Asbestos Surveying

A building survey should identify the type and location of asbestos materials. It should also reveal the condition of the asbestos and therefore allow a decision to me made as to whether further treatment is required.

One of the most important considerations has to be that asbestos can occur almost anywhere in a building and the survey must look at the building as a whole as opposed to just those areas where asbestos is likely to occur.

Surveys can vary widely in their size and complexity e.g. from a small boiler house which contains asbestos lagging to a hospital or school which may contain a number of different types of asbestos in different locations.

In general there are 3 types of survey that can be undertaken. The purpose of the survey is to locate any suspect material and assess the risk. Where there is doubt about any material it should be presumed to contain asbestos until proved otherwise.

There are 3 types of survey referred to in the Health and Safety Executive MDHS 100 (Methods for the determination of hazardous substances) document as follows:

Type 1 Location and assessment survey (Presumptive Survey) This type of survey does not involve any sampling of suspect materials. Any material which is expected to contain asbestos will be recorded as ‘presumed or strongly presumed to contain Asbestos’
Type 2 Standard sampling identification and assessment survey (Sampling Survey). A Type 2 survey requires the surveyor to take samples to prove or disprove the presence of asbestos or any suspect materials
Type 3 Full access sampling Survey and identification survey (Pre Demolition / Major Refurbishment Survey) A type 3 Survey is used to locate as far as reasonably practicable all asbestos containing materials in the building. This is comprehensive and intrusive and will certainly cause a lot of damage to the interior of the building, to gain access to all areas which may contain asbestos containing materials

Reporting

At Abbey we believe in easy to follow reports with full photographs and site plans for ease of identification of the materials on site. In addition all sampled materials will have a materials analysis report, detailing the identified asbestos content.

Receiving your survey is only part of your "Duty To Manage". Your next step is now to manage your asbestos.

The rewards for collaborative working:

CLIENTS:

Lower and more predictable costs
Minimised risk
Better Quality

RELATIONSHIPS:

Better mutual understanding
Commitment and trust
Shared objectives and goals
Shared learning and enjoyment

SUPPLY CHAIN:

Increased profitability
Confidence to invest
Enhanced reputation and standing resulting in more opportunity