UKAS Asbestos Surveys

Independent Advice

AEC are an independent health, safety and environmental consultancy with no financial, or other link, to any asbestos removal contractor. Any recommendation made will be based purely on health and safety risk, giving assurance that there is no conflict of interest.

Handheld Technology

AEC uses handheld PDA technology with a system written and developed for the company. This system provides efficiency and uniformity when conducting asbestos surveys and results in a high quality of data management.

Two Person Survey Teams

It is a requirement of HSG 264, the Management of Health and Safety and Work regulations 1999 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 that all work tasks be risk assessed. In order to fully comply with these regulations, and to guarantee the health and safety of survey teams, AEC has adopted a buddy system; lone working is not considered for any survey and sampling projects.

Asbestos Surveying

Depending upon the usage and occupation of the building to be surveyed, and any planned works, different asbestos surveys may be required in various areas.

AEC hold UKAS inspection award for surveying and are an accredited Type C Inspection Body to ISO 17020. AEC surveying teams are able to conduct Asbestos Management Surveys and Asbestos Refurbishment and Demolition Surveys.

HSG 264 and the HSE recommend that only surveying companies holding UKAS accreditation, or equivalent levels of competence and quality systems, be employed to carry out asbestos surveys.

'HSG 264 Asbestos: The survey guide' is a document prepared by the HSE and is aimed at companies who carry out or commission surveys.

The type of the survey will vary during the lifespan of the premises and several surveys may be needed over time.

AEC surveying teams have a wealth of knowledge in providing many different types of survey; from a single commercial office, complete hospital, university or airport through to a construction barge in the Caspian Sea, AEC have a diverse skill base and can support you with your surveying requirements.

Survey Types

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 ACMs in the building which could be damaged or disturbed during normal occupancy, including foreseeable maintenance and installation, and to assess their condition. The areas inspected should include: floor coverings, above false ceilings (ceiling voids), lofts, inside risers, service ducts and lift shafts, basements, cellars, underground rooms, and undercrofts. A management survey includes an assessment of the condition of the various ACMs and their ability to release fibres into the air if they are disturbed.

Management surveys can involve a combination of sampling to confirm asbestos is present or presuming asbestos to be present, and AEC recommend that samples be taken as part of the management survey. All inaccessible areas shall be presumed to contain asbestos until in-depth surveys can be conducted to prove otherwise.

This type of survey allows duty holders / owners and occupiers, to safely manage asbestos in compliance with regulation 4 of the 'Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006'. It also allows social housing providers to comply with the risk assessments as outlined in regulation 5 of the 'Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006'.

Refurbishment / Demolition Survey

A refurbishment and demolition survey is required 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 level of competence and knowledge needed to conduct surveys is much greater than a management survey; and the intrusive nature of the survey presents increased health and safety risks.

Gaining full access is intrusive and extends the management survey to include investigations into reasonably and safely accessible sealed voids and the fabric of the building. This will involve breaking through partition walls, ceilings etc. to confirm the presence or absence of asbestos, and significant damage to fixtures, fittings and parts of the building occurs. In some situations, where concrete or brickwork requires removal, advice may have to be sought from a competent person, such as a structural engineer. As a consequence, refurbishment and demolition surveys should only be conducted in unoccupied areas to minimise risks to the public or employees. Ideally, the building should not be in service and all furnishings removed. For minor refurbishment, this would only apply to the room involved or even part of the room where the work is small and the room large.

There may be some circumstances where the building is still 'occupied' at the time a 'demolition' survey is carried out. For example in the educational sector, refurbishment/demolition surveys may be conducted in schools or colleges during one holiday, and the work not undertaken until the next holiday period. In such situations, the 'survey' will need extremely careful managing with personnel and equipment/furnishings being decanted and protected while the survey progresses through the building. Again, there should be effective isolation of the survey areas.

NB In the case of all surveys: A survey team shall not disturb any suspected asbestos installation in any other way than to take a representative sample, which is usually no bigger than a thumbnail.

This measure is designed to minimise the risk of asbestos fibre release to both survey staff and occupants of the building, but also means that the surveyor cannot assess what materials may be present above/behind a suspected asbestos installation.

Furthermore, the removal of an asbestos installation to investigate behind becomes a licensable activity, and shall require the assistance of a licensed removal contractor to carry out such an investigation.

Bulk Sampling

AEC are able to undertake the sampling and collection of material suspected to contain asbestos; this will include a site visit. The samples are delivered to the AEC Laboratory in Manchester for analysis.