This month, we are excited to share the video that Besafe presented at the Faculty of Asbestos Management Australia and New Zealand (FAMANZ) conference back in March. Our training manager, Alannah, was unable to go due to being overseas, but she really wanted to share the work she had been doing with Besafe to create a new asbestos training program. Jason Braithwaite, general manager of Besafe Training, presented to asbestos industry professionals (after being persuaded by Alannah!). The presentation covered the new Environmental Deconstruction course, as well as the Civil Plant Introduction a ..read more

This is definitely a very frequently asked question in it’s various forms! “But we haven’t used asbestos for years”, or “All the asbestos has been removed from here”, plus “There is no asbestos here” (honestly, if we had a dollar for every time we have heard this one before finding asbestos….!). Or how about “Nah, that’s not asbestos” and never forget “I have worked with asbestos for years and I’m fine”. Yeah, so these are the famous last words we are told by clients, builders, tradies and site managers before we start a survey. More often than not, when someone says something like this (with ..read more

Dear Tamaki Makaurau Auckland, What a week we have had already. Very few of us knew what was coming on Friday 27 January, let alone the scale of devastation that would befall our big city. Firstly, please know that our thoughts are with the families of those who have died in the floods. Also, to those who have been displaced due to property damage and landslips, we hope you have found safety for the time being. The SQN team are all working in our local communities to help where we can. This is definitely not what we planned for our first blog of 2023, but here we are. Hopefully, you will find ..read more

With good asbestos management, we can mitigate the risk of asbestos day to day. But this hasn’t always been the case. We at SQN support you with taking the scariness out of asbestos. Our approach is always risk based and we bring you pragmatic asbestos solutions. But since October is the spooky month, we thought we would share some of the scarier facts about asbestos that we are all collectively working away from. 1. We have known asbestos is deadly to humans for 2000 years - yet still use it. Many ancient civilisations used asbestos. The Romans, being the excellent record keepers we know them ..read more

Scroll through some of the headlines from here and around the world Asbestos around the world 〰️ Asbestos around the world〰️ Asbestos around the world 〰️ The Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency - Australia This is a proactive initiative by the Victorian State government to identify, register and manage and remove asbestos containing materials in all government owned buildings. The agency covers government offices, hospitals, train stations, community centres, prisons, education facilities (including schools), recreational centres and more. Their work included consolidating asbestos registers ..read more

If you have ever seen the aftermath of an Asbestos Demolition Survey, you will understand why we usually ask for the property to be empty before we get started. Not seen what happens on an Asbestos Demolition Survey? Let us show you more…. What is an Asbestos Demolition Survey? This type of survey must be carried out before the demolition of a building. Even if only part of the building is going to be demolished. We do it because asbestos was used in the construction of buildings built or renovated throughout the 20th Century. It isn’t always obvious where asbestos was used, it was often hidde ..read more

Peek behind the scenes of a project we recently managed…. Humans are naturally curious. So when we see fencing around a building site, of course we are interested about what is going on. Especially if it is a building we pass often. Let us take you through the steps of this tricky job and how we kept the work on schedule, on budget and safe. Watch the short video below and scroll down to read more detail. Peek behind the scenes of one of the asbestos projects we recently managed. The Asbestos Survey We were engaged to carry out a survey prior to refurbishment of areas of this property so any a ..read more

How do you choose your training provider for asbestos training? Reputation? Quality? Location? Available dates? Independent? Or price….? You likely have a priority list because you can’t always have everything you want. Whatever your reasons, let us share the value we offer to you. 1. Training designed for what you do Our new training sessions are designed for asbestos removal professionals. Most people prefer to learn through doing, so we have made more time for practical training and assessment. We also adapt our training sessions to our client’s requirements. We want you to get the most out ..read more

Asbestos doesn’t break down, it isn’t going anywhere fast. We have been dealing with it for decades and will continue to deal with it for many more. During our work, we unfortunately come across asbestos containing materials (ACM) in bad condition. Sometimes it is just time that has weathered and damaged these materials, but too often it is human damage. We often talk about the asbestos legacy, but do you want to be part of a positive change, or one of the horror stories? Here are some examples we have come across: Far left - Leaky pipework needed the insulation removing to allow for repai ..read more

If you are asking this question, the answer is probably yes. What training depends on the type of work you are doing though. Have a read of this blog to learn more. We are covering asbestos related work, asbestos removal work and asbestos assessors. Please note, this is specific to Aotearoa New Zealand - advice may be different if you are in another country. Asbestos related work Who need this? Electricians, gas fitters, plumbers, facilities management, maintenance workers, lift engineers, demolition workers, builders, geotechnical engineers, civil engineers, contaminated land workers, structu ..read more