On a Monday morning, the SCC Property team began their work day before the arrival of staff and students, with an external crew conducting maintenance in the early hours on an electrical pit.
Deep in the pit, they discovered that some of the supporting walls contained fragments suspected asbestos, a substance now banned in building sites and removed from modern structures wherever found.
All work carried out on school grounds by contractors ensured an exclusion zone for any hazards, and the electrical work had a ‘no-go’ zone line enforced from the beginning of the job.
However, the potential discovery of asbestos made this a real situation with a real risk to all people within the proximity of the pit.
The Executive Team at Swan notified the Manager of Risk, Governance and Assurance (MRGA), Mr Paul Fettis, who immediately expanded the exclusion zone and coordinated with Rapid Asbestos Removals to remove the asbestos-related fragments from the site.
“This is a perfect example of how our Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Strategy and Risk Appetite Statement come to life in the real world,” said Mr Fettis this week.
“Within moments of spotting the possible asbestos, our grounds and maintenance team secured the area, sealed the pit, and called in reinforcements. The asbestos has now been strategically removed, the site has been cleaned, and a hygiene certificate confirms that it is safe for everyone to return,” said Mr Fettis.
So how do we ensure that every ‘real-life’ risk becomes a good news story like this one?
- Hazards were recognised immediately (situational awareness in action)
- Communication was fast and precise (aligned with our ERM principles)
- Decisions balanced risk appetite with operational needs (avoiding unnecessary disruption while keeping safety first)
Is there anything else that SCEA is doing to ensure that our sites are completely safe for staff, students and parents, Mr Fettis?
We are updating asbestos policy and procedure so it reflects best practice, boosting training and awareness for all staff (especially those in high-risk roles) and embedding learnings into the Incident and communications system so every site can benefit from Swan’s experience,” said Mr Fettis.
Swan’s asbestos story is a reminder that together, we’re building a safer, stronger SCEA. Many thanks to the staff involved, who called authorities and ensured that there was a positive outcome for this story.