As a contractor, paperwork isn’t always the first part of the job, but merely a means to an end to get to the part of the project where the real work begins. Yet when it comes to asbestos, these pieces of documentation become something far more useful, and it’s your version of completed work. Reliable records become not only a way to impress inspectors, but also, your personal and professional saviors, for years down the line.
Why These Records Matter
It’s hard for many to believe that three decades after work has been done, an asbestos claimant could come calling. Health complications many years after your renovation could return all parties involved in that project to the forefront of accusations and legal complaints. Without the proper documentation, it’s difficult to prove you did everything by the book. When people age, memories fade, companies transform and entity representatives relocate elsewhere. Paperwork can tell the true tale.
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 outlines what is minimum necessary, but seasoned contractors will understand more than the legal requirement. Insurance companies want documentation extensively and lawyers, should there be a case, are far more interested in your consideration that you took documentation seriously. If someone does their job, providing complete records should turn a pain-in-the-you-know-what into a simple discussion about what you have.
Where It All Starts – The Survey Report
Before any hammer hits any piece of pre-2000 construction, there needs to be a proper asbestos survey. This is not an optional step but the one where all others build upon. Thus, understanding good survey reports will help you understand what to seek.
A good management survey details where asbestos-containing materials exist, what type they are and in what condition they are throughout the area of concern. The better the report, the more extensive and nuanced the photographs, identifications, descriptions, risk assessments, and recommendations. Larger efforts take the refurbishment and demolition survey. A professional asbestos removal company performs these surveys with accredited circumstances and detailed reports.
Keep this as an original document. When questions arise down the line about what was known before work began, this demonstrates what was present and that decisions were made out of professional consideration, not assuming knowledge.
The Plan of Work – Your Blueprint
Once asbestos is identified, what’s next? You create a plan of work that addresses how materials will be handled or removed, who will manage specific elements and components, what equipment will be necessary and implemented and what safety measures will be enacted. For notifiable work, the HSE must receive the Plan of Work two weeks in advance from kick off.
Even if not required by law, it’s best to have something in writing. Reference need-to-knows about special materials and for removal, disposal efforts, air monitoring times, and what contingency plans are there if something unexpected occurs. The more comprehensive this effort, the more considerate it appears.
Plus, if something changes from the original plan, straighten up those reports. A project hardly ever moves along as it planned from day one. If you can show how your focus changed without compromising safety or impact on stakeholders, that shows you’re a management ace instead of someone who’s winging it.
Training Records – Everyone Knew What They Were Doing
Speaking of management, everyone exposed to or working around asbestosis needs training and you need documentation to confirm they received it. Keep copies of everyone involved training records. Look for IATP accredited training or the like and make sure they’re issued by someone recognized.
Annual refresher courses are typically necessary for certifications to remain valid. Don’t assume because last year’s crew can do without, they’re noted on paper for a reason! Check dates, progress, renewals, everything. If someone expired even one day while working for you, that constitutes a gap that reputable record keeping would never allow.
If you brought in specialized training for removal efforts, keep their licensing information in check along with insurance and accreditation efforts. This shows you sought specialized training from those who had a clue as opposed to going with whoever had the lowest estimate.
Air Monitoring – Proving Everything Worked
Air monitoring both during and after removal efforts provides real proof that your safety measures worked while non-disclosable materials were meant to stay where they were. This proves fiber levels were where they needed to be and clearance testing confirmed clearance afterward.
Compile all air monitoring certificates inclusive of background data beforehand. The sequence is crucial and can prove containment worked well enough that nothing spread unintentionally into the rest of the structure unless otherwise indicated. If spikes ever occurred during your investigations/monitoring efforts, document why it did and how it was subsequently fixed.
The four-stage clearance certificate is needed for work enclosures more than anything else where speculation isn’t a luxury. The area was cleaned up intensely; it was appropriately assessed; it passed testing which means the professionals on-site had due diligence at heart once containment came down.
Tracking Waste Disposal Appropriately
Asbestos waste has specific steps for handling which means documentation helps prove everything was done correctly. Waste transfer notes exist for non-hazardous asbestos waste materials while hazardous wastes receive consignment notes when they reach disposal sites.
These notes track what’s taken away from A (you) to B (the appropriate spot) with who drove it; how much material there was; where it belongs; and who removed it. It creates a paper trail all in one direction, ours, and shows no funny business went on with disposal. Retain copies, they’re often your only proof that material left your site as it should have.
Licensed waste carriers will provide this as standard operating procedure, but if they don’t give it automatically, it’s telling about how they operate. Reputable waste carriers understand such regulatory specifications require quality management skills of everyone involved.
Routine Daily Entries That Tell the Tale
Site records aren’t always created thoughtfully; they’re seen as a means to an end for contractors who just want to put down what they need to cover until time’s up. Yet this log creates in real-time an appealing narrative that down-the-line research won’t cover as people age/reconsider dates/fade down memories.
Pictures go a long way in conjunction with these written accounts as well. Containment established; during-the-process pictures; after clearance, date-stamped reflections show proper procedures were taken on paper over attempting recall later on.
If something negative happens, unexpected findings; broken containment; rogue equipment, Document. Write down why you had to do what you did and show who you informed about your efforts. These reports speak credibly over you hiding mishaps under the rug.
Documentation Lifespan
Here’s where most contractors fail, the common understanding is asbestos documentation is put away like other jobs that could use a retention period over three years max before finalizing. The reality? It’s decades-long-later material but by then, health records require maintenance for 40 years, which tells you how long claims could surface down the line.
Thus it’s 40 years worthy retaining all asbestos records each time they’re established, but indefinitely is even better. Thanks to digital filing these days, it’s easy for you to get something scanned that never required it before as long as you do it upfront instead of trying to piece everything together only after when time isn’t your friend.
All files need retention in an organized fashion, they shouldn’t look like jumbled pages from someone who found peace in tossing old material in several bins back on their site first chance they got. It’s frustrating, but that’s little compared to like punishment when there’s no proof.
Some contractors pass over documentation to building owners and think they’re off clear, they’re not. Retain yours regardless; building owners can go bankrupt; misplace them entirely; attempt to say docs weren’t sent, all which signifies none could stand up because they trusted someone else’s filing cabinet.
Making It Work for You
The above paperwork protects everyone involved; it’s just a matter of making sure it’s comprehensive enough so when needed one day down the line, it works its magic. However, treating documentation as another box to check ruins its purpose later down the line.
Spending little time during the project getting things correct makes more sense than struggling months after when nothing sticks besides frustration. Good documentation isn’t just about compliance; it’s about protecting your endeavors because you’ve done everything right.
