Asbestos Management Survey

Asbestos management surveys are the standard non-intrusive survey. Their purpose is to find and assess, as far as reasonably practicable, the location and extent of any possible asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in a property which may be disturbed during normal occupancy, including standard maintenance activities.

They may sometimes involve very minor intrusive work, the extent of which varies from building to building and the requirements of the client. These surveys usually involve both sampling to ascertain whether asbestos is present, and presumptions of asbestos to areas which cannot be safely accessed.

Every location in the building should be inspected as far as is reasonably practicable. Areas checked should include under floor coverings, above suspended ceilings, and inside risers, service ducts, lift shafts etc, if accessible. The surveying process sometimes does involve minor intrusive work such as access behind panels, partitions and other and other cosmetic or decorative surfaces. The intrusion’s extent depends on the disturbance levels foreseen for any future maintenance work and related activities, e.g. the installation of new equipment and/or cabling.

An asbestos management survey should always floorplans and plenty of photographs, along with an assessment of the condition of any ACMs and their potential for fibre release if disturbed. This is termed the material assessment, and gives another clue to prioritising which asbestos should be removed, and how less dangerous materials should be managed.

So the basic management surveys are designed to include routine maintenance work in and around the building. It should be recognised that if extensive repair work or modifications are involved, the information from the survey may be insufficient. In this case, a localised refurbishment survey is recommended – often known as an asbestos R&D survey. An R&D survey is usually required for any work which could potentially disturbs the fabric of the building in areas that the management survey has not been able to access.