Blog

While the use and production of new asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) has been banned in the UK since 1999, a large proportion of railway infrastructure still contains the fibrous mineral. Used in the construction and maintenance of trains and locomotive components, the fire retardant and insulating properties of asbestos made it an ideal material for lining carriage walls, lagging pipe work, brake pads, packing piston cylinders, boilers and heating systems. Prior to any planned building work on trains/buildings, duty holders are required to undertake a management, refurbishment or demolition survey, dependent on the nature of the construction taking place. These often require samples of ACMs to determine the extent of the risk of asbestos exposure. Specific procedures have therefore been put in place to ensure that each sample is analysed as accurately and precisely as possible.…

Read more

The United Kingdom has consistently remained at the forefront of health and safety, with one of the best combined records in the world. This glowing report stems from the UK’s extensive history of health and safety regulations, all of which are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities. There is a plethora of information on worker health protection available through the HSE and similar organisations, which provide guidance on a range of workplace health initiatives, campaigns and collaborations. Awareness of workplace health hazards and a greater comprehension of how workers can manage the risks is becoming increasingly commonplace among organisations, thanks to the growing number of worker health protection initiatives available. This guide provides a brief overview of a series of initiatives, campaigns and partnerships designed to promote and enforce worker health protection.…

Read more

Michael ‘Jock’ Randall is a senior lead driller who has worked for SOCOTEC for over 15 years. He gained his NVQ Level 2 Land Drilling (Lead Driller) in 2005, operating a Cable Percussion drill rig and, in 2018, he began training as a rotary lead driller.…

Read more

A number of methods exist for the sampling and analysis of gases. Testing may be required to determine the quality of the fuel for landfill engines and other energy from waste applications. Sampling of trace components in landfill gases is often the requirement of an environmental permit, where operators have to produce an annual report on the emission of certain substances from the site.…

Read more

Prior to the construction of buildings and roads, soil load bearing tests are required. Two of the most common tests are the Plate Load Test and the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) Test.…

Read more

Over the past year, SOCOTEC Monitoring has undertaken over 100 hours of rope access work and this is expected to be an area of continued growth due to the benefits it brings clients in budget efficiencies, time saved and quality control over instrumentation installation. Rory Millin, operations manager at SOCOTEC Monitoring, discusses the many benefits of installing monitoring systems via rope access.…

Read more

Nick Slater, monitoring services director at SOCOTEC Monitoring, shares his insights into some of the benefits of asset monitoring, as well as the advantages of implementing automated monitoring over manual monitoring systems using a project for the Coal Authority as a case study.…

Read more

Despite all of the safety advice and guidance given since the introduction of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, there are still a disproportionate number of completely avoidable fall from height accidents and incidents resulting in fatal or life-changing injuries. Our highly qualified specialists can provide help and guidance in managing your work at height, and work with you to develop a synchronised safety offering that could help prevent your workforce from becoming a statistic.…

Read more

Exposure to radon gas not only increases the risk of lung cancer but radon is the second highest cause of lung cancer in the UK with over 1100 annual deaths each year (smoking being the highest cause) and as such, understanding the level of radon and potential exposure in the workplace is fundamental to determining and managing the risk. David Gilmour, business manager for the Environment & Safety team aims to outline the process and explain the importance of monitoring radon exposure in the workplace.…

Read more

Employers must ensure that controls are implemented in the workplace to reduce their employees’ risk of excessive noise exposure, in line with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. We explore some of the noise impacts witnessed at a rail depot as well as the solutions and controls implemented to overcome any non-compliance.…

Read more