Whatever experience and expertise they may have, why when commissioning an asbestos survey would you choose a company who send their samples away for analysis, or perhaps one who has a vested interest in seeing asbestos removed?
At Environmental Services, our own UKAS accredited laboratory allows us to provide, if required, immediate feedback on analysis results. For any materials of particular concern, this approach either gives our clients peace of mind, or allows them to plan and implement remedial action at the earliest opportunity. The independence and impartiality of any follow up guidance and advice we are able to provide is demonstrated by the fact that we are not a removal contractor!
To demonstrate our expertise, all of our surveyors hold one of the highest levels of asbestos specific qualifications currently available, the BOHS Certificate of Competence in Asbestos (CoCA), going far beyond the minimum requirements laid down by the HSE. Furthermore, the sampling techniques employed by Environmental Services staff are annually audited and accredited by UKAS, which is recognised by the HSE as being a factor in identifying a suitably qualified surveying company. All of these elements, together with our long standing service to wide variety of clients, from private homeowners and sole traders, to large construction companies and the NHS, you can be assured Environmental Services will meet with your every expectation.
Environmental Services provide concise and easy-to-interpret reports which will not only meet with your specific requirements, but also those of the Health and Safety Executive’s publication HSG 264 Asbestos: The survey guide. In turn, this will assist in meeting some of the requirements of The Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012 Regulation 4 Duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. In order to fulfil the remaining requirements of Regulation 4, an asbestos management plan needs to be drawn up and implemented, monitored and reviewed. To learn more about Environmental Services’ bespoke asbestos management plans, please click here.
HSG 264 Asbestos: The survey guide, identifies two different types of survey and briefly summarised, they are:
A management survey is the standard survey whose purpose is to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect ACMs (asbestos containing materials) in the building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including foreseeable maintenance and installation, and to assess their condition. The minor intrusion involved will vary between premises and the condition assessment, or material assessment, will give a good initial guide to the priority for managing ACMs as it will identify the materials which will most readily release airborne fibres if they are disturbed. This type of survey will usually involve sampling and analysing materials to confirm the presence or absence of asbestos, as well as the presumption of asbestos in materials which, for whatever reason, could not be sampled. Management surveys may also be made up entirely of presumed asbestos materials, with the requirement for sampling deferred until a later date.
A refurbishment/demolition asbestos 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 ACMs 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. As such, all parts of the building structure will need to be penetrated. Aggressive inspection techniques will be needed to lift carpets and tiles, break through walls, ceilings, cladding and partitions, and open up floors.