Asbestos Register Collaborates With EntrySign to Reduce Accidental Asbestos Exposure in Schools

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15 September 2023

The UK National Asbestos Register has joined forces with a contractor management company to help mitigate the risks of accidental asbestos exposure in UK schools and buildings.

The collaboration means that when a contractor uses EntrySign to sign in to a site, they can access asbestos information about the building, read and accept any health and safety policies and confirm they have had relevant training.

80.9 per cent of participating state-funded schools and academies in England were found to have asbestos present on their school estate, according to a Department for Education (DfE) report in 2019. According to the National Education Union (NEU), more than 200 teachers have died from mesothelioma since 2001, caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos fibres in the school environment. 

The DfE requires that schools must have up-to-date asbestos management plans in place and emergency procedures to deal with accidental exposure.

The UK National Asbestos Register (UKNAR), a social enterprise working to improve awareness around asbestos management, provides vital asbestos information via a QR code. Scanning this QR code gives contractors and staff instant access to an up-to-date asbestos register for the building. EntrySign can ensure the asbestos register is viewed and accepted before any work commences, by displaying an asbestos management notice and the SMART QR code during the sign-in process.

Andy Brown, Co-Founder and Director at UKNAR said: “Having spent over twenty years in the asbestos industry and operated as a fully qualified asbestos consultant for over 15 years, I am acutely aware of the varied challenges that so many responsible persons face trying to manage asbestos safely within their organisations.

That is why I am delighted to be one of the co-founders of UKNAR CIC as we try to make it easier for people to manage asbestos safely with the aid of today’s SMART technology. We are particularly keen to help schools given that over 75 per cent still contain asbestos and the more vulnerable nature of their occupants: which include pupils and teachers as well as estates teams, caretakers and contractors.

EntrySign is a great product, and we believe this collaboration will enable more building occupants, visitors and contractors to access vital asbestos information and remain safe whilst in buildings protected by the EntrySign and Asbestos SMART systems."

Picture: a photograph of a person wearing a protective hard hat and hi-vis waistcoat using their smartphone to scan a QR code on a screen. Image Credit: UKNAR

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 15 September 2023

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