How do you determine competency to undertake an asbestos survey?
The Asbestos Regulations state that an asbestos survey can be undertaken by individuals that can demonstrate competence in undertaking this work. WorkSafe has published in its Good Practice Guideline: Conducting Asbestos Surveys how this competence can be demonstrated and the table below will outline these together with some comments.
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Qualification |
Comment |
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Accreditation as an Inspection Body to ISO 17020 |
If an Inspection Body holds ISO 17020 accreditation their scope must include the ability to undertake asbestos surveys.
Currently in New Zealand there are only three companies with this accreditation. |
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Accreditation as a Testing and Calibration Laboratory to ISO 17025 |
If a Laboratory has this accreditation they must also have `asbestos survey and sampling’ added to their accreditation to prove competency against this standard.
Currently there are no laboratories in New Zealand with this extension to their accreditation. |
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Either P402 Surveying and Sampling Strategies for Asbestos in Buildings or W504 Asbestos and other Fibres |
If individuals have either of these two qualifications they are not deemed competent unless they have had a minimum of six months supervised field experience. |
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WorkSafe published safe work instrument for undertaking asbestos surveys |
WorkSafe is able to publish a safe work instrument outlining the necessary knowledge, experience, skills and qualifications to undertake asbestos surveying.
To date WorkSafe has not published such as instrument and the closest it gets is as outlined in above. |
From the above it can be seen that unless a company can demonstrate that it holds the appropriate ISO accreditation then a company choosing an asbestos surveyor needs to determine if the proposed surveyor can be deemed to be competent to undertake the required survey. The WorkSafe Good Practice Guideline: Conducting Asbestos Surveys provides guidance on how to determine competence.
For those wanting assurance that they are receiving a quality asbestos survey then choose a company that holds the correct accreditation.
Ladra Ltd holds the correct accreditation. If you need assistance in this area then contact Luke Austin of either l.austin@ladra.co.nz or 021 882 533