Trident Surveying UK: Top Tips for Effective Asbestos Removal Contractor Audits

[Liz Seyi]

Asbestos removal contractor audits
The asbestos removal industry is one of the industries in which companies require a licence to operate. Asbestos is classified as a category 1 carcinogen, with asbestos related disease causing around 5000 deaths every year in the UK. Work with asbestos requires a high degree of regulatory control and the purpose of licensing is to achieve this. Licensing is an addition to the general framework of health and safety law. It builds on the fact that the legal duty to manage risk lies with the organisations that create them.
Delivering excellence
Working with contractors
The Health & Safety Executive's Asbestos Licensing Unit (ALU) is robustly enforcing the requirements of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR2012) through constant unannounced site visits. This has resulted in some asbestos removal contractors failing to meet the Industry Standards required by the regulations.
When industry standards and best practice are not being met or there is a breach of the regulations the actions available to enforcement officers are:
• The issuing of Improvement Notices (IN)
• Prohibition Notices (PN)
• Prosecution
In addition to this, the following sanctions are available to the ALU to address licence-holder poor performance:
• The use of extra licence conditions e.g. the requirement to submit air monitoring results on a quarterly basis
• Issue a licence for less than 3 years or reduce the licence term at any time
• The refusal to grant a licence on a permanent or temporary basis
• The revocation of a licence that prevents the contractor from carrying out licensed work altogether

Trident Surveying Ltd is a totally independent asbestos consultancy dedicated to providing a first class and truly independent asbestos management and site auditing service to companies or individuals who are involved in asbestos related industries.
Complying with current Health and Safety legislation, particularly the asbestos regulations is becoming increasingly time consuming, Trident's Asbestos Removal Contractor Audits provide informed feedback regarding legislative compliance, and if utilised positively can provide the contractor with a very powerful management tool.
Through site compliance auditing Trident can provide a valuable service to contract managers, directors, etc. and actually assist in developing management tools and working strategies, ensuring legislative compliance for under-pressure contract managers. Independent audits provide peace of mind that you're compliant with legislation and also demonstrate to the HSE, upon licence renewal, your continual, conscientious commitment to meeting Industry Best Practise and Standards.
Trident's Management compliance auditing is designed to be utilised to assess the effects of company policies relative to their health and safety plans and safe working procedures. It also provides a snapshot of site conditions to ensure that company working procedures are being implemented correctly and finally it provides companies with the confidence that they are complying with relevant H&S legislation, plus allowing them to focus freely on other aspects of their businesses at the same time as delivering a truly safe working environment for their employees.
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