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Asbestos surveyor found guilty of breaching Trade Descriptions Act

John Bridle, of J&S Bridle Associates, Dinas Powys, has been conditionally discharged for two years and ordered to pay Vale of Glamorgan Council costs of £4,000 after being convicted of making false claims in relation to his business qualifications. Appearing at Barry Magistrates’ Court, he was found guilty of two offences contrary to the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, by claiming to have the BIOH (now BOHS) P402 qualification when in fact he did not. P402 is BOHS’s Proficiency Module on Buildings Surveys and Bulk Sampling for Asbestos, and Mr Bridle used it on two of his headed business letters, despite the fact that he had been notified in writing by the then BIOH that he had not passed the qualification. “Whenever we have evidence of a false claim in relation to one of our qualifications we will report it to Trading Standards”, states David O’Malley, Registrar of BOHS’s Faculty of Occupational Hygiene, the professional arm of the Society. “It is paramount not only that the high standards of our qualifications are maintained, but that the credibility afforded by them is not abused so that widespread confidence in their reputation is upheld.” The P402 qualification is a common theme in the routes to surveyor verification. HSE guidance describes it as 'a basic minimum qualification for individuals carrying out asbestos surveys', and recommends it (or a higher BOHS qualification), together with some practical experience, as the starting point for companies wanting to use an in-house asbestos surveyor rather than an outside contractor. P402 and other BOHS qualifications are also specified by the UKAS guidance for organisations that want to be accredited for this task, and it is also a pre-requirement of individual surveyors applying to become certified by the new Asbestos Building Inspectors Certification Scheme. Recognised internationally as a major professional examination and qualification body, the BOHS Faculty of Occupational Hygiene plays a vital role in developing and maintaining the professional standards of hygienists, and oversees the suite of syllabuses and examinations. References to the Faculty’s (and previously BIOH’s) qualifications appear in UKAS and HSE guidance. Other modules cover fields such as manual handling, noise, testing of ventilation, and COSHH. These provide routes to general training in occupational hygiene, and also training for those just interested in particular topics who want examinations backed by the top professional expertise in the field. ENDS