SWMP course.

I have an "Understanding Site Waste Management Plans" course that I run for anyone in the construction industry. The purpose of the course is to provide a practical understanding of SWMPs, how they came into being, what they were intended to do, and the specific requirements of the Regulations. It lasts about half a day (3 to 4 hours) depending upon the amount of discussion generated within the group, and I give it a slightly different focus depending upon the background of the people I'm coaching. The presentation is deliberately interactive, asking questions of the audience at various points to generate discussion, and so for this reason it works best with smaller groups of people within companies who know each other rather than larger groups of strangers.

By starting off with "What is Waste?" and the "Waste Duty of Care", I can ensure that everyone has a proper appreciation of what the SWMP Regs relate to, and the background to some of the legal requirements that are reinforced in the Regulations.

Before starting on the SWMP regs themselves, I like to take a quick straw poll on the audience's current knowledge of the Regs, with a few simple questions, followed by an explanation of why and how the Regulations came to be drafted. A detailed look at the Regulations themselves follows, with a summary of their specific requirements as they apply to projects at the end.

"Practical Issues" is where I look at slightly different issues depending upon the audience, looking, for example at the true cost of waste, waste minimisation and designing out waste, the different waste templates and how plans might be prepared, changing trends in plans expectations and reporting, waste targets, practical issues regarding waste record-keeping and monitoring during the works, end of project waste reviews, etc.

The session closes with an open discussion which gives the participants the opportunity to raise any final issues, and if a suitable connection is available, can include a "guided tour" of the various waste and SWMP resources available on the internet.

Feedback from the audience at a recent session was very positive: "It was refreshing to gain an insightful and practical perspective of SWMPs from someone with first hand experience. The feedback from all attendees was extremely positive citing a thought provoking and informative session."

If you are interested in running this course in your company, please get in touch.