To support the quality of agency labour for member licensed asbestos removal contractors and provide the contractors with a better understanding of the competency of an agency operative, ARCA has developed ALFA, a unique performance rating app.

The Asbestos Labour Feedback App, ALFA, the first of its kind in the industry, enables ARCA member licensed asbestos removal contractors to rate the performance and behaviour of operatives supplied by ARCA labour supply members.

Having an overall performance rating for an operative, as well as certificate information, will provide the contractor with some reassurance of the competency of an agency operative before they arrive on site.

Stats (12 January 2021)

• Number of Operatives registered in ALFA is 911

• Over 1,750 operative placements have been made in ALFA for licensed work undertaken over the last 12 months.

ALFA, a web-based application, has been developed by ARCA to provide a number of benefits for all parties, including:

• Reassurance of labour competence – being able to view an overall performance rating provides ARCA Member Contractors some reassurance of the competency (knowledge, skills and behaviour) of an operative.

• Performance feedback – an ARCA Member Contractor can rate an operatives’ performance across nine categories, with ratings used to calculate an overall performance rating.

• Identifies training needs – feedback from contractors can identify areas where an operative can improve, therefore supporting the operative’s development and future selection.

• Automated system – ALFA provides labour supply agencies with an online system for the selection and assignment of short-term operatives to asbestos removal jobs. Once operatives are assigned the member contractor can log into ALFA to view overall rating and certificates for those operatives.

• Certificate management – certificate information is easy for an agency to input and actual certificates can be uploaded, so all information is immediately available within ALFA, to be viewed by the Operative, their Agency and the LARC they are assigned to work for. Also, certificates due to expire within 30 days are highlighted within ALFA, so supporting renewal management.

• Operative overall rating information – once an operative is assigned to a job the relevant LARC can view and also print the operatives overall rating information (as can the operative) along with the information on the operative’s certificates, including expiry dates. Useful to have in the site file as proof of a competency check.

How does ALFA work?

After receiving a request for short-term labour for a specific job, an ARCA Labour Agency uses ALFA to set up the job (who for, where and when), and then finds and selects suitable operatives to send to the contractor. They can search for operatives by various criteria, including location, specific training (e.g. confirmed space) and CSCS Card. 

Then when an operative is working for an ARCA Member Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor, the contractor’s site supervisor will receive an email from ALFA requesting a performance rating for the operative. Ratings, which cover nine categories from RPE to time keeping, are requested on the last day of an assignment or every two weeks where applicable.  Once rating information is provided, ALFA will automatically update the operative’s overall performance rating.

Ratings, which can be from a number of contractors across a number of assignments, are used to calculate the overall performance rating for an operative, which is displayed by stars. An operative’s overall performance rating, and average rating per category, is then available to an ARCA Member Contractor if/when that operative is selected for their asbestos removal job by an Agency within ALFA.

Terms of Use and Privacy

All users can view the privacy policy and there are Terms of Use to accept prior to activating an account.

ALFA, the Asbestos Labour Feedback App,  www.alfa.reviews