An asbestos management plan is a handwritten or computer-typed document that specifies who is accountable for asbestos management
in a commercial or public facility.
It is critical that the asbestos management plan is available to anyone who may need to see it, including staff, visitors, and tradespeople,
regardless of the medium used, whether handwritten or digital.
It must also be simple to read, comprehend, and update.
It’s also worth noting that the asbestos management plan must be created and documented before any repairs or maintenance work is
done on the property.
Then, if any work is done that might alter the asbestos materials’ condition, you must make sure that the management plan is updated.
Asbestos materials must thereafter be checked on a regular basis (every 6-12 months), and the asbestos registry and management plan
must be updated to reflect any changes in their condition.
Is it necessary for me to have an asbestos management plan?
You are classified as a Duty Holder if you are legally responsible for the repair and maintenance of commercial or industrial properties.
This implies you’ll have a legal obligation to handle any asbestos that may be present in the building (s) and will be required to implement
an asbestos management plan if asbestos is discovered.
As a result, if you identify as the duty holder, your first responsibility will be to ascertain whether or not the building contains asbestos, and
your second objective will be to discover when it was erected.
If the structure was constructed before the year 2000, you should assume it contains asbestos and do further research.
Find out more about the building’s history and whether it was ever known to contain asbestos. Attempt to get as much information as
possible.
After you’ve learned about the building’s history, you’ll need to get it inspected to see if it contains asbestos.
You may do this examination yourself in small buildings and then create your own asbestos risk register, which includes the location of
any questionable asbestos materials, their amount, and their condition.
The asbestos registry must then be accompanied by an asbestos management strategy.
The management plan should include information on any planned work on asbestos materials, a timetable for monitoring the state of
asbestos, and a record of any decisions taken, in addition to identifying who is accountable for asbestos management.
A survey of asbestos management will be required for larger structures.
The HSE advises that larger facilities with more than 25 workers have an asbestos management survey done by a trained Asbestos
Surveyor.
An asbestos management survey will provide you with a thorough report on the location, kind, and condition of any asbestos materials,
allowing you to create your own management plan or have it done for you by numerous asbestos surveying firms.
After you’ve completed an asbestos register and/or an asbestos management survey, create your asbestos management plan, which will
be included in the asbestos register.
Who cares if there’s asbestos in the building?
You, as the responsibility holder, will have to notify others about the presence of asbestos once you have your asbestos register and
management plan in place.
All employees and maintenance personnel will need to be educated about the asbestos and instructed on how to report any future
concerns and to whom they should report them.
Put warning labels on any objects that contain or might contain asbestos to raise awareness and reduce the risk of these materials being
damaged or disturbed.
Before any work on the building’s fabric begins, construction and installation contractors, engineers, surveyors, and anyone else hired to
conduct any work on the building’s fabric must be given the asbestos risk register and management plan.
Is it necessary to hire a professional to encapsulate or remove asbestos?
Please, whatever you do, do not attempt to fix or remove anything yourself.
The job should only be done by contractors who have the necessary equipment and training.
If no expert tests or a thorough management survey have been conducted to establish the presence or absence of asbestos, any
materials are considered to contain asbestos and must be managed as such.
As a result, while working with suspected asbestos products, complete asbestos safety procedures must be followed.
This entails hiring a licenced or skilled contractor to complete the task.
Certain high-risk forms of asbestos or significant repair work may necessitate the use of an HSE registered asbestos contractor.
A licenced contractor isn’t necessary for work with lower-risk materials or smaller projects, but you should use someone who has been
properly trained to deal with asbestos.
