WHY DO I NEED A SURVEY?
All commercial sites must be deemed safe for employees, visitors and the general public. Each premise will have a named person who is responsible for managing this safety, referred to as the duty holder.
This includes being aware of any risks on the premises, including the presence of asbestos. Once identified, it is the dutyholder’s (job) to ensure ongoing safety to everyone entering the premises.
The main reason you need an Asbestos Survey is to protect any person, especially workmen, from accidentally exposing themselves and others to asbestos fibres.
If your building was constructed or altered prior to 2000, your building may contain one or more of some 3000 products manufactured that contain asbestos and therefore you will need a survey.
Within the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012 it clearly creates a “Duty to manage asbestos” and to manage asbestos you need to know you have got it. The asbestos survey identifies asbestos and assists the duty holder in the compilation of the management plan.
If you allow persons to disturb asbestos in your property unknowingly you are breaking the law as well as putting the health of those persons and your employees at risk.
There are many documented instances of builders, plumbers and electricians drilling through innocuous panels, or cutting into pipe insulation, only to discover later that a potentially lethal mistake has been made.
The ‘Duty to Manage’ (Regulation 4) in the Control of Asbestos Regulations (CAR) 2012, is specifically designed to tighten up the law to reduce the risk from asbestos materials present in buildings.
WHAT IS THE “DUTY TO MANAGE” ASBESTOS?
The duty to manage asbestos is a legal requirement under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (Regulation 4). It applies to the owners and occupiers of commercial premises (such as shops, offices, industrial units etc) who have responsibility for maintenance and repair activities. In addition, they also have a duty to assess the presence and condition of any asbestos-containing materials. If asbestos is present, or is presumed to be present, then it must be managed appropriately. The duty also applies to the shared parts of some domestic premises