?

Employing the services of a contractor is a little bit like marriage – you don’t really know what you are getting until 12 months later! On many occasions, issues reported by the HSE on where something has gone wrong involve an external contractor. Take for example the recent incident where a construction project had to… Read More

Why would I voluntarily audit my company?

Why on earth would I voluntarily put my company through an audit? Well the answer may surprise. At SAMS we are happy to have had our CHAS registration renewed for 2014 in respect of our CDM services to construction projects. Although some may shudder at the thought of being audited, we have found that being… Read More