How to prepare your business for an asbestos survey

Once regarded as a “wonder material”, asbestos was extensively used in the construction of all manner of commercial and domestic premises alike, for much of the 20th century.

The fibrous silicate mineral came to be increasingly recognised as carcinogenic, leading to the substance finally being banned in the UK in 1999. However, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) remain present in many business premises up and down the country to this day.

This brings us onto the subject of asbestos surveys, and how you can prepare for such an inspection to be carried out at a business premises for which you are responsible.

Why is preparing for an asbestos survey important?

An asbestos survey involves a given property or site being inspected in order to determine the asbestos situation there.

Specifically, an asbestos survey allows for accurate information to be gathered about the location(s), amount(s), and condition of any ACMs at the given premises. It also involves the assessment of any damage or deterioration to the ACMs, so that informed decisions can be taken on any subsequent remedial action.

An asbestos survey is, of course, of critical importance for ensuring the safety of a workplace, given that any disturbance of ACMs at the premises could lead to harmful asbestos fibres being breathed in or ingested by someone nearby. However, it is also vital for legal compliance in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012).

Failing to adequately prepare your business for an asbestos survey could therefore bring consequences such as:

• Legal and financial risks. CAR 2012 imposes a “duty to manage” asbestos in relation to non-domestic premises, such as business properties. If you do not comply with this “duty”, you could be risking being hit with fines or even imprisonment.
• Potential delays, incomplete surveys, and/or inaccurate findings. By taking the steps to prepare well for your business’s asbestos survey, you can help to ensure the resulting asbestos report provides the most complete and accurate information. This will then enable you to take the action that best protects occupants and users of your buildings.

Thorough preparation for an asbestos survey at your commercial property will lay the foundation for the survey itself to be executed in a smooth and effective manner.

What type of asbestos survey does your business require?

There are two types of asbestos survey in the UK. So, it is imperative to ensure you arrange the right type of survey for your business premises – not only for the purposes of safety, but also to make sure you avoid adverse legal consequences.

The available asbestos survey types are:

• The management survey, which helps with the management of ACMs during the given property’s normal occupation and use. It is the less intrusive of the two types of asbestos survey, and it is aimed at enabling the dutyholder to put together an asbestos register and an asbestos management plan (AMP).
• A refurbishment or demolition survey, which is fully intrusive, and is designed to locate and identify even ACMs that are hidden more deeply within the fabric of the building. This helps the dutyholder to adhere to the legal obligation to have all ACMs removed, as far as reasonably practicable, before major refurbishment or demolition.

If you unsure as to which type of asbestos survey is needed at your business site, it is crucial to consult a qualified asbestos professional. After all, you won’t want to waste time and money on a surveying process that could also leave you at legal risk.

How should you choose a qualified surveyor?

Here at Oracle Solutions, we have written in depth previously on the subject of how to choose the right asbestos surveyor. In summary, though, we would emphasise that you should keep a lookout for certain key qualifications and accreditations:

• United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) accreditation or certification. Although it isn’t legally necessary to use a UKAS-accredited asbestos surveyor, the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does strongly recommend the use of surveyors that hold accreditation to BS EN ISO/IEC 17020. Indeed, UKAS accreditation is the only accreditation that the HSE recognises in relation to asbestos surveying in Great Britain.
• The P402 certificate in building surveys and bulk sampling for asbestos, or an equivalent qualification. Knowing that your chosen asbestos surveyor has completed a P402 course will give you the confidence that the professional carrying out the survey on your building has the necessary knowledge and skills for this specialised task.
• Membership of relevant professional bodies. The UK is home to various professional bodies covering asbestos management services, such as the Asbestos Removal Contractors Association (ARCA) and the Independent Asbestos Training Providers (IATP). Turning to an asbestos surveying provider that has membership of one or multiple such bodies, will allow you to be more confident about the standard of their services.

Whatever asbestos surveying specialist you have your eye on, you should take the time to verify their past experience and expertise in your industry or building type. Your chosen asbestos surveyor should have a proven track record of adhering to best practices in their field.

What information should you provide to the surveyor?

Once you have decided on and hired a particular asbestos surveyor, you should take steps to prepare comprehensive information about your business premises.

Prior to the inspection, it is crucial to pinpoint areas of your property where ACMs may be present. You are likely to be able to gather this information by poring over building plans, maintenance records, historical asbestos surveys, and details of previous renovations or demolitions.

Together, these records will paint a picture of the history of your building. Such documentation will help the inspector to better understand the asbestos history of your premises, so that they can focus their surveying work on the most critical areas.

In addition to getting this documentation together, you should make sure the inspection areas are easily accessible for the inspector. It is important to coordinate with your chosen surveyor to clarify their access needs and ensure alignment on survey objectives.

How can you ensure access to all necessary areas?

By discussing with the inspector prior to their arrival what areas of your property they will need to survey, you can make sure they have physical and safe access “on the day” to all relevant zones. This, in turn, will enable them to carry out a thorough examination, minimising the likelihood of any potentially dangerous ACMs being missed.

This element of your asbestos survey preparations should include such steps as:

• Identifying all areas that will require inspection. Parts of a business property that are likely to be vital to access for asbestos surveying purposes include – and will probably not be limited to – lofts, basements, voids, plant rooms, and external structures.
• Clearing clutter and providing safe access. This may involve rearranging furniture and removing obstructions. You might also need to provide the inspector with ladders, scaffolding, and/or keys for locked spaces.

How should you prepare your staff and building occupants?

If you will be having an asbestos survey undertaken at your commercial premises, you will need to keep any employees who normally use the building suitably informed, including about the specifics of the survey’s purpose and scope.

After all, there may need to be restrictions imposed on employees’ access to part or all of the business property while the surveying work is taking place. For example, such is the intrusive and destructive nature of a refurbishment or demolition survey, it is typically necessary for the building or areas being inspected to be evacuated in readiness for the inspection.

You should also take this opportunity to reassure employees about the health and safety measures that are in place for your building. Offering asbestos awareness training to maintenance or facilities teams can even more greatly enhance workplace safety.

By assigning a dedicated contact person to liaise with the surveyor as the inspection is conducted, you can further help to ensure the surveying process is a smooth one, with relevant parties kept informed about what is taking place.

Do you need to temporarily adjust business operations?

As we touched on above, the specific type of asbestos survey involved, and the scope of that survey, will largely dictate the extent to which it disrupts normal business activities on the site.

When you are assessing the likely disruption involved, you should take into account such factors as any noise that will be generated, and the need to restrict access to certain parts or the entirety of the building. It will also be of critical importance to think about the safety of on-site users of the premises, given the potential for ACMs to be disturbed during surveying.

Consider how you might be able to minimise the impacts of the inspection of your business property. You may, for instance, opt to plan the survey during non-peak hours, or close your commercial premises entirely for a certain period of time.

If the asbestos survey is set to coincide with other projects at the site, it is essential that you coordinate with contractors to help ensure a trouble-free, efficient, and safe process for everyone involved.

How can you ensure a smooth asbestos survey day?

As we have hopefully made clear in this guide already, the process of ensuring the smoothest possible asbestos survey day will need to begin long before the day itself.

You can help make this a reality by:

• Confirming all logistics well in advance. Before your hired surveyor turns up at your premises, you should have checked with them the survey date, start time, and estimated duration of the inspection.
• Carrying out a pre-survey walkthrough to verify readiness. This will enable you to check, one last time, that all relevant areas are accessible, as well as that you have gathered and organised the information the inspector will require.
• Assigning a staff member to accompany the surveyor. This will allow them to quickly provide any guidance and assistance the inspector might need to assist their work.

What happens after the asbestos survey?

After the survey is completed at your business site, you can expect to be issued with a comprehensive asbestos report. We have previously written about what tends to be included in these reports.

This is the time to take the following steps:

• Make sure you read and understand the survey report The report won’t merely mention what ACMs the surveyor discovered to be present on the site; you can also expect to see material assessments. This will help you to determine which ACMs at your property pose the greatest risk and most urgently require remedial action.

• Determine how to address identified ACMs The information and recommendations communicated in the asbestos survey report will enable you to create or update the best possible AMP.

  There are various actions that you may take in light of the survey findings. These could include having identified ACMs removed or instead encapsulated (the latter a process by which the given ACMs are “sealed off” to prevent them from being disturbed in the future).

Conclusion: why is proper preparation critical for compliance and safety?

To recap, taking the time and care to prepare thoroughly for an asbestos survey at your business premises can bring various advantages. These can include helping to ensure the inspection is as thorough and efficient as possible, in addition to helping to reduce the risks to staff and occupants, and ensuring your compliance with legal obligations.

Ultimately, it is of the utmost importance that if you are reading this as a business owner, you take asbestos risk management seriously. To accomplish this, it is essential to work with accredited professionals, and to follow industry best practices.

Contact the Oracle Solutions team today, and we would be pleased to present you with a competitive quote for an asbestos survey at your commercial site.