Asbestos Project Management - a proactive approach

Job title: Pro-active Multi-Site Asbestos Management
Industry: Major retail development
Clients: National retail chain
Sites: More than 140 all over the UK

Oceans-ESU were appointed as Asbestos Project Managers for an internationally recognized company that has over 450 retail outlets throughout the United Kingdom. Of these 450 stores, 142 were built before 1985 when products containing asbestos were readily available and commonly used as building materials. Following recently introduced stricter asbestos legislation and the increased number of successful asbestos related health and safety prosecutions, Oceans-ESU advised that a proactive approach to asbestos management should be implemented.

This resulted in Oceans-ESU being awarded the contract to survey all of the 142 stores that posed a potential asbestos health and safety risk. However, a number of aims and restrictions were imposed by the client, which significantly increased the magnitude of the project.

To meet these criteria, Oceans-ESU assembled a dedicated project team with varied experience consisting of qualified asbestos surveyors, CAD draughtsmen, computer technicians, third party asbestos sample analysts, project managers and administration staff.

Prior to any surveys being undertaken an interactive database was developed based on a unique numerical hazard assessment system for ascertaining individual suspect product risk. Risk scores were formulated using an composite figure depending on the risk it posed to human health based on material type, condition, location, susceptibility to damage and exposure frequency.

Suspect items identified by the surveyor were categorised on-site using the established database assessment criteria. Upon survey completion results were inputted into the database to produce an automatic item-by-item risk assessment score for each individual store.

Following completion of the surveys, database input and individual report production, the interactive database was used to produce the final risk assessment report. The database has been designed to provide data on queries relating to a set of individual surveys within the system. This meant that stores could be easily ranked into categories based on health and safety assessment scores and used to develop the long-term removal plan. Information relating to the amount and type of material within each store could also be obtained from the database and was an asset when estimating removal costs.

The project has brought a number of long-term benefits to the client.

To aid in the location of positively identified material and assist in continued asbestos management programmes, building schematics were drawn on-site to indicate exact positions and areas of asbestos products within each store. Qualified CAD draughtsmen reproduced the diagrams in electronic format, which allows alterations or updates to be made easily following any removal works. This ensures that accurate sets of diagrams are now available to contractors working within a store, minimising the potential for health and safety violations.

Due to the success of the project and the efficiency and advantages of the interactive database system, a continuous asbestos management programme is currently being negotiated with the client.

Since the initial design of the database, additional computer programming has introduced a secondary phase to the system in the form of asbestos removal tracking. Each item has a unique identification number and comprehensive description so that any material can be easily matched to the item within the database.

The system automatically updates the building's asbestos content and potential health and safety risk category, ensuring accurate information is available. It has become apparent that this database is an effective asbestos management tool, with many varied possibilities and potentials. At present, Oceans-ESU is assessing the potential for this product to become commercially available.