Asbestos has been widely used in residential and commercial buildings (including houses, factories, offices, schools and hospitals) right up into the late 90’s. As a result, asbestos materials are present in many New Zealand homes and commercial buildings with it being estimated that asbestos causes around 170 deaths in New Zealand every year.
In 2016 there were changes to the New Zealand health and safety legislation with the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and what it meant for businesses. The new act brought with it changes to the asbestos legislation. The accompanying Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016 place a duty on businesses to have asbestos management plans in place for their buildings and workplaces where asbestos is likely to be found.
If asbestos has been identified or is likely to be present in buildings, the person conducting business or undertaking (PCBU) has until the 4th of April, 2018 to make sure that an asbestos management plan is prepared and kept up to date.
As one of New Zealand’s leading asbestos consultancies, TriEx provides specialist advisory, management and compliance services nationwide. We have significant and recent experience of working in Council environments and on large scale projects and have proven experience across a wide range of facilities and assets. We have been working with the Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council and large national companies such as Firth Humes, Tegel Foods, Farmlands, and Airways NZ since 2015.
Our core services include:
Asbestos Surveys
As part of the Health & Safety at Work (asbestos) Regulations 2016, there is now an implicit duty for employers to:
- identify asbestos in the workplace
- to ensure the presence and location of asbestos is indicated
- to manage the risks from asbestos with an adequate documented management plan,
- to regularly review the management plan.
WorkSafe New Zealand recommends that employers prepare an asbestos register by arranging for an asbestos survey of their workplace by a qualified professional. The asbestos register will assist employers and provide information to employees, worker representatives and contractors who may carry out work that may disturb asbestos.
Asbestos Sampling
Before work is undertaken on any surfaces that may contain asbestos, a trained and competent asbestos sampler should remove a sample for analysis at an accredited laboratory.
Our experienced consultants undertake bulk sampling of suspect asbestos containing materials.
Asbestos Management
TriEx offers our clients a comprehensive range of service for dealing with asbestos and its related issues including the development and management of an asbestos management plan.
We produce tailored asbestos management plans and implement your own policies that will help you to manage the asbestos within your premises compliantly, proportionately to the risk and in accordance with current regulations
Asbestos Training
As experts in the field, we offer a range of training courses in asbestos awareness, surveying, sampling and the management of asbestos in buildings
Rob Acutt, TriEx’ Asbestos Manager, spoke of the importance of businesses having an up to date asbestos management plan,
“Identifying whether asbestos is present in your property is paramount to ensuring the safety of those present and as the new Health & Safety at Work Asbestos regulations begin to be enforced from the 4th of April, 2018, it’s important to ensure businesses are performing their obligated duties as a PCBU by then.”
TriEx offers a full spectrum asbestos consultancy that specialises in the surveying, identification and management of asbestos containing materials in premises. For more information on how we can help, or to chat to one of our experts, click here.
