Long after the commercial use of asbestos ceased the deadly material has continued to represent a costly and dangerous problem for Australia.
Now, some 30 years since the true extent of its toxicity was discovered, the launch of a revolutionary new management tool hopes to rid the country of asbestos entirely by 2020.
Octfolio has released its new Asbestos Information Management Software, which helps track, assess, remove, and dispose of asbestos.
Darren Anderson, managing director of Octfolio, believes the system can play a pivotal role in assisting the government in its plan to remove asbestos from Australian buildings.
“This technology offers everything from online training for asbestos assessors and removalists, and sharing medical research information, to encouraging safe storage and disposal at licensed facilities and even mechanisms for reporting illegal disposal sites,” Anderson said.
“There are many more community benefits including accessibility of the project data in situations like natural disasters and recovery operations, and providing a way for the government and private sector to better inform the public in relation to asbestos and its safe removal,” Anderson added.
The federal government established the Australian Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA) in July of this year. The agency has tough work ahead – it’s estimated that one in three homes building in Australia between 1945 and 1987 contained asbestos, ranking Australia as the number one user of asbestos around the world.
Three years in the making, Octfolio was developed in consultation with trade union leaders, who have spent years campaigning for asbestos removal.
Mark Kay, chief technology adviser at Octfolio, explained that the new tool will help building owners and managers looking to remove asbestos save time and operational costs.
“It works by creating a centrally operated database that unites all asbestos stakeholders from site assessors and removal workers to building owners and government agencies, recording their information in a micro format that then provides the big picture of what’s happening everywhere in the country in relation to asbestos contaminated sites and buildings, removal, disposal, and storage,” Kay said.
It will also allow for education about asbestos, and the collection of information through a national collaboration interface that will assist with medical research.
Octfolio can be used by businesses in line with objectives set by the ASEA.
