Asbestos peace of mind

18 January 2012

Thomson has launched an asbestos management software system to provide peace of mind for facility managers, health and safety officers and premises dutyholders.

The new iStar Asbestos Management system is aimed at all with responsibility for asbestos on their sites, whatever their industry. Thomson originally developed the iStar solution for its own asbestos surveying and abatement teams and has trialled the software in the field for a decade. The result is an offering that can scale from large industrial plants down to schools, hotels, small factories or any other premises that contain asbestos and are therefore subject to the Health and Safety Executive's Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

iStar Asbestos Management provides a visual database of all fixtures, fittings and infrastructure containing asbestos across a user's site or estate. All items are logged and cross-referenced with photos and site-plans, giving facilities managers, contractors and operatives a clear and up-to-date picture of all locations containing asbestos and their status. Users can search for locations by text, maps, plans or site grid systems.

By law, all sites that contain asbestos have to keep accurate records that must be immediately accessible to site operatives, sub-contractors and HSE inspectors. Many firms are unaware of their full responsibilities. Those that are find themselves struggling with invariably outdated or non-compliant spreadsheets and assorted paper-based methods to keep on top of the situation. Penalties for failing to comply with record-keeping regulations are severe and the ramifications for an organisation's public relations image can be huge.

iStar Asbestos Management aids compliance with HSE regulations, alerts users to overdue inspections and records all removal/abatement works. The IT solution produces an on-demand audit trail of completed works and confirmation of procedural compliance with HSE standards. The Windows-based software can be installed on customer's existing hardware and Thomson Ltd custom-fits the solution to each client's individual needs.