Reinspection programmes
Finding the asbestos is only the start. If it is going to stay where it is then you need to make sure it stays in a safe condition and reinspection is a part of that. The problem is how do you run a re-inspection programme without it soaking up your budget. Here are some ideas.
Planning
Who can do the work?
Recording
A bit of thought and planning means that you can concentrate your available resource where it is most needed.
You can save a lot of money by using people you already have on site but you need to approach it carefully.
There is no point carrying out any inspections unless you record them properly. Here are some thoughts on how you might do that.
Asbestos management plans
There seems to be a lot of problems caused by these documents and there appears to be more and more emphasis placed on them by statutory bodies. Here are a few discussions on what they are for, what to put in them and how you might make your job a bit easier.
Purpose
Content
It can be a bit confusing about who the management plan is aimed at. Here are some thoughts on the problem.
What needs to be in a plan? That depends on your situation and who is meant to understand them.
Creating them
Updating
It is easy to reduce a plan to generic slop because that is the only way to make their production management. With a bit of thought it is possible to create building specific reports that add value very quickly.
If you can’t keep your plans up to date then there is no point even starting. Here are some ways that might make it easier for you to keep on top of things.
Survey topics
Not the mechanics of looking for the stuff because almost everyone uses external contractors. However, that doesn’t mean you can ignore everything about it. In this series we look at some things you might want to get right at the start of a project rather than argue about it when the invoice lands on your desk.
Judging quality
What to ask for
There are plenty of ways you can make sure that your survey is done right but how does the end user know that. We think the way the information is presented makes a big difference.
Yes you want to know where the asbestos is but what do you want to be handed over when the job is done. Your future self will thank you for collecting the right things.
What to do with it
Managing surveys
It is easy to reduce a plan to generic slop because that is the only way to make their production management. With a bit of thought it is possible to create building specific reports that add value very quickly.
If you can’t keep your plans up to date then there is no point even starting. Here are some ways that might make it easier for you to keep on top of things.
Data management
There is more to think about when running an asbestos management system than the system itself. You’ve got to think about how new information gets in without it becoming a full time job, where you keep all the documents you get sent and what to do with the old data regardless of its format.
Dealing with paper reports
Dealing with old data
We still meet people who are running asbestos management systems using paper reports. However, what if you want to change to something a bit more modern? What do you do with all the paper?
So you want a new management system but don’t know what to do with the old data. Here are some thoughts on how it can be dealt with.
Document management
New data
You are never short of paper having anything to do with asbestos management. Where do you keep everything so that it can be found by those who need it?
Once you have your new management system you need to keep it up to date. How do you get new information into it quickly without it becoming a full time job? Here are some examples of how we deal with it.