Coleman Consulting can offer three types of asbestos surveys for commercial buildings:
The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 requires the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) to identify asbestos in the workplace, to manage the risks from asbestos with an adequate documented management plan, and to regularly review the management plan. The first step to achieving this duty is to procure an asbestos survey.
Management Survey - A management survey is the standard survey. Its purpose is to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any suspect Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) in the building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including foreseeable maintenance and installation, and to assess their condition. Management surveys will often involve minor intrusive work and some disturbance. The extent of intrusion will vary between premises and will depend on what is reasonably practicable for individual properties, i.e. it will depend on factors such as the type of building, the nature of construction, accessibility etc. A management survey will include an assessment of the condition of the various ACMs and their ability to release fibres into the air if they are disturbed in some way. The ‘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. The survey will usually involve sampling and analysis to confirm the presence or absence of ACMs.
Demolition Survey - Demolition surveys are intended to locate all the asbestos in the building (or the relevant part), as far as reasonably practicable. It is a disruptive and fully intrusive survey which may need to penetrate all parts of the building structure. Aggressive inspection techniques will be needed to lift carpets and tiles, break through walls, ceilings, cladding and partitions, and open up floors. In these situations, controls should be put in place to prevent the spread of debris, which may include asbestos. Any suspected ‘Asbestos Containing Materials’ (ACMs) will be sampled according to HSG264 Asbestos: the survey guide. Demolition surveys should only be conducted in unoccupied areas to minimize risks to the public or employees on the premises. Ideally, the building should not be in service and all furnishings removed. The ’surveyed’ area must be shown to be fit for reoccupation through independent air monitoring and possibly sampling before people move back in. This will require a thorough visual inspection and, if appropriate (e.g. where there has been significant destruction), reassurance air sampling with disturbance.
Refurbishment Survey – A refurbishment survey can be carried not only on whole buildings but also specific areas within a building, for example kitchens, where targeted works are to be carried out. In these circumstances we can provide a survey just for the specified area using the same methodology as for a demolition survey. Must be based on either a scope of works or a plan.
Residential surveys are available on a fixed cost basis.