ACAD was created in 1993 to meet a need from industry for an organisation to promote best practice and to provide accurate technical advice. From its inception, and central to meeting this need, the ACAD Technical Committee has been an ever-present support service for ACAD members. 

The ACAD Technical Committee evolved out of the earlier TICA Technical Committee, which covered both thermal insulation and Asbestos prior to the creation of ACAD. The exact creation of the original TICA Technical Committee is lost to history, but it certainly operated during the 1970’s and possibly even the 1960’s. Back then, attendees from this attended the forerunner to the Asbestos Liaison Group (ALG, now the Asbestos Network), known as the Fibres National Interest Group. 

Graham Warren commented “The ACAD Technical Committee can trace its lineage back to the 1970’s and possibly even earlier, making it the longest standing Asbestos technical committee in the UK, and very probably in the World”. 

The ethos of the technical committee mirrored that of ACAD, namely best practice and accurate technical advice. And that ethos has crystallized through notable achievements throughout the decades including the creation of the Alternative ACoP in the 1990’s, which provided much needed detail on best practice approaches at a time when HSE publications were more limited, leading the joint industry review of HSG247: The Licensed Contractors Guide, and being the sole body outside of HSE to review HSG210: Asbestos Essentials. 

Graham Warren went on to say “The volunteers who make up the technical committee have always provided pragmatic advice to support members and the wider Asbestos industry. The alternative ACoP in the 1990’s was an early example of this, being written in typical job order allowing it to flow more naturally. Today, this unique ACAD member benefit, helps ensure ACAD members have unrivalled technical advice on tap whenever they need it”. 

ACAD members can access technical committee advice via gwarren@acad.uk.com