There are many companies that provide consultancy and surveying services, sometimes at what initially appears to be at low cost.
However, before commissioning an organisation to undertake such work it is important to consider the risks:
Are you confident that the organisation has the technical
competence to undertake the work in question?
Are you satisfied that the organisation has the resources to do the work?
Are the surveyors working to suitable codes of conduct to ensure inspections are carried out impartially and with integrity?
Are you confident that the organisation has an adequate quality system in place?
Are you satisfied that safeguards are in place, e.g. suitable liability insurance, in case difficulties arise?
The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) and more specifically Regulation 4: Duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic properties sets a legal requirement for owners and occupiers of non-domestic buildings to carry out a suitable assessment to determine whether asbestos is present or liable to be present. The HSE is responsible for enforcing compliance with the regulations and penalties are given to persons who fail to ensure the safety of their staff and others present on site. Selecting an organisation accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) can help to ensure that you are appointing a competent surveying organisation to meet your requirements.
Does ISO 9001 guarantee of technical competence?
It is important to specify the appropriate requirements on suppliers according to the type of work required. For example, you can be confident in the technical competence of an asbestos surveying organisation if it holds UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17020, the internationally recognised standard that sets out the requirements for organisations performing inspection. UKAS accredited certification of a supplier’s management system to ISO 9001 tells you that they have arrangements for managing the quality of their product or service, but it doesn’t relate to their technical competence.
What do UKAS say?
