Asbestos 2026: BOHS and FAAM organise 9th asbestos conference as safety concerns rise across the UK

The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) and the Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM) are hosting the Asbestos 2026 Conference, taking place 29–30 April 2026 in Birmingham. 

The event will bring together researchers, regulators, industry leaders and practitioners to discuss the latest developments in the assessment, control and management of asbestos risks.

The conference comes at a time of heightened attention on asbestos safety in the UK. BOHS experts have recently warned about several emerging concerns, including the presence of asbestos contamination in children’s play sand, the rise of fraudulent asbestos surveyors, and gaps in national oversight of asbestos risks in schools.

These developments have reinforced calls for stronger awareness, improved competence in asbestos surveying and management, and better transparency around asbestos risks in public buildings.

Jonathan Grant, FAAM Registrar told That's Business: “The annual FAAM conference brings the latest insights on the detection of asbestos to a broad audience in an understandable way. 

"As the only non-commercial and science-led event in the asbestos field, it provides definitive access to the information we need to support the control of the UK’s biggest man-made environmental cancer risk.”

The Asbestos 2026 Conference aims to address these issues directly, providing a platform for the latest scientific research, technical guidance and policy discussion.

Experts attending the event will explore topics including:

Advances in asbestos surveying and analytical techniques

Improving competence and standards in asbestos assessment

Emerging challenges in asbestos management and remediation

Technological innovations and future developments in the sector

Policy developments and regulatory approaches

The conference is the ninth annual asbestos event organised by BOHS and FAAM, bringing together professionals from across the asbestos and occupational hygiene sectors.

Through technical presentations, expert discussions and networking opportunities, the event aims to support better professional practice and strengthen the systems that protect workers and the public from asbestos exposure.

Asbestos remains one of the most significant occupational health hazards in the UK, and improving how it is identified, assessed and managed continues to be a priority for occupational hygiene professionals.

By bringing together leading experts and practitioners, the conference will help shape the next steps in tackling the UK’s ongoing asbestos legacy.

The address of the conference is Central Square, Holliday St, Birmingham B1 1HH.

More information and to book your place:

https://events.bohs.org/event/asbestos-2026

https://www.bohs.org

https://www.bohs.org/membership/for-individuals/working-professional/faam-membership

Could Businesses Survive a Three-Day Week During a Fuel Crisis?

If Britain were suddenly pushed into a fuel crisis, the idea of a three-day working week might move from historical curiosity to urgent reality.

It wouldn’t be the first time. In the winter of 1973–74, power shortages forced the government to restrict electricity use for industry and businesses. 

Offices shut early, factories slowed down or shut for two days a week, and the economy had to squeeze a week’s worth of work into just a few days.

Fast forward to today and the question is obvious:

Could modern businesses actually cope?

The Reality Check for Employers

For many organisations, the biggest shock wouldn’t be shorter weeks, it would be discovering how much time is wasted.

A three-day operational window would quickly expose bloated meeting schedules, endless internal emails, and projects that never quite deliver anything useful.

Businesses would have to get brutally efficient.

The priorities would be simple:

focus on the work that actually generates revenue

cut non-essential meetings and bureaucracy

make decisions faster

stop doing things “because we always have”

In other words, many companies would be forced to run leaner, and arguably smarter.

Flexible Working Would Stop Being Optional

If energy restrictions meant offices could only operate on certain days, businesses would have to rethink scheduling overnight.

Expect to see:

compressed working hours across fewer days

rotating teams sharing office time

remote work becoming the default

Ironically, many firms that resisted flexible working after the pandemic might suddenly discover they have no choice.

Technology already exists to keep businesses running from almost anywhere. The real barrier has never been tech, it has been management mindset.

Energy Efficiency Would Suddenly Matter

Companies love talking about sustainability in glossy reports.

A fuel crisis would test how serious they actually are.

Businesses that have invested in energy-efficient lighting, heating, equipment and renewable power would be far better placed than those still relying on outdated infrastructure.

In a restricted-energy economy, using less power becomes a genuine competitive advantage.

Staff Would Feel the Pressure Too

Workers might initially welcome the idea of a shorter working week.

But if a crisis reduces overtime, bonuses or hours, the financial reality could quickly bite.

Employees might need to adapt by:

tightening household budgets

working from home due to scarcity or rationing of fuel to travel to work

taking on freelance or part-time work

using downtime for training or reskilling

In uncertain times, flexibility becomes a survival skill.

Crisis Often Reveals What Actually Works

There is a strange truth about disruption.

It often exposes how inefficient systems were in the first place.

A forced three-day working week would undoubtedly cause chaos in some sectors. But it might also show that many organisations can achieve more in less time when they stop wasting energy, both literally and organisationally.

The Bigger Lesson for Businesses

Fuel shortages, energy shocks and economic disruption are no longer theoretical risks.

Businesses that survive these events tend to have three things in common:

lean operations

flexible working models

lower energy dependence

Those that don’t adapt tend to discover, rather quickly, that the biggest risk isn’t the crisis itself.

It’s being unprepared when it arrives.

Startup Sniffs Out the Future: Dot Raises £4.2m to Turn Scent into Scientific Intelligence

A British technology company is proving that the future of detection may lie right under our noses.

Dot, a digital odour intelligence company, has secured £4.2 million in new funding to accelerate its global expansion and develop next-generation scent-analysis technologies capable of detecting biological change long before traditional systems notice anything is wrong.

The funding round was oversubscribed, signalling strong investor confidence in Dot’s unusual but highly promising approach to monitoring health, agriculture and environmental systems.

Key investors include Blackfinch Ventures, Pihl Family Office, long-standing supporter Luke Ding, and a new strategic investor.

Turning Scent into Data

For over a decade, Dot’s scientists have been studying the subtle chemical signals emitted by living systems. Humans, animals, plants and ecosystems all release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), microscopic airborne signatures revealing presence, health status and emerging biological risks.

Dot’s proprietary platform, dot.core™, captures these scent signatures, converting them into structured data. The result is a form of predictive biological intelligence capable of identifying problems earlier than conventional monitoring methods.

What began as academic research has now evolved into a scalable infrastructure designed to detect and interpret biological change across multiple sectors.

Four Sectors, One Platform

Dot’s technology operates across four interconnected areas:

Human health

Animal health

Plant health

Environmental monitoring

By translating scent into actionable data, organisations can move from reactive response to proactive protection, spotting pest outbreaks, disease risks or environmental changes before they escalate.

The company blends expertise from chemical ecology, insect behaviour, public health and data science, alongside laboratory testing and field research, to create early-warning solutions that are both targeted and sustainable.

Investment Fuels Global Expansion

The fresh funding will support Dot’s next stage of growth as it moves from scientific breakthrough to global deployment.

Key priorities include:

Expanding international partnerships for products such as BugScents™

Scaling scientific services across industries

Accelerating development of AI-powered odour intelligence technologies

Increasing manufacturing capacity

Strengthening validation and regulatory evidence

Professor James Logan, founder and CEO of Dot, described the investment as a strong endorsement of the company’s direction.

He told That's Busin ess: “This funding reflects confidence in our team, our platform and our ability to translate world-class science into real-world solutions. It allows us to accelerate growth, deepen partnerships and deliver earlier, smarter detection where it matters most.”

A New Frontier in Detection

Investors believe digital odour technology could transform how biological threats are identified and managed.

Backed by a growing patent portfolio and a strong scientific team, Dot aims to position scent-based intelligence as a global infrastructure for early detection across health, agriculture and environmental protection.

In a world increasingly focused on prevention rather than reaction, Dot is betting that the smallest airborne signals could provide the earliest warnings of the biggest problems.

http://www.digitalodourtechnologies.com

Regulatory upheaval drives surge in strategic communications turnover across Financial Services

Financial Services employers are experiencing the highest risk of strategic communications turnover of any sector in the UK, as the pressure around regulatory changes and increased scrutiny causes a talent exodus. 

This is according to the latest Strategic Communications Report from Murray McIntosh.

The study revealed 62% of communications professionals in Financial Services plan to change roles within the next six months and 69% have already interviewed for a new pos
ition. This level of instability is emerging as UK Financial Services regulation enters a particularly active period.

According to Bloomberg’s UK Regulatory Outlook, 2026 is a pivotal year, with authorities advancing reforms across digital finance, trading and markets, risk and financial stability, and sustainable finance, as regulators push to modernise market infrastructure while maintaining competitiveness and investor confidence.

Skills requirements changing

According to Murray McIntosh, the exodus of talent isn't the only challenge facing Financial Services businesses, as the need for top communications talent grows. Skills expectations are also shifting. Alongside core policy knowledge and stakeholder management, the firm’s report revealed that demand is rising for technical capabilities such as AI literacy and data science.

For employers, this combination of high anticipated movement, fast‑moving regulatory change, and evolving skills requirements raises the stakes for retaining and developing strategic communications capability. Continuity of insight and consistent messaging can be difficult to maintain when teams are in flux, yet they become more important as regulatory reform accelerates and expectations around transparency and resilience rise.

Lauren Maddocks, Associate Director, Policy and Public Affairs at Murray McIntosh, told That's Business: “The scale of change facing Financial Services this year cannot be overstated. Major reforms across digital finance, market structure and reporting standards are reshaping expectations at pace, and this creates a premium on communications professionals who can navigate complexity with accuracy and authority.

"At the same time, rising mobility means employers risk losing the very people who interpret, translate and contextualise regulatory change for internal and external stakeholders. 

"Stability of insight and messaging is not a luxury in this environment. It is a strategic requirement, and those who invest in developing and retaining this capability will be better prepared to manage the demands of an increasingly scrutinised sector.”

That's Business is sharing the full report here:- https://www.murraymcintosh.com/downloadable-content/strategic-communications-salary-labour-report

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Humanscale Brings Global Design Leaders to Clerkenwell Design Week

Celebrating ergonomics, movement and material intelligence through product, people and place, Humanscale returns to Clerkenwell Design Week from 19–21 May 2026 with an immersive showroom experience centred around ergonomic design and expert insight.

At the heart of the programme will be a series of informal drop-in sessions hosted by two of Humanscale's global design leaders: Sergio Silva, VP Design and Innovation and Mark Consolla, VP Product Management.

Taking place across all three days of the festival, the sessions invite architects, interior designers and workplace specialists to engage directly with the team behind some of Humanscale's most influential & exciting new products.

Visitors will have the chance to explore the thinking behind Humanscale's approach to ergonomics, from early concept development and material intelligence to engineering, sustainability and long-term product performance. 

The conversations will offer rare insight into how ergonomics, movement and human wellbeing are translated into design solutions for contemporary workspaces. 

Drawing on decades of global experience, the pair will share guidance on designing healthier work environments, improving posture and movement at work, and applying ergonomic thinking to modern workplace design.

These sessions will offer a rare opportunity for the design community attending Clerkenwell Design Week to converse directly with two leading experts and explore how ergonomics can support the future of work.

An Immersive Showroom Experience

Humanscale's Clerkenwell showroom will transform into a relaxed yet purposeful environment. The space will invite visitors to experience the brand's philosophy through informal hospitality, interactive moments and conversations around ergonomics, sustainability and product longevity.

Movement will be a key theme throughout the showroom experience, reflected in a curated selection of Humanscale's latest seating and workplace innovations.

Diffrient Lounge

Among the highlights is the Diffrient Lounge, a refined evolution of a concept originally envisioned over two decades ago by legendary designer Niels Diffrient. Reimagined by the Humanscale Design Studio for today's hybrid environments, the Diffrient Lounge sets a new benchmark for lounge seating. Balancing residential comfort with workplace performance, the chair intuitively responds to the body, encouraging natural movement while supporting work, relaxation and social interaction across a range of interior contexts.

eFloat Quattro Also on display is the eFloat Quattro, Humanscale's premium four-leg height-adjustable desk engineered to support wellbeing through ergonomic precision and smooth, seamless movement. Clean lines and carefully selected materials give the desk a refined architectural presence, while its environmental credentials set a new benchmark for responsible manufacturing. 

The award-winning table range is being extended to include eFloat Quattro Meeting Tables that enable fast, frictionless collaboration for today's hybrid workplace. Whether it's a huddle in the open office, a hybrid meeting room, or an executive workspace, eFloat Quattro Meeting Tables give you a turnkey meeting space that just works.

eFloat Quattro tables are 99% recyclable and use non-toxic, PVC-free polyurethane cabling, demonstrating Humanscale's ongoing commitment to sustainable product development.

M/Class Monitor Arms

Completing the line-up is M/Class, the latest evolution of Humanscale's iconic monitor arm system. The M/Class series is the world's best-selling monitor arm collection, trusted by 98% of Fortune 500 companies. Designed to enhance comfort, organisation and performance, the system allows effortless adjustment of screen height, depth and orientation, helping users maintain healthy posture and reduce strain on the neck, shoulders and spine. Recently reimagined for hybrid and shared workplaces, the new generation of M/Class supports larger displays while integrating expanded cable management, connectivity and charging capabilities. And a new pure white finish introduces a lighter aesthetic that complements contemporary workplace interiors.

A Space for Conversation

By combining product innovation with direct access to its global design leadership, Humanscale's Clerkenwell showroom will become a hub for conversation throughout the festival. Through the expert sessions with Silva and Consola, architects and designers will gain deeper insight into how ergonomics, movement and human wellbeing can be meaningfully integrated into the spaces they create.

https://uk.humanscale.com

Suffer from Subscription Overload? One Platform, 59 Tools: London Startup Coda One Wants to End It

In the modern workplace, productivity tools have quietly become a monthly drain. 

Writing assistants, PDF editors, image tools, developer utilities, each with its own login, subscription, and learning curve.

A new London startup believes it has a simpler answer.

Coda One has launched a free online platform that bundles 59 AI and productivity tools into a single website, removing the need for accounts, logins, or payments for most features. 

The aim is straightforward: reduce the growing stack of digital subscriptions that many knowledge workers now juggle.

Founder Miles Wong says the idea came from a common frustration.

“Nobody wants five logins for five tools,” he explains. “One place, everything works. That’s what One means," he told That's Business.

The platform combines AI writing tools, PDF utilities, image processing, and developer functions into one browser-based workspace. While premium plans start at $9.99 per month, the majority of tools are available completely free.

One of the headline features is an AI text humaniser, designed to rewrite AI-generated content so it reads more naturally and avoids detection software. Users can choose from nine writing modes, tailoring text for contexts ranging from academic work to blog articles.

Alongside it sits a built-in AI detector, which scans text for machine-generated patterns and provides a score, also free and unlimited.

Coda One’s latest addition is an AI Resume Optimiser, aimed at jobseekers navigating automated hiring systems. Users can paste text, upload a PDF CV, or begin with one of 20 industry-specific templates covering sectors likes software engineering, marketing, finance, and healthcare.

The system strengthens weak bullet points, suggests action-led language, and quantifies achievements where possible. It also includes an ATS scoring system, grading CVs from 0 to 100 against applicant-tracking criteria and highlighting missing keywords, features that typically cost around $25 per month on specialist platforms.

Beyond writing tools, Coda One includes a full PDF and image toolkit. Users can merge or split PDFs, compress documents, convert files, remove image backgrounds, upscale pictures, and extract text via OCR. Crucially, all of this runs locally in the browser, meaning files never leave the user’s device.

For freelancers, students, and businesses concerned about privacy, that architecture removes the cloud-storage risks often associated with online tools.

The platform is already available in seven languages, including Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Indonesian, and Traditional Chinese, a deliberate move to reach markets where English-only software leaves gaps.

A Chrome extension also brings several writing tools directly into the browser. Highlight text anywhere online and users can instantly rewrite, translate, check grammar, detect AI content, or count words without opening another tab.

Based in London, Wong says the company is already seeing adoption in over 40 countries — suggesting that the appetite for fewer subscriptions and simpler workflows is very real.

If Coda One’s model proves sustainable, the days of paying separately for every productivity tool may soon start to look outdated.

https://www.codaone.ai