Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions removal staff have successfully erected our largest free-standing enclosure to date. Located within the Michelin Tyre Factory in Dundee, the enclosure is 8750m3 and had to be erected around existing plant and machinery. The enclosure used a whole pallet of polythene and was erected in under 5 days using powered access equipment – due to the enclosure being 10m high.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

After several months of planning and implementation, our new computer system is now live and has been rolled out to our Surveyors, Admin and Accounts staff….. The Removal staff will be next! The system does everything from tracking enquiries, diaries and on-site data collection to risk assessments, invoicing and Sage integration. The system was a £26k investment by Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions and is expected to improve our service to customers, improve efficiency, assist in maintaining regulatory requirements and reduce staff workload.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

Following our ISO9001 audit yesterday, we were successfull in maintaining our accreditation )

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

We had a call yesterday from a company in England asking us about our experiences with The Building Register Ltd….. where do we start! We were advised by The Building Register that their system would identify the contracts with an asbestos removal element, who was tendering for them and subsequently who the successful bidder was. We gave it a try and got absolutely no leads whatsoever. When this was queried with them they advised there wasn’t a specific section for asbestos removal so we would need to look for contracts that were refurbishment related and contact the parties involved to see if they had a requirement for our services….. Contacting contractors that you know have a requirement for your services is one thing, cold calling is completely different and the same information is available free from several other sources.

Having paid for 6 months we were disappointed with the service provided by The Building Register and felt somewhat duped. Imagine our surprise and disgust to be told after the 6 months that we couldn’t cancel the membership as we had supposedly signed up to an In Perpetuity Contract. This basically means that the contract renews if the cancellation terms in the contract aren’t followed. In came an invoice for the renewal of a service which was absolutely useless to us and was only taken on as a trial in the first place.

Then the fun began…… Phone calls and emails on what seemed like an hourly basis from The Building Register commenced. We were repeatedly threatened with court action and were sent examples of court productions, copies of terms and conditions etc to show that they meant business.

Did we end up paying The Building Register….. NO!

Did we go to court against The Building Register…. NO!

The contract clearly said it could not be cancelled after it had been signed and returned to The Building Register. Well, we had never signed anything. Their salesman remotely accessed our PC to show us how to navigate the registration process. During this process a small box was ticked which says we agree to the terms and conditions and this is what they relied upon as our agreement to the contract with the In Perpetuity clause. Unfortunately the terms and conditions specifically said we had to sign it and return it.

This is the best bit…. The productions from The Building Register to the court included the terms and conditions and also the ‘authorisation order form’. For some strange and mysterious reason the wording of each was different from the copies that we submitted as productions. Funnily enough the changes weren’t in our favour! The ‘authorisation order form’ had the same date and document number yet the wording had been altered?!

We pointed out to The Building Register that we had noticed the ‘changes’ and that we couldn’t wait to hear their explanation in court…… The Building Register then chose to withdraw their claim.

Beware!

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions Ltd have invested £26k in an electronic Asbestos Management System. This system comes in two parts, one in the office and the other out on site. The office part monitors all enquiries, quotes, instructions, diaries and invoicing. The site part is loaded onto tablet pc’s and used by the survey and removal staff while undertaking jobs.

In addition, the system provides an online ‘portal’ which allows clients (and their contractors) to access their survey reports.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions Ltd has grown rapidly in the 6 years since inception and the management system will facilitate further growth and ensure that all our clients and staff have the right information, in the right place, at the right time.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

The current HSE consultation for extending cost recovery identifies the estimated average cost of enforcement as follows:

HSE inspection which results in a letter £750
HSE inspection which results in an Improvement or Prohibition notice £1500
HSE investigation ranging from £750 to tens of thousands of pounds.

These estimates are based on HSE staff time at £133 per hour.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

On 7th October 2011 Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions Ltd were awarded the ARCA (Asbestos Removal Contractors Association) Gold Award for Training. This is in recognition of our staff achieving an average scoring of over 90% (criteria for the award is 80%) across all courses undertaken. The criteria for the award also requires a minimum of 8 staff to undertake ARCA training to ensure it is a good representation of the standard within the company.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions have invested in an SMH Decab (http://www.smhproducts.com/decab/index.html)

This is a vehicle mounted decontamination unit – the only one in Scotland and one of only four units UK wide. The Decab will be used primarily on single-day removal jobs as it reduces set-up times on site as there isn’t a trailer to position, jack-up etc. The Decab will also reduce the likelihood of works over the winter months being cancelled due to adverse weather conditions and makes getting a decontamination unit to far-flung areas of the Scottish Highlands & Islands easier. The unit can also be used when working in areas prone to vandalism as the unit is easily relocated to a safer position overnight.

The Decab joins other specialist vehicles within the Tool-Up fleet such as our vehicle mounted cherry picker and 7.5t hookloader. These vehicles are part of our strategy to ensure that our removal teams are properly equiped to undertake asbestos removal works in the safest and most efficient manner.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

Tool-Up have been working throughout Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross continuously over the summer period undertaking both survey and removal works from their base in Elgin. This has included hundreds of surveys prior to kitchens and bathrooms replacement contracts in council houses. We have also been removing window panels at Pennyland Primary School in Thurso using access equipment, which our staff are trained to operate.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions

Tool-Up have recently been awarded a contract to undertake refurbishment asbestos surveys of over twenty supply boats that service the offshore industry. This contract has the added complication in that the vessels are often delayed due to weather conditions and may not be in the dock when expected. Over recent years Tool-Up have undertaken removal works on such boats in Aberdeen and Leith. In late 2010 and early 2011 Tool-Up undertook a survey and complete removal from a drilling platform docked in Invergordon.

Tool-Up Asbestos Solutions