Applecroft School

Applecroft School

Asbestos Management Policy

Review Cycle: / Annual
Committee to Review: / Finance
Date of Issue: / October 2015
Last Review Date: / February 2017
Next Review Date: / October 2017

Asbestos Management Policy

The guidance in this policy specifies the processes the school has for the effective management of asbestos containing materials.

The school has adopted a proactive approach to asbestos management and its control in order to ensure the safety of all building occupants, staff, contractors and visitors.

The school complies with The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) which is the primary legislation covering the management of asbestos.

Asbestos Surveys

The school has recently commissioned a new asbestos management survey in order to provide up to date information on all asbestos containing material in the school.

An asbestos management survey includes the inspection of all accessible areas of the school, as far as practicable, with samples of all suspect material being taken where deemed necessary. The asbestos management survey covered the following areas:

·  Floors and exposed floor coverings

·  Wall panels, finishes and associated materials

·  Ceilings – including voids where they were easily accessible

·  Pipe work insulation

(All inspections were conducted to a height of three meters)

The school is aware of the limitations of an asbestos management survey and if any work was to be carried out to the fabric of the building which had not been covered by the asbestos management survey then in those circumstances the school would commission a refurbishment/demolition asbestos survey.

The asbestos management survey is kept in the site asbestos file located in the main school Office (left hand large cupboard on the top shelf). As well as the survey the site asbestos file contains:

·  A list of people authorised and trained to give permission for work

·  A communication Plan

·  Permission to work record sheets

·  An asbestos management plan detailing planned action

·  Records of “annual inspection”

Permission to Work

Any person carrying out work which will affect the buildings fabric finishes or mechanical equipment, must sign the permission to work record sheet to confirm that they have consulted, read and understood the asbestos management survey for the site.

It is the responsibility of the schools asbestos authorising officer to ensure that this system is used on every occasion when maintenance is carried out.

The Permission to Work Process

·  The authorising officer should identify, with whoever is to undertake the work to be carried out (the maintainer), the room/area where the proposed maintenance is to be carried out.

·  The authorising officer and the maintainer should consult the asbestos survey and ensure the maintainer is fully aware of the location of any known asbestos in the area the work is being carried out.

·  If refurbishment/demolition works are to be carried out then further surveys of the work area may be necessary.

·  Subject to the point above, if there is no known asbestos present or if it will not be disturbed by the work to be carried out, work may start once the permission to work record has been completed, signed and countersigned.

·  If asbestos is noted when consulting the asbestos survey and it is likely to be disturbed by the work to be carried out, then NO WORK MAY PROCEED and permission to work must be denied.

·  If asbestos is likely to be disturbed the authorising officer and maintainer should seek to design work around the asbestos, or engage with a licensed asbestos removal contractor for removal of the conflicting asbestos in advance of works proceeding.

·  Once work has started if any suspected asbestos material is found work MUST STOP IMMEDIATELY. The room/area must be closed off and professional advice sought from a licenced asbestos contractor or UKAS accredited consultant. If the material has been disturbed, this must be treated as an incident and the information on asbestos incidents referred to (full incident information is included in this policy).

Annual Inspections

All asbestos containing materials must be inspected at least once in a 12 month period or more frequently if deemed necessary.

The process of inspection involves visual checking the condition of known asbestos on the school site to identify damage or deterioration.

Evidence that an annual inspection has been carried out and any actions necessary if any asbestos containing item has deteriorated should be recorded on the “Asbestos Annual Inspection Form” located in the Site Managers Office.

Communication Plan

Asbestos information is communicated to the following groups of people and evidenced:

·  Contractors via the asbestos management survey results and by the completion of the permission to work forms;

·  Staff – via the asbestos management survey and by room specific maps – new staff during their induction process, all staff during an annual inset day programme (H&S questionnaire completed);

·  Volunteers – informed not to carry out any work to the fabric of the building without prior authorisation from the Site Manager (authorised asbestos officer); and

·  External hirers - informed not to carry out any work to the fabric of the building without prior authorisation from the Site Manager (authorised asbestos officer).

Management Plan

Our asbestos management plan (situated in the site asbestos file) lists all known and presumed asbestos containing material on the school site and is used to detail and record how individual pieces of asbestos will be managed on a day to day basis. We also use the management plan to record strategies for the management of each known asbestos containing material i.e. prioritising the removal of high risk items or for low risk items inspect regularly and maintain in good condition.

The management plan is kept under review and updated if:

·  Additional asbestos containing materials are identified as a result of further survey works (after a refurbishment/demolition survey); and/or

·  Asbestos is removed or encapsulated.

Incident Management

If known or suspected asbestos containing materials are damaged the following actions must be taken:

·  Close the room or area immediately

·  Consult the survey information to clarify what has been damaged

·  If it is unclear what the material is; presume a worse case

·  Make no attempt to clean up

·  Seek advice from a licensed asbestos contractor or UKAS accredited consultant.

·  If asbestos is present programme remedial work via an appropriate asbestos contractor

Training

Schools are required to have a minimum of two asbestos authorising officers (at the last review these were Odette Coe, Finance & Business Manager and Nigel Gallacher, Site Manager. Refresher training must be completed every three years. The school maintains records of asbestos training to ensure there are always two qualified asbestos officers.