At Proactive our team of lead consultants all hold the BOHS proficiency module P402 – ‘Building Surveys and Bulk Sampling for Asbestos’ and have significant on site experience.
Whether your project is complicated or small and simple, it is essential that it is completed in the correct standard but to ensure that the works during the project are also performed in the correct manner and with the appropriate safeguards.
Non domestic builds constructed before 1999 must be assessed for the presence of potential asbestos materials, in accordance with the Control of Asbestos Regulations. Where Asbestos is identified in a building, it is essential that the condition of that material is monitored over a set period of time (usually annually). This forms the re-inspection schedule for the building, and when the re-inspection takes place the condition and risk assessment is re-appraised and the register updated. This helps facilitate the management of asbestos in the building.
In cases where a refurbishment or demolition project is proposed on a pre-1999 built building the regulation call for a more intrusive and robust assessment to be made for the presence of asbestos, in order to avoid any potential exposure during works.
Our Asbestos Services:
- Asbestos Surveys, including Management, Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys: our surveyors have years of experience working on a wide variety of sites
- Our Surveyors are all BOHS P402 qualified
- Sampling and Analysis of materials suspected of containing Asbestos
Management Survey
Previously known as a Type 2, an Asbestos management survey is undertaken to locate, as far as reasonably practicable, the presence and extent of any asbestos containing materials, which could be disturbed during a building’s everyday use.
The management survey will assess the condition of suspect materials, along with their ability to release fibres. This is classed as a material assessment and will enable the duty holder to assess the risk and put procedures in place to reduce the risk.
A management survey should cover all areas within the building including, where present and accessible. The survey will usually involve sampling and analysis to confirm the presence or absence of ACMs. However, a management survey can also involve presuming the presence or absence of asbestos. A management survey can be completed using a combination of sampling ACMS and presuming ACMs or, indeed, just presuming.
Refurbishment & Demolition Survey
A Refurbishment and Demolition Survey is required before any refurbishment or demolition work is carried out. This survey is used to locate and describe, as far as is 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.
A refurbishment and 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 and dismantling.
Asbestos Re-inspection Survey
Once ACMs have been identified, it is the duty holder’s responsibility to inspect these items (at least annually) and create a Management Plan.
Asbestos re-inspection surveys are designed to allow a competent person to monitor and record the condition of any previously identified asbestos products within a building.
Over time, asbestos containing materials can degenerate, weather or be accidentally damaged thereby causing the risks associated with the material to change substantially.
Proactive Asbestos Control Ltd can re-inspect any previously surveyed property and update the information, whether held electronically or as a hard copy. We will discuss your requirements and identify the frequency of visits and checks.
Your new and updated asbestos reinspection survey report itself will include new photographs of those materials together with new material assessments and recommendations on how to safely manage those materials.
Proactive Asbestos Control will:
- Review your current asbestos records and their format
- Provide a quotation and plan for re-inspecting
- Contact you before your re-inspection is due
- Re-inspect your sites and update your asbestos records
- Advise where there have been any changes to asbestos containing materials and provide recommendations to maintain.
Specific Sampling
A Specific Sampling Survey is a small sample of a suspect asbestos containing building material collected for laboratory analysis to determine the asbestos content. The purpose of Bulk Sampling is to determine the quantity and type of asbestos that may be present to assist the duty holder in making recommendations for the remedial actions required. We offer a very quick turnaround of analysis results.
If you have a material suspected of containing asbestos, Proactive Asbestos Control can organise a visit to site where our fully trained operatives can collect a representative sample which will then be analysed for asbestos content by a UKAS accredited laboratory. The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 states that all analysis of samples for suspected asbestos must be undertaken by a competent person/company who is accredited in compliance with the standard set out in ISO 17025.
The type of asbestos survey most appropriate to your buildings will be dependent on your individual requirements and will be established during the survey planning phase.
Your Survey Process Explained
There are four main stages to be taken during the asbestos survey process, these are detailed and explained below;
Stage 1: Our contracts department team at Proactive with gather as much information from you as possible to make sure the survey is tailored to meet your needs. This includes information about why you require the survey, previous asbestos information, details of the site/building (including designated site contact details) and any access problems which may be encountered, for example, any locked rooms.
Following a review of this information we will book a suitable appointment with you to carry out the survey.
Stage 2: Our survey team will visit the site to undertaken the inspection. The nature of the inspection will depend largely on the type of survey being carried out. However, in general, surveyors will check every area of the property. This is carried out logically, one area at a time, inspecting the floors, walls and ceilings and other products in each room and around the building in a clockwise rotation.
Stage 3: If the surveyor discovers anything which they believe to be a suspect Asbestos containing material, they will take a small sample which will be double bagged and sent to a UKAS accredited laboratory for analysis. When taking samples, surveyors will always try to take them from discreet areas. Samples are usually about the size of 2 pence coin. The samples are then sealed in a small sample bag and the double bagged ready to go to the laboratory. The sample point is then sealed using ET150 paint or another suitable product. During the inspection, the surveyor will take relevant notes and photographs – and if not already provided, they will draw a floor plan which can be marked with any sample or asbestos locations.
Stage 4: The final step is to produce the report for you. Report are usually electronic (PDF), and include photographs, plans and sample results for any samples taken along with recommendations for any identified asbestos containing materials found during the survey. Once the report has been collated, the report will go through our quality checking process and following approval, it will be emailed to you.
Our team at Proactive are experienced in surveying a range of different types of premises including Retail Outlets, Commercial Units and Warehouses, MOD, Hospitals and Schools.
All of the asbestos surveyors at Proactive Asbestos Control have been trained to the highest industry standards and hold one of two possible qualifications:
BOHS P402 – Building Surveys and Bulk sampling for asbestos or
RSPH Level 3 – Certificate in Asbestos Surveying qualification
Each have a minimum of 10 years surveying experience and have been strictly audited in line with in-house quality systems.
All of our surveyors also attend annual refresher training.
If you would like further information regarding Asbestos Surveys or to privately discuss your asbestos testing/sampling requirements please feel free to contact our devoted staff.
Proactive Asbestos Control operates throughout the UK.
Accreditations
