School Asbestos Building Work Control Procedure

This procedure applies to school-controlled or commissioned work that may disturb building fabric or asbestos materials, including small repairs and major contracted projects.

1. Determine the asbestos risk

Before construction, refurbishment, demolition or other work that may disturb the building fabric, determine whether the work might disturb asbestos materials, including unidentified, presumed or hidden asbestos materials.

Record the project scope and asbestos-risk determination before the work is commissioned or starts. If the work may disturb the building fabric, arrange a relevant refurbishment or demolition survey carried out by a trained specialist. This survey is an intrusive survey involving destructive inspection to identify asbestos materials.

2. Provide information for design and delivery

Pass the findings of the relevant survey, together with details of known or presumed asbestos materials in the work area, to the designers and to those who will carry out the work.

The project information must be sufficient for those undertaking the work to understand the asbestos materials and the controls required. Use the project information to inform the work specification, method statements and arrangements for controlling the work.

3. Specify and implement controls

Ensure that suitable risk-control measures are specified and used for the work. A permit-to-work system may be used to control the work where appropriate.

Do not allow work to proceed where the asbestos risk has not been determined, the relevant survey has not been arranged where required, or the survey and asbestos information has not been provided to the designers and workers who need it.

4. Check contractor competence and licensing

Use competent contractors and check the competence and licensing arrangements relevant to the work. All licensed asbestos work must be carried out by a licensed asbestos removal contractor.

Confirm whether the work is licensable, notifiable non-licensable or non-licensable using the applicable HSE advice. Those undertaking the work should confirm that the information provided is sufficient.

Some small, short-duration tasks may be carried out by non-licensed workers only where they have received appropriate training and the correct risk-control measures are used.

5. Coordinate associated building work

Where asbestos removal, encapsulation or other asbestos work is planned or in progress, treat it as part of the wider condition project and assess associated building-system and fabric work.

The assessment may need to include replacement lighting and potentially electrical, fire-alarm, IT and CCTV work where these are affected by the asbestos work.

6. Work control

The project lead must ensure that the approved scope, asbestos information, control measures, contractor arrangements and any permit-to-work arrangements are communicated to the people who design, manage or carry out the work before work starts.

The person authorising the work is [authorising person role]. The work area is [work area or building] and the project reference is [project reference].