The guidance is intended to help main contractors, facilities managers, architects and other clients meet their legal requirements so that asbestos is dealt with in a controlled and safe manner.
Effective management of asbestos removal can minimise human exposure to the material’s lethal fibres, and project management begins with the procurement process, ARCA says.
As clients are at the head of the procurement chain they have the final say on how these projects are managed, therefore they are in a position to play a major part in ensuring that asbestos exposure is avoided.
The guidance note references clients’ legal duties, including those under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
“Clients are not expected to be experts in either construction work or asbestos work. However, they are responsible for ensuring appropriate arrangements are in place to manage and organise projects,” said ARCA chief executive Steve Sadley.
“This means appointing suitably competent people – such as ARCA members who are independently audited asbestos removal contractors and ATaC members who are UKAS accredited asbestos analysts – and providing them with sufficient information, time and resources to do the job properly. All helping to ensure projects are well planned and managed for the health and safety of the workforce, and also the public.”
The ARCA guide for clients can be downloaded at http://arca.org.uk/downloads/ARCA-GN002-V0915-Clients_Responsibilities_on_appointing_Asbestos_Contractors.pdf
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