Asbestos support for major installation, refurbishment and construction projects
Project-led asbestos surveys, component investigation, analytical support and remediation planning for large installations, fit-outs, M&E upgrades, roofing, refurbishment and demolition. Define what the work will disturb before agreeing the investigation.
Start with the work package, not just the building address
A project can have a current asbestos register and still lack the information needed for a new riser, roof opening, plant replacement or demolition boundary. ASM reviews the drawings, existing evidence and proposed disturbance so the investigation addresses the actual installation or construction work.
Bring together the client, designer, principal contractor and relevant trade packages early enough to identify survey access and programme constraints. The brief should include service diversions, temporary works, access openings and enabling works as well as the finished design. Changes to these details can change the asbestos investigation required.
Choose the investigation for the proposed disturbance
Pre-construction evidence review
Review surveys, registers, drawings and specifications against the project boundary. Identify missing areas, inaccessible fabric and information that needs clarification before the site investigation is commissioned.
Refurbishment surveys
A refurbishment asbestos survey investigates the areas affected by alteration or installation. Define the route, depth and extent of disturbance, including concealed spaces and associated access works.
Demolition surveys
A demolition asbestos survey addresses the structures or parts to be demolished. Agree structural access, disconnections and the boundaries between retained and demolished areas.
Targeted component investigation
Sampling and material identification can resolve questions about particular boards, seals, gaskets, insulation or plant components. It does not automatically replace a survey of the surrounding affected fabric.
Air monitoring and clearance
Plan the analytical requirement around the works and the relevant risk assessment. Agree appointment, access and clearance interfaces before removal is scheduled.
Groundworks and enabling interfaces
Use the specialist asbestos-in-soils route for impacted ground. Coordinate survey and remediation requirements with soft strip, access, roofing, scaffolding and other enabling work.
Build asbestos decisions into design, tender and construction
| Stage | Asbestos task | Decision or control to agree |
|---|---|---|
| Design and feasibility | Review records against drawings, service routes, affected structures and enabling works. | Confirm the investigation boundary, missing information and whether design options avoid or create disturbance. |
| Survey planning | Arrange access, isolations, permits, opening-up and occupied-area controls for the agreed survey. | Identify dependencies and any areas requiring a later phase of investigation. |
| Tender and procurement | Use the findings to define material locations, quantities where established, limitations and remediation interfaces. | Give bidders a consistent scope and identify assumptions or provisional items openly. |
| Pre-start and remediation | Confirm contractor appointments, plans of work, relevant notifications, access controls and analytical arrangements. | Agree hold points and the evidence needed before each affected work package proceeds. |
| Construction and design change | Check revised routes, discoveries and changes to the boundary against the investigation already completed. | Stop the affected activity where information is inadequate; assess whether additional investigation is required. |
| Handover | Collate final survey revisions, analytical records, relevant remediation documentation and information on retained materials. | Update the asbestos register and management information for the areas returning to use. |
The project team should programme survey access, reporting, decisions, any removal and applicable clearance as separate dependencies. Site conditions, unresolved access, notification requirements and changing scope can affect the sequence. Dates and response requirements must be agreed for the actual project.
Specify the information the delivery team needs to use
A usable report should allow the project team to trace a finding back to the drawing, location and commissioned scope. Agree the following requirements before the work starts, including whether any separate schedules or annotated drawings are included.
Defined scope and boundary
Record the project purpose, building or asset references, drawing revisions and survey extent. Make exclusions, access limitations and any phased investigation clear enough for the team to manage.
Traceable findings
Identify material and sample references, locations, photographs and relevant analytical results. Keep the location description consistent with the drawing or asset references used by the project.
Actions and unresolved items
Separate confirmed findings from presumed materials, uninspected areas and matters requiring further investigation. Identify the affected work package rather than presenting all recommendations as equally urgent.
Controlled handover records
Agree report recipients and revision control. At completion, identify the information needed for retained materials and register updates, with relevant clearance and removal records supplied by the appointed parties.
For a ceiling or M&E scheme, this could mean distinguishing the ceiling system, the proposed service route, penetrations and access to plant from unrelated areas elsewhere in the building. For a roof project, the brief may also need to cover openings, rooflights, edge details and internal access. These are scoping examples; they are not a substitute for the project-specific assessment.
Coordinate the parties without blurring their appointments
| Party | Responsibility to clarify |
|---|---|
| Client and dutyholder | Provide available asbestos information, commission suitable investigations and agree access, decisions and the information required for future management. |
| Design and construction team | Describe the actual work and changes to it, coordinate trade interfaces, and use the findings in design, planning and work controls. |
| ASM | Deliver the agreed asbestos inspection, investigation, reporting or analytical scope and identify relevant findings and limitations. |
| Removal contractor | Deliver the appointed removal work within its competence and any required licence, with the appropriate plans and controls. |
| Analytical organisation | Undertake the appointed testing or clearance within its accredited scope, with clear independence and reporting arrangements. |
ASM’s appointment for asbestos support does not automatically appoint it as principal designer or principal contractor. The project’s CDM roles and responsibilities remain separately defined. HSE’s commercial-client guidance explains the client’s role in managing construction arrangements.
Where the project needs wider F&I Group delivery, asbestos work can be coordinated with soft strip, access, scaffolding and roofing interfaces. Licensed removal is undertaken by the appropriate licensed contractor, including Flowing Construction Services within the Group where appointed. For licensed-removal clearance, the client should directly appoint an appropriate UKAS-accredited analytical organisation independent of the removal contractor.
Experience relevant to complex construction environments
Major contractors and controlled sites
ASM’s corporate services overview describes repeat contractor-programme support and MOD-related environments. Access permissions and controlled documentation form part of the project brief.
Occupied healthcare and education
Healthcare and education work brings live-building access and service constraints into capital-project planning. ASM’s education page records support across 120+ school sites.
Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor
The asbestos-in-soils page records support on SSTC3 in Sunderland. Civil-engineering schemes need a separate ground-investigation and contamination-control approach alongside any building surveys.
150-unit BESS development, Sheffield
ASM’s published groundworks experience includes support for asbestos-impacted ground at a 150-unit battery-storage development, including watching-brief and contamination-management requirements. See renewable-energy project support.
Prepare a scope that can be quoted and programmed
- Current drawings with revision numbers, affected areas, installation routes and demolition or refurbishment boundaries.
- Existing surveys, registers, sample results and known access limitations.
- The intended work sequence, procurement dates and any occupied-building or shutdown constraints.
- Access, isolation, induction, permit and opening-up arrangements, with the responsible contacts.
- Required report formats, tender schedules, drawing outputs and the process for approving scope changes.
Price depends on the investigation extent, building or plant complexity, intrusive access, samples, location and reporting requirement. Specialist access, enabling works, remediation and analytical attendance need clear inclusions rather than an assumption that they sit inside one survey fee. The survey cost guide explains general factors; a project quotation should identify its own assumptions.
Major Projects asbestos questions
Is a management survey enough for a major refurbishment?
Not necessarily. A management survey supports occupation and routine management within its scope. Refurbishment requires information about the fabric the project will disturb, which may need intrusive investigation. Review the existing evidence against the actual drawings and work package.
Can you survey only the part of a building affected by the works?
A refurbishment survey can be scoped to the relevant project area where the boundary is clearly defined. Include associated access, penetrations and service routes. Areas outside the agreed scope and any restrictions must remain clear to the delivery team.
Can surveys be undertaken in occupied buildings?
Access must be planned around the building’s use and the investigation required. Intrusive refurbishment or demolition survey areas need appropriate segregation and controls and may require decanting or shutdowns. Agree the arrangements before attendance.
Can ASM support M&E, roofing and installation projects?
Yes. The brief can address plant replacement, service routes, penetrations, roofing interfaces and associated enabling work. Supply the drawings and details of what will be disturbed so the investigation can be matched to the installation.
What happens if an area cannot be accessed?
Record the restriction, the reason and the work it affects. Agree what access or isolation is needed and whether a further visit is required. An inaccessible area must not be treated as asbestos-free simply because a survey report has been issued.
Can removal and analytical support be coordinated?
The programme can include remediation and analytical interfaces, but each appointment and responsibility should be clear. Licensed work requires an appropriately licensed contractor. For licensed-removal clearance, the client should directly appoint an appropriate accredited analytical organisation independent of the removal contractor.
What should be handed over after the asbestos works?
Agree the relevant final survey revisions, analytical records, remediation documentation and information on retained materials. The dutyholder needs usable information to update the asbestos register and management arrangements. The exact record set depends on the work commissioned.
How do we obtain a major-project quotation?
Send current drawings, the work-package scope, existing asbestos records, programme, access and isolation requirements, and the outputs required for procurement and handover. ASM can identify the proposed investigation, assumptions and items needing further clarification.
Accreditation and technical guidance
ASM’s accreditation number is 32982. The inspection schedule lists specified management, refurbishment, demolition and reinspection activities; the testing schedule defines bulk identification, air testing and four-stage clearance activities. Bulk identification is carried out at Sunderland. Removal is not covered by those accreditations. Refer to HSE’s survey guide, HSG264, and the analysts’ guide, HSG248, for the relevant technical guidance.
Send the project drawings and proposed work package
Share the scope, programme and available asbestos records so ASM can define the investigation and reporting requirement. Agree a secure route first for sensitive project information.
0330 433 9680 · info@asbestosSM.co.uk
Monday–Friday, 08:00–18:00. Agree a secure transfer route before sending confidential information.