ASBESTOS SURVEYS

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Issues to be Resolved with the Asbestos Surveyors

 

All of our asbestos surveyors will call the client to discuss the project in advance of the actual asbestos survey so the client is informed of exactly what is entailed, any limitations and how the findings will be reported. For a large surveying contract (either a large building or a number of small buildings) a pre-contract meeting is essential to resolve all possible difficulties and minimise delays. This should happen in conjunction with a walk around the site (or a typical part of the site) so that any possible to hold the pre-contract meeting on the same day as the actual work. The matters to be resolved are:

 

Type of Survey Required by our Asbestos Surveyors

 

The type of survey chosen and where a mixture of types (1,2 & 3) will be preferable: this includes occupied areas, areas of extensive asbestos containing materials, areas of asbestos contaminated materials and spread of asbestos contamination either from original installation or subsequent works.

 

The Extent of the Asbestos Surveyors Work Required

 

The client may well have a list of known asbestos containing materials that he wishes to exclude from the survey. There may also be newer buildings that are known to be asbestos free which the client wishes to exclude from the survey. Additionally, he may well consider that for the purposes of management any known contaminated areas (e.g. the void above an asbestos ceiling) will be classed as asbestos contaminated and any maintenance above this ceiling will be prohibited within the management plan. As such there may not be a requirement to investigate such a void.

 

Howether, if clients want a complete investigation of the asbestos in areas that are already contaminated, they should be aware that additional precautions will be required, including hyiene facilities, airlocks and enclosure. Employment of a licensed contractor like us to provide such facilities is recommended. Since the work is liable to exceed the control limit and/or the 10 minute exposure limit of 0.6 f/cm3, L134 states that it cannot be regarded as sporadic and low intensity. It is also likely to cause clothing contamination and may not always involve sampling (e.g. removal of asbestos ceiling tiles to investigate for further asbestos materials in ceiling voids, investigation of extent of insulation on ducted pipes) it may be licensable work and hence subject to the 14 day notification process.

 

The clients attention should be drawn to Regulation 17, the cleaniness of plant and premises, requiring that on completion of work, the employer should ensure that the work area is throughly cleaned. Our asbestos surveyors will stipulate that whist they will clean any asbestos that may accidentally be generated during sampling, and where applicable, ensure that the airlocks and hygiene facilities are thoroughly cleaned, any dust and debris existing before the survey is the responsibility of the client and will not be cleaned as part of the survey.

 

Some areas may only be accessible with specialist equipment: e.g. a high external soffit. The client and asbestos surveyors may reach agreement that this material is presumed to be asbestos until such time as work is required, e.g. decorating. It can then be arranged that after scaffolding is erected for maintenance, the asbestos surveyors gain access for sampling. A licensed scaffold company will be required to build the platform for any licensable repairs or removal. Howether, there should be an undertaking by the asbestos surveyors that the installation will be visually inspected so far as reasonably practicable for possible damage (e.g. using binoculars if necessary).

 

Assistance with the Management Plan by our Asbestos Surveyors

 

Clients with small organisations may need assistance in meeting the requirements of Regulation 4 of CAR 2006, the duty to manage. Our asbestos surveyors will help the client if required to produce the written plan detailing the measures which will be taken to control and manage the risks from asbestos containing materials (identified or presumed). Howether if the client want his service, it must be understood that we require clients input since only they are aware of the work that occurs within their premises. The extent of any such asbestos services and the clients input should be fully explored and agreed at the pre-contract meeting.

 

Chosen Number of Asbestos Surveyors to be Used

It is strongly recommended that for nearly all sites a team or teams of two people asbestos surveyors are used. This has advantages in providing an added pair of eyes, help in carrying the considerable equipment and for safety. The number of asbestos surveyors will dictate the minimum number of security passes to be issued (where relevant) although it is important to allow for additional personnel to include quality control and replacement personnel in case of sickness etc. Numbers of asbestos surveyors must also be taken into account in any site safety induction procedures and the number of copies of plans that will be needed.

Site Safety Procedures Required for our Asbestos Surveyors

 

A competent person or organisation considering carrying out any survey for asbestos will request information on all possible hazards known to exist on site. The COSHH file should be made available so that any necessary training of the asbestos surveyors can be carried out before commencment of work. The safety plan required by the Health and Safety at Work Regulations should also be made available as it will not only detail the hazards but also note the clients accepted method of dealing with these and thus avoid later possible conflict in what are considered to be suitable procedures. The safety professional of some organisations may have the skill and facilities to carry out any required additional training and the advantages of this are that it will be site specific and also emphasise the acceptable procedures for the site.

 

Possible hazards for our asbestos surveyors to be considered are:

 

•  Work at heights: (Working at Height Regulations 2005);

 

•  COSHH 2002 (as amended) Regulations;

 

•  Fragile surfaces; (Working at Height Regulations 2005);

 

•  Confined Spaces (Confined spaces Regulations 1997);

 

•  Operable plant/machinery (Provision and Use of Work Regulations 1998);

 

•  Electrical hazards (Health & Safety at Work Act 1974);

 

•  Chemical hazards (Control of substances hazardous to health Regulations 1999);

 

•  Heat stress (Health & Safety at Work Act 1974);

 

•  Radiation hazards (Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999);

 

•  Biological hazards (Control of substances hazardous to health Regulations 1999);

 

•  Noise (Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005);

 

•  Lone Work. (Health & Safety at Work Act 1974).

 

Some organisations will have specific requirements that the asbestos surveyors will have to comply with (e.g. hygiene requirements in the pharmaceutical and food industry). The client should ensure these are understood. Many large sites have specific site safety induction procedures. Staff likely to visit the site must undergo all necessary procedures.

 

All our asbestos surveyors must be given a list of site emergency contacts (names and telephone numbers), and be informed of any alarms (some sites have specific sounds for specific incidents) and testing times of these alarms. Escape plans and muster points must be agreed. They must also receive information on who to contact and how to do so for all operable plant and machinery since such items cannot be investigated for asbestos without specialist guidance.

 

If the premises to be surveyed need to be unlocked or opened up so our asbestos surveyors can gain access, there must be arrangements to ensure that the surveying team has vacated the premises before thay are relocked and secured.

 

Staff Awareness of our Asbestos Surveyors Presence

 

Although the clients employees who are likely to disturb asbestos should already have received asbestos awareness training to accord with Regulation 4 and Regulation 10, it is wise to inform all employees that an asbestos survey is going to occur and why it is happening. This will allow for open and honest discussion before the event rather than speculation and concerns during the survey. It will also ensure better co-operation with the asbestos surveyors when they require access to all areas (it can be stressed to the clients employees that any areas where access cannot be gained will henceforth be classed as asbestos containing and all access will be prohibited until inspection can be made). Even if the survey is occuring at nights and/or weekends when the premises are largely unoccupied it is still helpful to keep all staff fully informed.

 

Priority Areas and Timetables

 

If the client has any order of priority for areas that require surveying, these should be established. These could be related to specific points of concern by the staff, redecorating or refurbishment plans or even building age and information previousley gained from old plans indicating that these buildings or areas may potentially contain the most asbestos.

 

Organisations such as hospitals will require our asbestos surveyors to timetable access to key areas.

 

Number of Samples to be taken by our Asbestos Surveyors

 

FibrecleanUK.com have charges for each sample taken and analysed. Repeat sampling of known asbestos materials (e.g. sprayed asbestos beams or asbestos ceiling tiles in a 1960s building that has not been refurbished) is not unnecessarily expensive in such situations, it is also contary to Regulation 11 requiring that exposure is either prevented or reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. An appropriate idea of the number of samples envisaged should be discussed.

 

We also ensure that photographs are taken of each asbestos material and feature and where possible these should illustrate damage, extent and surface treatment. Spread of debris will also be illustrated and quantities will be established. Digital cameras are used to create the images which are incorporated into a report that is available in several formats.

 

Copies of Plans Available to our Asbestos Surveyors

 

It is recommended that the client checks the plans for accuracy prior to submitting to our asbestos surveyors and any errors can be made good or discussed prior to the asbestos survey. Every team of asbestos surveyors will need a set of plans to mark up in the course of the survey. If the site is large complex, more than one set may be needed because of the amount of information recorded. Plans can also get scruffy during extensive use on site and this should be taken into account. The surveyor negotiating with the client will also require a set of plans to mark up during an initial tour of the site so that any further essential information can be discussed with the client and passed on to those that will be doing the work. If the final report is to be issued as a paper version then clean plans will aslo be needed for the final report (a minimum of two copies, one for the client and one for the asbestos surveyors records). In many instances the client will have facilities for reproducing large plans cheaply and they should prefereably supply the appropriate number of copies. Numbers of plans issued is particularly important to consider for areas where security is important.

 

Copies of any available old plans should also be given to the asbestos surveyors as they will give information on former uses, refurbishment dates and materials used.

 

If no plans are available (either old or current) our asbestos surveyors will have to draw sketch plans. This can be difficult on large sites with multiple buildings or for complicated individual buildings and sketches can vary in quality depending on the skill of the person(s) drawing the plan. FibrecleanUK.com surveyors use Micrsoft Visio to enhance our on site sketches upon incorporating them into the report.

 

Access and Availability of Keys for the Asbestos Surveyors

 

Where master keys exist, these should be made available to the asbestos surveyors (often collected and returned daily). Additionally, the asbestos surveyor should be introduced to individuals responsible for key issues and be given a letter of authority, stating that keys are to be made available to our member of the asbestos surveying team.

 

Start and Completion Dates for our Asbestos Surveyors to Complete

 

Both client and asbestos surveyors should agree a timetable for the work with start dates, completion of survey dates and a date for issue of the final report. On a large survey, there may be items that will need to be drawn to the client's attention during the course of the survey and the contact person for these should be agreed. In a large organisation, there could be several contact people for different issues (e.g. safety, security) that could hinder the timetable and these should be addressed with the asbestos surveyors.

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