Why is asbestos duty to manage training required for every building built before the year 2000?

Asbestos duty to manage training prepares those who are responsible for asbestos management and safety on commercial properties to carry out their jobs. This type of training includes asbestos awareness, and it’s helpful for those with the duty to manage as well as anyone who has to make decisions about asbestos management.

Asbestos management is particularly important in buildings constructed before the year 2000. While the UK banned the use of asbestos in 1999, any buildings that were constructed or renovated before that time are likely to contain asbestos.

Without proper asbestos management, anyone in the building, including workers, contractors, and visitors, is at risk of asbestos exposure. This happens when damaged asbestos materials release toxic, airborne fibres that can lead to diseases and cancers several years in the future.

Failing to comply with asbestos regulations can result in high fines and even prison, and it also puts anyone on the premises at risk.

What is duty to manage asbestos training?

According to the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012), the duty to manage asbestos applies to non-domestic premises. The person with the duty has a “responsibility for protecting others who work in such premises, or use them in other ways, from the risks to ill health that exposure to asbestos causes.”

Benefits of asbestos duty to manage training include:

• Safeguarding the health and well-being of everyone on the premises
• Risk mitigation to prepare for, control, and lessen the threats that disturbed or damaged asbestos pose
• Long-term cost savings — for example, it may be less expensive to handle asbestos materials in decent condition than to wait and have to remove them once they’re more damaged
• Compliance with legal obligations, which avoids serious penalties, including fines and prison

Duty to manage asbestos training must be refreshed at least every 12 months. This ensures that individuals are always up to date with legal changes or requirements. It also ensures that asbestos knowledge is fresh in the event that it’s needed, like if there’s an emergency or a new asbestos material is found in the building.

Who is the duty to manage asbestos training for?

Anyone who requires an overview of the duty to manage asbestos and/or its legal requirements should take this course. This may include:

• A person appointed by the duty holder to manage asbestos
• The assistant to the duty holder
• The building owner
• The building’s landlord
• A managing agent

Additionally, the course can be taken for anyone involved with asbestos management in a single building or multiple buildings.

Businesses that have multiple properties, such as retail brands or nationwide companies, must have someone trained in the duty to manage asbestos for each premise. This means that large businesses should take a coordinated approach to ensure compliance across all locations.

Who has the duty to manage asbestos on a premises?

The duty holder is the person responsible for asbestos management and safety. The duty holder may also be appointed to this role by the person responsible for safety on the premises.

Duty holders are responsible for the following:

• Identifying and addressing asbestos risks
• Developing and implementing asbestos management plans
• Ensuring that their asbestos management processes comply with UK law
• Monitoring asbestos materials to assess if they’ve changed and now pose a risk

In an article we previously wrote about Duty To Manage Asbestos Training we outlined different scenarios to help determine who the duty holder would be in each case.

What is the purpose of duty to manage asbestos training?

Duty to manage asbestos training provides a basic understanding of legal requirements under CAR 2012, specifically for the duty holder.

It also includes information about:

• Who the duty holder may be for a property
• Asbestos surveys and risk assessments
• Asbestos management plans
• Asbestos action plans
• Legal responsibilities
• General asbestos management

What are the duty to manage asbestos training programs?

The United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) offers asbestos training for those who have a duty to manage. In addition to the core content — which must be adhered to in order to complete the course — additional, customised training can be taken if needed.

UKATA courses follow the recommendations and requirements outlined in CAR 2012, and there are three courses to choose from:

DM1

This initial duty to manage training is for those who don’t have any prior UKATA training. Asbestos awareness is included in this training. The DM1 training course lasts for one day or a minimum of six hours.

DM2

The DM2 training course is for individuals who have taken UKATA asbestos awareness training within the past six months. The duration of the DM2 course is a half day or three hours.

Verification of prior training must be presented in order to take this course. If the training was longer than six months ago, DM1 training is required instead of the DM2 course.

DM3

The DM3 training program is a duty to manage asbestos refresher course that can be taken on an as-needed basis if asbestos methods change or the trainee has a gap in competency.

What do the duty to manage asbestos training courses teach?

The training courses teach duty holders everything they’ll need to know to properly manage asbestos on their commercial premises. This includes the following tasks:

• Referring to building plans and blueprints to determine where asbestos may be present
• Carrying out a risk assessment to check for asbestos on the premises
• Checking the condition of the asbestos-containing materials (ACMs), which helps assess their risk level for asbestos exposure
• Properly assessing the risk of each ACM so that a plan of action can be developed
• Understanding the different options for asbestos management, such as encapsulation and removal
• Creating an asbestos management plan that details how asbestos risk will be handled and detailing each step to be taken
• Ongoing monitoring of ACMs to determine if their condition or risk level change
• Communicating asbestos-related information to affected individuals on the premises

How do you decide which type of training is needed?

A brief analysis should be conducted to determine which type of training is needed for the individual. These questions can help you decide the proper course to take:

• Who will be taking duty to manage asbestos training?
• What type of work does that person perform?
• What asbestos-related tasks will that person perform?
• Does the person have existing experience with the duty to manage asbestos?
• Is there proof of prior asbestos training?
• When was the prior training completed?

From there, you can determine which of the three duty to manage asbestos training courses is the best one to take.

Final thoughts

The duty to manage asbestos on commercial premises — or multiple premises, if you own a company with several locations — is an incredibly important role. The duty holder has a responsibility to keep everyone safe from an asbestos exposure event.

Such a significant job requires proficiency in asbestos safety, which is only achieved through proper training. Taking a proactive approach to asbestos management and training means preventing an unsafe environment instead of reacting to a mishap when it’s too late.

At Oracle Solutions, we offer UKATA-certified duty to manage asbestos training that you can take online. Learn more here.