About Envacs Asbestos Survey Software

www.envacs.com

"Its more common sense than rocket science"

Data entry page of Envacs software

Asbestos Survey Software - Asbestos Management

Envacs is a software package designed for asbestos surveys, we use it to compile survey reports and help clients manage their asbestos risks by showing clear and relevant information about the asbestos materials found.

Asbestos materials come in all shapes and sizes and varying degrees of hazard. The survey will sort these into the most hazardous and the least hazardous and let you know what you need to do with them (if anything) and in what order (priority assessment), many asbestos materials will simply require an annual inspection whilst others may need sealing and labelling to prevent others from disturbing them. When assessing the risks Envacs takes into account all the different aspect of the material that can affect risk.

Assessing the Risks

Envacs helps to assess the risks by assigning a scoring system for different aspects of the material

Material Location and Condition

Asbestos materials vary in terms of risk because of various factors, for example, an asbestos insulated pipe may be situated at high level and properly sealed making it safe (score C6) to work around, on the other hand the same type of pipework insulation may be found at low level where it is regularly disturbed and damaged by people climbing over it (score A12). The same type of material but with different risk ratings.

Material Type, Amount and Surface Treatment

A small to medium factory may have an asbestos cement roof which amounts to hundreds of square metres of asbestos material, although there is a lot of asbestos material, the material is 'bonded' asbestos cement which means the asbestos fibres are tightly trapped within the dense matrix of the material, making it very low risk in normal circumstances, an annual inspection and simple control measure for working on the material, would normally be all that's recommended.

A small amount (1m) of unsealed or damaged pipework insulation will be considered higher risk than the large roof because of its ability to release fibres more easily and the the asbestos content is much higher.

 

 

 

 

THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB

Envacs is basically a software database designed for asbestos surveys, the surveyor enters all the relevant information about the asbestos material and any non asbestos but 'suspect' materials (this avoids unnecessary future concerns about suspect 'looking' materials). The software produces a survey report based on all the information about the materials.

Envacs was designed specifically for asbestos surveys types 2, 3 and 4 (revisit), the software enables the surveyor to accurately record, assess and report the asbestos materials discovered. The reports produced by Envacs allow the clients to see and understand the risks from these materials, and to follow the recommendations for remedial action which would reduce the risk from these materials, to an acceptable level, if they are to remain in place.

Envacs was specifically designed to include all the information and material assessments detailed in the MDHS 100 guidance (surveyors handbook) and in the revised Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 (formerly the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002).

 

The Envacs asbestos survey software we use automatically generates the required 'priority assessments' for any asbestos materials found for use in your Asbestos Management Plan, it really does help you comply with your legal duties. The Envacs type 4 surveys also includes a useful 'sample history' report to compare the condition of the material since the last survey/inspection.

Envacs Scoring

Material: The software assigns a score for the material based on information from the surveyor, the scores are awarded for various aspects of the material, like type of material, type of asbestos, condition of material and whether the material is sealed. This is called the Material Assessment. click picture to see the material assessment scoring system explained

Location: The location of the material is given a score based on whether its in a busy occupied area or in a remote seldom used area of the building (high level etc), which helps to calculate the risk of disturbance. This is the Location Assessment.

Disturbance: The the type of work carried out in the local area of the material is also recorded and given a score rating, depending on whether the material is likely to be regularly disturbed during normal use of the area (including maintenance) or unlikely to be disturbed. This is the Disturbance Assessment.

Total: The scores are then calculated together to produce the Total Assessment score which lets you know which materials have scored the highest and the order of priority in which they need to be dealt with. You will probably find the high scoring high priority items will simply require sealing or labelling to bring their score down and reduce their priority, they can then be regularly inspected like the rest of the materials. Simple as that!

The scoring system is explained in more detail in the sample survey, these explanation pages are included in all Envacs reports provided to clients.

Priority Assessment based on activity in the location and occupation of the area

 

Total Assessment Report (Priority Assessment)

 

Using the asbestos survey/report

The total assessment score gives an clear indication of whether the material requires immediate action, usually if it has a medium to high score. If a material has a high material assessment score but is in a remote area that is seldom used and the risk of disturbance from maintenance is low (location and priority assessment) then the score will probably be within accepted levels that do not require immediate action. A low material assessment score in a busy, well occupied, high maintenance area will probably give the same result.

The high risk material in a high risk area will be apparent from the total assessment scores and make it easier to deal with those risks first.

There may well be recommendations to be carried out even for low scoring materials, labelling (where appropriate), further sealing of the materials (encapsulation) and sometimes you may need to restrict access to areas while waiting for remediation to be carried out.

Asbestos Management Plan

Knowing where it is and what condition its in is a good step towards asbestos management in your buildings, most materials will require an annual inspection and some more regularly if they have a total assessment score which makes it prudent to do so. Work on any asbestos material should be restricted and a risk assessment carried out to determine the best way to proceed, any contractors or tradesmen need to be informed of where the asbestos is in order to avoid disturbing it.

Any changes to the material, especially damage, should be reported to the duty holder* as soon as possible to enable repairs and for the asbestos management plan to be updated. The asbestos management plan deals with the risks from each of the asbestos materials and is used together with the survey/report to prevent exposure by reducing the risk of disturbance from accidental damage or planned maintenance/refurbishment work on or in the area of the material.

Once you have your plan in place asbestos management is not as hard as many people imagine, its mostly common sense and a modest amount of paperwork to be legally compliant.                                                  

* In the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 it states the 'duty holder' of a property/company/site has a legal "duty to find" a "duty to manage" and a "duty to inform" (those likely to disturb it) in respect of asbestos in their premises. A good survey is a good part of the solution.

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