Rather than write stuff we decided to make some videos giving some thoughts and ideas on various asbestos management topics.
Asbestos 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
A bit of thought and planning means that you can concentrate your available resource where it is most needed.
Who can do them?
You can save a lot of money by using people you already have on site but you need to approach it carefully.
Recording the inspections
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.
Who are they for?
It can be a bit confusing about who the management plan is aimed at. Here are some thoughts on the problem.
What do you put in them?
What needs to be in a plan? That depends on your situation and who is meant to understand them.
Create them quickly
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.
Keep them up to date
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.
How does a user know the survey is right
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.
What do you want from a survey?
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 do you do with the report once you’ve got it?
File it? Print it off and put it in a box? There are a few other things you might want to do with it.
Managing surveys better
If you have a small team or few properties it is probably not an issue but more people and more buildings can quickly become a headache.
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
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?
What about the old data?
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.
Improving document management
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?
Dealing with new data quickly
IOnce 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.
