MINUTES
AUCKLAND BRANCH
TRAINING AND NETWORKING EVENT
held on
21st MARCH at 6.00PM
at
ALEXANDRA PARK,
GREENLANE, AUCKLAND
Welcome:
Branch Chair Glynn Robertson, opened the meeting, welcoming members, new members, and guests as well as extending a special welcome to the event’s sponsor –
Dowdell & Associates, Alpha Demolition, NZDAA – Demolition and Asbestos Association, WorkSafe, Protec Consulting, Toro Safety Matters.
Attendance:
110 recorded their attendance
(64 RSVP’ed)
Apologies:
Steven Peng, no further apologies from the floor.
Moved: Peter Laurenson Seconded: Paul Vernon
Guests:
• Dowdell & Associates
• Alpha Demolition
• NZDAA – Demolition and Asbestos Association
• WorkSafe
• Protec Consulting
• Toro Safety Matters
Previous Minutes & Matters Arising:
Meeting minutes were read and accurate. (Please read here for Previous Minutes)
Please note the minutes are a monthly meeting notice email from BOINZ attached to following agenda.
No longer being sent out separately
Moved: Andrew C Seconded: Iain McCormick
Correspondence In/Out:
None
General Business:
Iain McCormick
• Upcoming Board elections
• Nominations for upcoming Board elections
• Last couple of years have been really rewarding.
• Annual Conference 14-16 May 2018
Glynn touched base on BOINZ Excellence Awards 2018 - Executive Board Member under 35 category
• Brief Description on Jane Wu’s occupational tasks.
• Processing plans, building surveying, building control and her achievements in the regulatory environment.
Guest Presentation:
NZDAA (Formerly the NZ Demolition Contractors Association)
Keynotes: Ricky Jones
- Addressed awareness in respect of changes to the asbestos legislation and requirements in last 2 years.
- Briefly explained the removal process of asbestos.
- Various procedures required to be followed.
- Safety management system.
- Class B license – Does not require a safety management system.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Suits and Masks – challenges on site.
- Removal process to be followed up with the usual process on site.
- NZDAA associated with training certification and consultancy in New Zealand. Produces best practice guidelines in accordance with statutory obligations and standards.
Key points:
Asbestos Overview:
- Training applications. Addressing questions from the industry.
- NZDAA makes sure and provides confirmation on whether the building is safe or not.
- Identifying who is in-charge of the building.
- How many samples are actually required.
Asbestos Professional:
• Awareness Training
• Removalists Class A and B Supervisors – Control and measures to provide an efficient result. Final certificate issued by the Management.
• Surveyors, Assessors, Management. – Understanding the responsibility.
Asbestos Management Survey
- Minimal survey, will not look into the actual fibres.
- Identify asbestos which may be disturbed during normal occupancy.
Asbestos refurb and Demo survey
- As far as reasonably practicable, All Asbestos Containing Products (ACMs) in the area where the refurbishment work will take place or in the whole building if demolition is planned.
Key things to consider
• All bases need to covered during quotation stage.
• Identify the problems and the issues.
• A good surveyor is the one who does his homework.
• A good survey leads to a good management.
Q and A’s:
Q – Sample documents – in form of a proof on site to get confirmation?
A – Asbestos Survey Register must be present on the site. If work is carried out – demolition and refurbishing survey otherwise management survey. Index, documents etc. Just like certificate for leaky buildings.
Q –Production of asbestos in the form of building products - prior to 90’s
A- Grant talked about the production of asbestos by various companies up till 1995.
Keynotes: Jason Jon – WorkSafe
- Introduction – Previous Work Experience
- Addressed previous questions
Key Points:
• Before going to the site, you want to know the risks associated to the site.
• Identification of risks increases awareness.
• If asbestos is on site, we won’t go on the site.
- The new Law, (4th April 2018) - must have approved safety removal management plan and licensed to undertake asbestos removal work.
• Documentation required to address the severity of risk.
• Training, Licenses are required.
Purpose of the Law:
• 170 New Zealanders die each year from asbestos exposure.
• The new regulations are designed to protect the workers.
• People unfortunately don’t yet understand the risk of asbestos.
Types of asbestos and key points to remember –
• Chrysotile(white), Crocidolite(blue) and Amosite(Brown)
• Lack of awareness amongst building related contractors on what the asbestos looks like.
• Categories to distinguish - Friable and Non-Friable
• Friable - If asbestos can easily crumble it is friable
• Non-Friable - If not easily crumbled then it is non-friable.
• Important to understand the state of asbestos.
• Discussed various elements of building where asbestos could be found – Can be found in building materials through soils – potentially anywhere and everywhere.
• Over 3000 building products are using asbestos in them.
• New Law 4th April – Workplace must ensure an effective asbestos management plan.
• Jason showed the members - signage for asbestos removal area. The builder would put this sign up in-case of an asbestos removal area.
• Buildings constructed before 2000 if demolished – The PCBU needs to undertake an asbestos demolition or refurbishment survey before work begins, unless you can prove there is no asbestos.
• Most asbestos related diseases take about 10-20 years to reflect symptoms and effect health.
Engaging Removalists:
Class A
• Class A qualifications for removal require industry experience of at least three in removing
• Any type or quantity of asbestos or ACM, including:
• Any amount of friable asbestos or ACM, any amount of Asbestos contaminated dust or debris (ACD) and any amount of non-friable asbestos.
Class B
• Class B qualifications for removal require industry experience of at least one year in removing
• Any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM. ACD associated with removing any amount of non-friable asbestos or ACM.
No License required
• Up to 10m2 of non-friable asbestos or ACM, cumulatively over the whole cure of the removal project.
• Less than 10sqm you don’t need a ANCRP but you do need an asbestos management plan.
• For Class A license – Supervisor needs to be on site all the time
• Class B – Supervisor doesn’t have to be on site all the time necessarily.
• To compete an ARCP – Removal control plan - Type, location, extent, condition and accessibility of the ACM.
Note:
• There is no governing body for the licensing.
• Work safe provides license and registers.
• Worksafe provides a guideline for “Asbestos Removal Licensing for Applicants”
Before Commencing Works:
PCBU must take reasonable steps to ensure that the following are notified of the asbestos removal before work commences –
• Any PCBU at the workplace.
• Any PCBU in the immediate vicinity.
• Any occupying premises in the immediate vicinity of the workplace.
Clearance Inspection Process:
Must be carried out for all licensed asbestos removal work and should be carried out in four stages-
• Site condition check and job competencies.
• Thorough visual inspection inside the enclosure/work area.
• Clearance monitoring (depending on type of asbestos and condition of the enclosure)
• A final assessment post-enclosure/work area dismantling.
Q and A’s:
Q – Substitution of building products. What architect chooses might not be used?
Q – Over 28000 LBP’s - Why is this awareness not spread to the LBP’s – in the making?
A – Reaching out to the LBP’s – in progress. Builders unfortunately are not very interested in doing these courses. – (Comment added by the secretary of NZDAA.)
Q - Who should conduct Survey’s?
A License required for asbestos assessors – information available on the website.
Accessor’s competency will be in steps. More information available on best practise guidelines on work safe website.
Q - What If the guy on site has wrong license?
A - Site can be shut down. The whole process will be reviewed.
Q – Can we ask (any asbestos on site?) as a first question when an inspection is booked – Council Inspector?
A – Could be considered.
Q – Are landfill sites also included?
A – Yes they are workplace.
Q – For private home owners they are not required to confirm?
A - We rely on moral grounds for them to confirm.
Q – Demolition contractors membership – voluntary or fee?
A – It was voluntary – now it is a subscription-based membership and vetted with work history.
Useful Information:
• Lots of courses on offer for asbestos awareness – Promote your workers to attend these courses to get awareness on asbestos.
• Best thing to do is; ask the question prior to going on the site - Is there asbestos? How do you know if there is or how do you know if there is not?
• Do not enter if there is an asbestos presence sign on site.
• Help support the industry. Ask for the certificate.
• Asbestos Awareness Week - 9th to 13th April. Register through the NZDAA website – Various speakers from the country will be present.
Interactive exercise with the members:
• 4 members volunteered.
• Demonstration on how the suit is put on and put off step by step.
• When the suit is to be removed - try to roll it down so that all bits and pieces that gets sticks on are rolled over.
Meeting was closed at 8.00pm.
Grant thanked all presenters and sponsors for the evening, and a special thanks to Grant Brown for organising the event.
Next Branch Training and Networking Event:
scheduled for 18th APRIL at ALEXANDRA PARK, GREENLANE, AUCKLAND
Hasan Shueb
Auckland Branch Executive
