ASBESTOS SURVEYS

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UKAS ACCREDITED SURVEYS

Types of Surveys and choosing the right survey for you

All owners or occupiers of non-domestic buildings built before the year 2000 must appoint a person to manage the asbestos identified in their building. This is a legal requirement and is very important that the duty holder or the person that commissions a survey is assisted pre quotation, to ensure the correct survey is chosen and the competency of the surveyor or surveying company. Below you will see explained the different types of survey that could be carried out. Each survey must comply with regulations set out by The Health and Safety executive and further guidance can be seen in asbestos survey guide.  Quite often there is a need to have just a single material sampled and analysed for the presence of asbestos. Again, this should always be carried out by a competent person. The HSE strongly recommend using an accredited or certified surveyor/surveying company such as the UKAS Accreditation to carry out surveys and/or taking samples for the presence of asbestos fibres.

The two stages for the duty holder to adopt to ensure competency

Stage 1: Establish accreditation status such as UKAS and obtain a copy of the accreditation. In addition, obtain copies of the company’s current insurance certificates for employers’ liability, public liability, and professional indemnity cover to ensure that they cover the proposed work.

Stage 2: Obtain evidence of surveyor’s qualifications, their experience including references, ensure evidence of quality control policy and written standard procedures.   

Management Survey (formerly Type 2)

Purpose – Providing information about any asbestos in the building that could be damaged during normal occupancy of the building. This will include the amount, the location and condition of the asbestos identified.  This information will form an asbestos register for each property and in turn help the duty holder form a management plan to ensure the identified asbestos can be suitably managed.

A management survey is the standard survey. Its purpose is to locate, as far as practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect asbestos containing material in the building that could be damaged during normal occupancy. This will include foreseeable maintenance, installation and to access the condition of that material. This survey will include minor intrusions and some disturbance. The extent of the disturbance will be considered with the client during planning of the survey.

 

Re-Inspections

Purpose – To enable the duty holder to ensure that the material identified during the asbestos surveys carried out is still in a manageable position. As the asbestos register is a live document it will need updating as asbestos materials are removed or new asbestos materials are identified during further refurbishment surveys. The condition of the material is most important as damaged asbestos containing materials are highly likely to release asbestos fibres in excess of the control limits. Re-inspected on a predetermined basis (from the algorithm within HSG 264 and undertaking a priority assessment). This will lower the risk that the condition of the asbestos containing materials does not deteriorate.

The information collated in the re-inspection provides the basis for an asbestos register, risk assessment and management plan. It is the responsibility of the duty holder and/or appointed person to ensure this information remains current; therefore any changes or remedial actions must be recorded appropriately on the register to enable continued management of asbestos containing materials in the premises. 

Refurbishment and Demolition Survey (formerly Type 3)

Purpose – A Refurbishment/ Demolition Survey is needed before any refurbishment or demolition work is carried out.

This type of survey is used to locate and describe, as far as reasonably practicable, all asbestos containing materials in the area where the refurbishment work will take place or in the whole building if demolition is planned. The survey will be fully intrusive and involve destructive inspection, as necessary, to gain access to all areas, including those that may be difficult to reach. A Refurbishment/Demolition Survey may also be required in other circumstances, e.g. When more intrusive maintenance and repair work will be carried out, or for plant removal or dismantling.

 

Sample Analysis (Also known as Bulk Sampling)

Purpose – The collection of a single or a number of samples to determine the presence of Asbestos Containing Material within a suspect material.

if required, we can visit site to take one or more pre-determined bulk samples if the client needs a specific item(s) testing rather than a full asbestos survey. We ensure the samples suspected to contain asbestos are analysed by a laboratory accredited to UKAS ISO 17025 to ensure an impartial result.

ACCREDITATIONS