62 | Awards recognise industry excellence T T Karen Phelps Taggart took out the overall Contractor of the Year Award as well as the Health and Safety Best Practice Award. New Zealand Asbestos and Demolition Association DEMOLITION The New Zealand Demolition & Asbestos Association’s (NZDAA) fourth annual industry awards held late last year were a big success with over 200 people in attendance, says NZDAA communications manager Sarah Tohill. The biggest winner of the evening was Taggart that took out the overall Contractor of the Year Award as well as the Health and Safety Best Practice Award. Central Demolition also had a good night taking home two awards - Best Environmental and Best Practice Under $20K. The awards highlight some of the positive aspects of the industry and also showcase the high levels of skill and competency involved in key asbestos and demolition projects. There are 12 categories for companies to enter, which include Health and Safety Best Practice, Environmental Best Practice and Supplier of the Year. There are also Asbestos or Demolition Best Practice Project awards for under $20k, under $1m and over $1m. Sarah says the awards really highlight the importance of the work that is being completed by the industry along with the complexities and challenges involved. “It’s a great opportunity for people to showcase their work and gain recognition,” she says. The awards evening was held to coincide with Asbestos Awareness Week from November 23-28, which aims to educate the trades and general public around safer practice with regards to asbestos. The campaign featured both online and offline educational content to provide people with guidance around asbestos management in their properties. “Any contractors coming onto the site to conduct routine maintenance works should be given a copy of the plan to review before starting work.” The information included free tutorial videos on different topics on managing asbestos around the home and in the workplace. This content is available on the association’s sister website www.asbestosawarenz.com It’s been four years since changes were created by the Health and Safety (Asbestos) Regulations 2016. Sarah says that the regulations have raised the bar for the removal industry and brought New Zealand’s approach to managing asbestos in the workplace and any associated removal more in line with Australia and the UK. One important requirement is that any buildings built prior to the year 2000 and/or known to contain asbestos, or are assumed to have the presence of asbestos, must now have an Asbestos Management Plan, which clearly sets out location of the associated asbestos and how this is going to be managed. Sarah stresses these plans should not be documents created then shelved but must be a living document that is reviewed and monitored on an on-going basis. “Any contractors coming onto the site to conduct routine maintenance works should be given a copy of the plan to review before starting work. “For business or property owners thinking about refurbishment or demolition projects, they also require a demolition or refurbishment survey to be completed before any work commences.” The NZDAA is an industry organisation representing the industry and members include surveyors, removalists, assessors and testing laboratories. A big focus is enabling the sharing of knowledge and information to educate and drive best practice as well as working with regulatory bodies such as WorkSafe and other advisory organisations like the Unitech Environmental Research Solutions Centre and the Cancer Society. For people seeking the best in the business the NZDAA website has a list of asbestos and demolition contractors that are working in their region. Sarah says that currently although there is a licensing system for removalists and assessors no such system exists for surveyors so the NZDAA is looking at developing its own framework to support this. The NZDAA is also currently in the process of updating its Best Practice Guidelines for Demolition in New Zealand. Written in 2011, the updated version will tie the guideline more closely with the current asbestos regulations and for residential demolition works.
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