Member Article

Wolverhampton firm tackles construction's biggest killer

A West Midlands training specialist has teamed up with the ‘Working Well Together’ campaign to help prevent construction workers from being affected by the biggest single cause of work-related deaths.

Experts from C&D Consultancy will provide three interactive ‘Asbestos Awareness’ workshops later this month, with 36 free places available for individuals keen to gain more understanding of this potentially deadly topic.

The 2.5 hour sessions – held at Wolverhampton Science Park on January 28th – will examine the types, uses and likely occurrence of asbestos and asbestos containing materials in buildings and plant and how to avoid coming into contact with them.

There will be practical examples and advice on the procedures to be followed when dealing with an emergency, such as an uncontrolled release of asbestos dust into the workplace.

Finally, specialists will outline the effects on health, including the increased risk of lung cancer for asbestos workers who smoke.

“Every year, there are more than 4500 related deaths and this figure is expected to rise even further over the next two to three years,” explained John Woodward, Director of C&D Consultancy.

“There are lots of regeneration projects taking place across the UK, which means buildings constructed before 2000 are either being taken down or refurbished. The risks are very real and individuals – working at the coalface – need to understand what they are and how to minimise them.”

He continued: “All our trainers have more than ten years experience dealing with this topic and the sessions are an intensive and interactive way of bringing people in the construction sector up to speed with the latest developments and best practice.

“Thanks to support from ‘Working Well Together’ the course is free, so it really is a great opportunity for businesses to protect and improve the health of their workforce.”

C&D Consultancy was formed by John Woodward in 2003 and has become one of the leading demolition specialists and industrial training providers in the country, coordinating projects across the UK and Europe every year.

A team of 8 experts advise on initial planning, project management and one-off consultancy, whilst up to 10 trainers are delivering more than 450 courses in health & safety and technical expertise every year to nearly 4700 people.

The asbestos workshop, which is being supported by Carillion, Keepmoat, HSE, DMW Environmental and Rhodar, is one of seven being run across the West Midlands, with others being held in Birmingham, Coventry and Shropshire.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .