Asbestos Awareness for Architects

Asbestos is probably the most dangerous building material ever used. Every year thousands of people fall ill and die because of exposure to asbestos and it was widely used by the construction industry right up until the year 2000. The Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR), 2012 apply to employers, employees, self-employed persons and duty holders and cover all work with asbestos containing materials. Regulation 10 of CAR states that every employer must ensure that adequate information, instruction and training is given to employees who are liable to be exposed to asbestos. This includes maintenance workers and others who may come into contact with or disturb asbestos.  Asbestos awarenss for architects, surveryors and designers covers everything in the asbestos awareness training. However, as architects and surveryors should be particularly aware of the possibility of disturbing asbestos when they embark on a project, particularly in old buildings.

Architects should be aware of any asbestos survey that had previously been undertaken and ensure any inspection was thorough prior to any demolition or refurbishment.  Asbestos awareness for architects includes the planning stage the project. Discovering asbestos during the planning stages instead of after a job is underway reduces the risks of exposure to asbestos and can severely delay the timescale for the project.

As well as informing candidates about the risks of working with asbestos, the course will deliver content to help them recognise asbestos containing materials, make them aware of where it was used, include steps they can take to minimise the risks and discuss the legislation that applies to working with asbestos. Each module is rounded off with several multiple-choice questions, candidates are required to get 100% on these tests to pass the course. They have the opportunity to review all the answers at the end of each module before final submission and will be given 3 attempts to achieve the required result.